Genesis 14:8-9
And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five.
INSIGHT
-Battle in Hebrew is written as milchamah & it means war, conflict or encounter. It can be defined as a contest between two or more parties or a struggle to survive or conquer.
-During Abraham’s time, a battle erupted. The kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim & Bela were conquered by four kings; Chedorlaomer, Tidal, Amraphel & Arioch. In the battle Lot & his family were hopelessly captured, taken away & had probably lost hope. God then used a certain man who had fled the captivity & notified Abraham of the invasion. With 318 trained troops, Abraham pursed the oppressors with great tact & won through the grace of God. He brought Lot back with all the other people captured & plenty of wealth that had been stolen from Sodom & Gomorra; given that these nations were very fertile/ productive. Many times in our daily lives we fight battles in form of disease, business failure, work related challenges, marriage issues, problems in school, financial challenges, issues in the family, national quagmires etc. We are reminded to give thanks to God always & to ask Him to fight our battles so that we may gain victory all the time despite the magnitude of the situations we are facing.
PRAYER
Our Lord & King we thank You for the mercy & love that You have always bestowed unto us. We humbly ask You to go before us everyday Lord & fight our battles that we may always dwell in peace & prosperity. Help all those who have been held captive in other nations that by Your mighty hand they may come back home safely. Heal all the sick in hospitals, touch the hearts of those who are contemplating suicide & those who are at the verge of divorce, establish the leadership of our nation & other nations in the world including Israel, Ethiopia & South Africa. Despite the raging storms that we face everyday Father, we know that we shall triumph over all for nothing is impossible for You Jesus. May Your precious blood always engulf us & our families that nothing may harm us. In Jesus name we pray trusting & believing. Amen
1 Samuel 17:47
Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
INSIGHT
-David was a very brave & courageous young man. He knew that the battle against Goliath & the rest of the Philistines was not his but the Lords’. Despite being very young, having no experience in military war, no fighting attire & no sword, he had great faith that God would deliver them from the Philistines; for the glory of His name. Before hitting Goliath’s head with a stone & chopping off his head, he made it clear to him that he came in the name of the Lord of hosts despite his coming with a full armament of sword, spear & javelin (1 Sam 17:45). This incident confirmed to Israelites that the Lord is not limited to anything & reaffirmed their faith to even pursue the Philistines & conquer them. The same message of faith is being communicated to us that we should have firm faith in God for without faith we cannot please Him.
PRAYER
Lord our Father; Your thoughts are not our thoughts nor Your way our way, we proclaim Your name on high. With a sling & stone David defeated the Philistine warrior, we believe that by Your mighty power You have already answered our prayers & empowered us out of any difficult situations in our lives, families & nation for the glory of Your name. We thank You Father, the rock of our salvation for Your everlasting love for us & for always helping us when we call on You. All glory, honor, power, victory & strength belong to You Lord, now & forever. Amen
Psalm 55:16-18
As for me, I will call upon God, And the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice. He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, For there were many against me.
INSIGHT
-David reveals his prayer pattern; three times a day, probably according to the Jewish norm. He exposes to us that prayer & faith are inseparable echoing the words of Jesus according to Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them”. On the same breath; we realise that battles are won in prayer. Therefore, we should not grow weary of prayer for God will never grow weary of listening to us & He will surely save & sustain us.
PRAYER
We call on You today Lord our Savior with humility in our hearts, hear us Father. Many are the times we have fallen short of Your glory, forgive us Lord. We are faced by multiple challenges & needs Jesus; hear our cry. You have told us that whoever calls on Your name Lord shall be saved, save us Jesus from every burden we are faced with & provide for all our needs Lord. Heal us Oh Lord & save us Father, for You are the one we praise. Amen
Revelation 16:14-16
For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.” And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
INSIGHT
-The spirit of demons will perform many signs to deceive those on the earth probably the same signs the beast will perform & seduce many to make idols of him as evidenced in Rev 13:13-14. In the battle of Armageddon; the beast, kings of the earth & their armies will be defeated by Christ & His army. The deceiver, his agents & those who will be deceived will be cast alive into the lake of fire (Rev 19:19-20). Paul reveals to us that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments & every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ & being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled (2 Cor 10:4-6). It is evident that we fight spiritual battles which we ought to win when we remain watchful & obedient to Christ Who is the Word. By His works of mercy & grace on the cross, we will be clothed with the robe of righteousness & the garment of salvation that remain covered from the nakedness occasioned by Adam; in His grace until the end of time.
