1 Timothy 4:1-3 NKJV
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.”
INSIGHT
-Warfare in Greek is written as strateia which means to go into battle. In the recent times, we have witnessed the horrors of shakahola massacre in dismay wondering what went wrong, for how long, and what was the motive. More than 200 lives have been claimed so far through the gnostic heresies and deceptive doctrine, and many more are missing. The above scriptures clearly demonstrate the spiritual battles evidenced in shakahola and the deception that is a reality today. Many have departed from the faith and have gone astray wondering into the doctrine of demons. Some cultic leaders have seared conscience, desensitized to moral pangs like a numb animal hide, brandished with hot iron. They deceive their followers to fast to dead lying that they will be received by Jesus. Others claim to be Jesus and their congregants accept this doctrine as gospel truth. Some ask their followers to depart from their marriages for they married the wrong person(s). In other cases, they forbid marriages. These demonic teachings are geared towards leading people astray, and away from the truth. Unfortunately, many people do not read the Bible for themselves and the pastors, teachers, bishops, and priests select scriptures that only pass a favorable message to themselves and their religion, which might not be the whole truth. Hosea 4:6 says that, my people perish because of lack of knowledge. We are called to read the entire Bible by ourselves so that we may not be tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting (Ephesians 4:14). The word of God is our spiritual ammunition that dismantles every demonic heresies that are not from God and of God. Ephesians 6:17 rightfully calls the word of God, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is our effective spiritual weapon.
PRAYER
There is none like You, O Lord; You are great, and great is Your name in might. Great are You Oh Lord and greatly to be praised. You are to be feared above all gods. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, power, glory, victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth. Yours is the dominion and You exalt Yourself as head over all. Dear Lord Jesus You have called us into one body, one Spirit, one hope of our calling, having one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all. We give You thanks dear Jesus for You have made known to us Your truth and You have set us free. Thank You for Your mercy and grace upon us and our loved ones. It is not because we are better than those who have perished in shakahola but it is because of Your mercy and grace. We humble ourselves before You Lord. Thank You for protecting us and preserving us. May You heal the hearts of those who have lost their loved ones and grant them peace. The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple, may You grant us the grace to read the entire Bible, to understand it and to put it into practice. We pray this believing and trusting in Jesus mighty name. Amen
Further reading: Acts 20:29-30
2 Chronicles 20:22-23 NKJV
“Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.”
INSIGHT
-When king Jehoshaphat heard of a looming invasion by the armies of Moab and Mount Seir, and his heart sunk. He then proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. They fasted and prayed knowing that they could not defeat their enemies by their own strength. King Jehoshaphat trusted in God and worshipped, and the Lord won the battle for them. Many people are discouraged, depressed, downtrodden, divorced, defeated, abused and are faced by other diverse challenges. Some people have lost finances, spouses, marriages and relationships, education opportunities, etc. Many people don’t know or utilize the secret of victory and they fight canally. Ephesians 6:12 tells us that, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” When we fight our battles in the spirit and trust God and His mighty power, our victory manifests in the physical realm. We are reminded that the just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17). Let us always trust in God and worship Him, even when we are faced by challenges as the Bible commands us, and we shall always win our battles in Christ Jesus.
PRAYER
We give You glory Lord and honor You, for You are wonderful and excellent. You deserve all our worship and praise. We praise You Jehovah, for You are Great and greatly to be praised, and tell of Your wonderful deeds. We worship You Lord with gladness; and come before You with joyful songs. We humbly ask You Lord to forgive us our trespasses and wash us with Your precious blood. We humbly beseech You Lord to fight our battles and grant us victory in all our shortcomings. May You hear our prayers Lord and answer our hearts desires. May Your grace abound in us dear Jesus and shield us from the snares of the evil one. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forever more. Amen
Further reading: Hebrews 10:38, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Matthew 17:18-20 NIV
“Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
INSIGHT
-A certain boy suffered from epilepsy and his father brought him to Jesus. The boy experienced seizures that resulted from demon possession and caused him injuries for he often fell in the fire and water. As a parent, I am sure his dad wished the boy would be better at the soonest possible time. His father sort for the intervention of Jesus’ disciples, who could not heal him. Jesus rebuked the demon and it came out of the boy and he was healed at that moment. Jesus explains that the disciples could not heal the boy because of unbelief. Without faith we cannot please God, but with faith as little as a mustard seed, we can move mountains and effectively fight every spiritual battle. Ephesians 6:16 reminds us that when we put on the shield of faith which is our spiritual ammunition, that quenches all the fiery darts of the wicked one, by the grace of God.