PRAYER
We humbly beseech You Lord our Father to have mercy on us & on the whole world. Wash us from all unrighteousness & make us whiter than snow. Create in us clean hearts Lord, hearts of flesh that we may always be obedient to Your word. Cover us Lord with Your blood & protect us from all evil; Jesus. Do not cast us away from Your presence Father & take not Your Holy Spirit from us. Restore unto us the joy of Your salvation & uphold us by Your generous Spirit; that Your grace may always remain within us. Amen
Mark 5:25-29
“Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.”
INSIGHT
-The woman with the issue of blood battled with this disease for 12 years. In the struggle to survive, she visited many doctors, spent all her money & most likely lost hope. When she heard that Jesus was passing by on His way to heal Jairus daughter, her hopes we resuscitated & trusted that by only touching the hem of His garment; she would get well. Many people are battling with diseases like cancer, diabetes, arthritis, ulcers, stress etc & other challenges in life. God is calling us to cast all our burdens unto Him with faith that we may touch the hem of His garment & be made whole.
SUMMARY
-Battle in Hebrew is written as milchamah & it means war, conflict or encounter. It can be defined as a contest between two or more parties or a struggle to survive or conquer.
-In the battle between kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, Bela & king Chedorlaomer, Tidal, Amraphel & Arioch, Lot, his family & many other people were captured (Gen 14:8-9). God used a certain man who had fled the captivity to notify Abraham of the invasion. With 318 trained troops, Abraham pursed the oppressors & by Gods’ grace he was able to save Lot, the other captives & brought back all the stolen goods. David also saw the hand of God in his encounter with Goliath. From inception he knew that the battle was not his; but the Lords’. Despite being very young, having no experience in military war, no fighting attire & no sword, he had great faith that God would deliver the Israelites from the Philistines (1 Sam 17:47). This incident confirmed to Israelites & to us that; God is not limited to anything & reaffirms our faith for without faith; we cannot please Him. David maintained the same faith even when he became king. He reveals to us his prayer pattern; three times a day in Psalm 55:16-18, when he prayed for redemption from his enemies. His prayerfulness & faith are echoed in the words of Jesus according to Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, & you will have them”. We therefore realise that battles are won in prayer thus we should not grow weary of prayer for God will never grow weary of listening to us & He will surely save & sustain us. More often than not we fight spiritual battles by the temptations we face; that the obedience of God may be fulfilled (2 Cor 10:4-6). This is echoed in Revelation 16:14-16, on the great day of God Almighty in the battle of Armageddon where Christ will defeat the beast & his troops, & many will be gathered for judgement. Christ calls us to watch in prayer lest we are found in the nakedness of Adam when He comes again. May His mercy & grace cover us so that whatever battles we fight either in form of disease, business failure, work related challenges, marriage issues, problems in school, financial challenges, issues in the family, unemployment, unmarriedness, national quagmires, lack of faith, love & wisdom etc., may be resolved, that we may remain steadfast until victory is achieved.
PRAYER
We thank You Father for taking good care of us throughout the week & the peace that we continue to enjoy. We give You all the honor & praise Lord. We are faced by many battles in our lives, families, neighborhoods & nations, & humbly ask that You make all the crooked paths straight; Lord. We believe that nothing is impossible with You & call on You for help Jesus. Heal all the sick in hospital, & cover our spiritual, psychological, mental & physical wounds Lord & secure us by the powerful covering of Your precious blood. Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ & the love of God, & the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now & forever more. Amen