PRAYER
If we have faith as little as a mustard seed we can move mountains, may You increase our faith precious Holy Spirit. May You cure our unbelief. May You heal us from all sicknesses and wounds that cause us immediate or deferred pain. May You heal all those who are sick in hospitals and home. May You deliver all those who are demon possessed by Your precious blood dear Jesus for by Your stripes we are healed. You have given us authority to trample over snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the powers of the enemy, and nothing shall harm us, thank You dear Jesus. May You use us for the work that You have called us. May You grant us the gift of healing and prophecy that we may manifest Your heal power as You have called us for the glory and honor of Your name. Amen
Further reading: Galatians 3:6-9, Matthew 10:1
Luke 5:16 NKJV
“So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.”
INSIGHT
-Jesus often isolated Himself and went to a solitary place to pray. He made it His lifestyle to pray. We see in Luke 6:12 that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. He tarried all night in prayer and operated in great power. Even if He is God, He needed to pray. How much more do we need to pray and access the power of the Holy Spirit. Prayer is a powerful weapon against spiritual warfare. We find in Mark 1:35-39, that Jesus woke up early before daylight and went out to a solitary place to pray. He then preached throughout the city of Galilee and casting out demons. Prayer is a powerful weapon against the snares of the enemy. Jesus told His disciples to watch and pray that they may not fall into temptations (Matthew 26:41). We have been commanded to pray without ceasing for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.
PRAYER
Dear Holy Spirit we love You, may You help us to pray effectively to You. May You teach us how to pray and help us to tarry longer in prayer. May You hear our prayers and answer us accordingly to Your will, and according to Your divine promises upon us. We need Your presence and power always in our lives. May You grant us the gift of speaking in tongues and interpretation of other tongues. May You cure our spiritual slackness and teach us to be more diligent in fellowship with You. May You fight all our battles for us and empower us to seek You more fervently. We love You Lord and honor You, and it is in Jesus name we pray trusting and believing, Amen. Our Father who art in heaven; hallowed be Your name; Your Kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptations but deliver us from evil; for thine is the Kingdom the power and the glory; forever and ever. Amen
Further reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Matthew 6:5-13
Mark 3:11 NIV
“Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”
INSIGHT
-The above scripture exposes our minds to the spiritual world as we realize that demons can see and recognize people. They were able to identify Jesus as the Son of God. An evil spirit in Acts 19:14-15 expressly stated that he knew Jesus and Paul, but he did not know the sons of Sceva who were going about doing ministry work. So they were overpowered and beaten up, and they ran away. James 2:19 says, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” In spiritual warfare, we have to realize that Jesus disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Colossians 2:15). We then have weapons of power in the Name of Jesus, and His precious blood, which cover us from all demonic operations and evil activities.
SUMMARY
As children of God we know that we have an enemy, an adversary who comes to kill, steal and destroy. But we are safe as long as we have God on our side we need to put our trust in Him. He will preserve us, He will preserve our souls, He will protect us from all evil, He will provide for us and keep us at rest. We have a personal responsibility to be alert and discern the schemes of the devil. He steals our attention from God. We soon loose our personal relationship with God and go stray. You need to ask yourself, what is taking up your time ? who is taking up your time? Do an audit of your time, behavior and conduct. Put on the full armor of God and stand ready to fight spiritual battles. Ephesians 6:12-18 reminds us that we do not wage war against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore we need to put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, we may be able to stand our ground. To stand with the belt of truth buckled around our waists, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with our feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, we need to take up the shield of faith, with which we can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. To pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests, and alert always keeping on praying for all the Lord’s people.
PRAYER
Jesus You are our God and none can be compared to You. You are the Son of God, our Lord and Savior. At Your name Jesus every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ You are Lord, to the glory of God the Father. In Your name Jesus we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Protect us always Lord for every demonic agenda against us, our children, families and nation for the glory and honor of Your name. May Your revival come to pass at the appointed time. May You bless our leaders and guide them in Your wisdom. May You bless us and keep us. May You make Your face to shine towards us and be gracious unto us. May You turn Your countenance towards us and give us peace. Amen
Further reading: 2 Corinthians 10:3–6, 1 Thessalonians 5:6–9