OTHER STRATEGIES FOR BATTLE We now turn our attention to four other effective strategies in spiritual warfare: Fasting, weeping, laughter, and shouts of joy. Experienced intercessors readily attest to the value of all four. Depending on what God wants to accomplish through us during that particular time of intercession, the Holy Spirit can guide us as to when to use each specific tool. FASTING; Abstaining from food is a physical act, but one which has spiritual significance as well. Coupled with prayer, it can be a powerful weapon in spiritual warfare. Once when the disciples could not cure a child suffering from seizures, Jesus told them it was due to their unbelief. Then he added, ... this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21 NKJV). Jesus himself fasted prior to momentous events in his ministry. He made it clear he expected his followers to fast as well: When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you (Matthew 6:16-18). Johns disciples chided Jesus because his disciples did not fast. He replied that as long as the bridegroom was with them, they need not fast. But when Jesus was taken away, then his followers would fast (see Matthew 9:14-15). That certainly includes us today. We see many other examples of fasting in the Bible: David 2 Samuel 12:16; Psalm 109:24 Nehemiah Nehemiah 1:4 Esther Esther 4:16 Daniel Daniel 9:3 Johns disciples Matthew 9:14-15 Anna Luke 2:37 Cornelius Acts 13:2 Paul 2 Corinthians 11:27 WHY FAST? SCRIPTURE ANSWER; Is not this the kind of fasting I [God] have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? (Isaiah 58:6) In addition to setting free the oppressed, fasting and power can also yield direction and answer from God, strategy for warfare, new revelation of Scripture, a closer walk with the Lord, a humbling of self, healing, and deliverance from evil spirits. We must not think of fasting as a hunger strike designed to force Gods hand and get our own way! Prayer, however, is more complex than simply asking a loving father to supply his childs needs. Prayer is warfare. Prayer is wrestling. There are opposing forces. There are spiritual cross currents. ... The man who prays with fasting is giving heaven notice that he is truly in earnest; that he will not give up nor let God go without the blessing. When you fast, be sure to pray and read Scripture. Allow time for God to speak to you, either through the Word, or by the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit whispering in your heart. If for health reasons you cannot go on an extended fast, you can try a modified fast. Or you can give up a favorite food as an act of denying yourself during a specific period set aside for prayer. Start with one-day to three-day fasts before attempting a prolonged period, and drink lots of water or diluted clear juices while fasting. The motive of the heart behind the fasting is more important than the length of the fast. The important thing is openness and obedience to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Expect opposition from Satan when you enter a fast. He attacked Jesus in the wilderness and tempted him to turn stones into bread after his forty days without food. Ask God for strength to overcome attacks of weakness, exaggerated hunger pangs, nausea, or headaches. Just as Jesus answered the tempter by quoting the Word of God, so can we. ... Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). A COLLECTIVE FAST; Once when the people of Judah were suffering under Gods judgment for disobedience, he told Joel to call the people to fasting and repentance: Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord. (Joel 1:14) Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God. Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. (Joel 2:12-15) I [the Lord] will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten.... You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. (Joel 2:25a, 26) The prophet Daniel recorded his experience with fasting: So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. .... While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord... Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. He instructed me and said to me, Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. (Daniel 9:3, 20-22) A PRAYER FOR FASTING; Lord, help me heed your call to fast and pray and seek your direction. I know fasting can accomplish much in me as well as in the situation or people for whom Im interceding. I need your direction for how long to fast and your strength to do it. My spirit is willing but my body often frail. Give me your wisdom, Lord, and help me to glorify you through my fasting. In Jesus Christ Mighty name, Amen Amen Amen... WEEPING; God promises: Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him. (Psalm 126:5-6) Tears in Scripture play a unique role in spiritual breakthrough. Here we discover that the planting of seeds accompanied by a spirit of brokenness will not only bring a spiritual harvest of results, but will leave the sower with a spirit of rejoicing in the process. This passage, along with numerous others in Scripture regarding a spirit of brokenness, pictures a variety of purposes and functions related to what might be termed the ministry of tears, We defined as liquid prayer. We goes on to mention six different types of tears: 1. Tears of sorrow or suffering (2 Kings 20:5) 2. Tears of joy (Genesis 33:4) 3. Tears of compassion (John 11:35) 4. Tears of desperation (Esther 4:1, 3) 5. Tears of travail (Isaiah 42:14) 6. Tears of repentance (Joel 2:12, 13) In our quiet times with the Lord, we may find ourselves weeping or in travail as we pray. Our weeping could be due to any of the above reasons. The psalmist David once prayed: Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll-- are they not in your record? Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help. By this I will know that God is for me. (Psalm 56:8-9) SCRIPTURES ON WEEPING; This is what the Lord Almighty says: Consider now! Call for the wailing women to come; send for the most skillful of them. Let them come quickly and wail over us till our eyes overflow with tears and water streams from our eyelids. The sound of wailing is heard from Zion. (Jeremiah 9:17-19) Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed. (Psalm 119:136) ... The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 25:8) Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people. (Jeremiah 9:1) But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly, overflowing with tears, because the Lords flock will be taken captive. (Jeremiah 13:17) This is what the Lord says: Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded, declares the Lord. They will return from the land of the enemy. (Jeremiah 31:16) This is why I weep and my eyes overflow with tears. No one is near to comport me, no one to restore my spirit. My children are destitute Because the enemy has prevailed. (Lamentations 1:16) Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the temple porch and the altar. Let them say, Spare your people, O Lord. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, Where is their God? (Joel 2:17) Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. (Matthew 5:4) Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. (Romans 12:15) For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you. (2 Corinthians 2:4) ... I am happy... because your sorrow led you to repentance... Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. (2 Corinthians 7:9-10) During the days of Jesus life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. (Hebrews 5:7) Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your jot to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (James 4:8-10) Then one of the elders said to me, Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals. (Revelation 5:5) A PRAYER FOR WEEPING; Lord, you see my tears as I identify with the hurting, lost ones for whom I intercede. Please give me a heart of compassion. Help me to be able to pray with discernment and wisdom for the ones you put on my heart. Receive my tears as intercession for their deepest needs. In Jesus Christ Mighty name, Amen Amen Amen... LAUGHTER; Laughter may seem a strange warfare strategy. When we can laugh in spite of what the enemy is trying to put upon us, we’ll quickly put him to flight. Most of the biblical references to laughter mean “to mock, to make sport, to deride, to laugh, to scorn”-a very appropriate stance toward Satan. When a powerful king of Assyria threatened to conquer all the land of Judah, King Hezekiah prayed for deliverance and asked God to vindicate his name. The Lord responded through the prophet Isaiah with this word: “This is the word that the Lord has spoken against him [the king of Assyria]: “The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises you and mocks you. The Daughter of Jerusalem tosses her head as you flee. Who is it you have insulted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!’” (2 Kings 19:21-22) The Holy Spirit may direct spiritual warriors to laugh in scorn at the devil’s plan. An African proverb says, “When a mouse laughs at a cat, there must be a hole nearby.” The enemy mat seem bigger and stronger than we are, but we can rely on God’s almighty power to deliver us. Bible teacher Gwen Shaw comments, “If we are to allow God to laugh, then he must laugh through us, just as he speaks through us.” “God named Abraham’s son Isaac, which means laughter,” a pastor notes, “and the Bible often refers to Jehovah as the God of Isaac (laughter). When Abraham first heard the promise that he’d have a son though he was a hundred years old, he fell down laughing [Genesis 17:17]. Not just a chuckle. It was Holy Spirit ‘belly laughter.’” Sarah also laughed to herself at she thought, “After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?” (Genesis 18:12). “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me” (Genesis 21:6). SCRIPTURES ON SCORNFUL LAUGHTER; The one enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. (Psalm 2:4) The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming. (Psalm 37:12-13) The righteous will see and fear; they will laugh at him, saying, “Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others!” (Psalm 52:6-7) See what they [wicked nations] spew from their mouths-- they spew out swords from their lips, and they say, “Who can hear us?” But you, O Lord, laugh at them; you scoff at all those nations. (Psalm 59:7-8) JOYFUL LAUGHTER; Still other definitions of laughter include: “a mark of gratification” and “joy restored.” Paul wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). Examples of women in the Bible who rejoice are Miriam (Exodus 15:20-21), Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1-10), and Mary (Luke 1:46-55). He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. Your enemies will be clothed in shame, and the tents of the wicked will be no more. (Job 8:21-22) A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. (Proverbs 17:22) There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: ... a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance... (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4) Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. (Luke 6:21) SHOUTS OF JOY; A shout can be anything from an acclamation of joy to a battle cry. It can be a crying noise, a crashing sound, loud clamor, a cry of excitement. Jesus himself will return with a shout or a word of command (see Thessalonians 4:16). SCRIPTURES ON SHOUTING; The walls of Jericho collapsed when the Israelites marched around them seven times in one day, then shouted at Joshua’s command: “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city!” (see Joshua 6:16). And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away. (Nehemiah 12:43) We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all your requests. (Psalm 20:5) Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord. (Psalm 27:6) You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.... (Psalm 30:11) Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. (Psalm 33:3) Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. (Psalm 95:1) With trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn-- shout for joy before the Lord, the King. (Psalm 98:6) He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy.... (Psalm 105:43) Shout of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!” (Psalm 118:15) Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” (Psalm 126:2) They raise their voice, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the Lord’s majesty. (Isaiah 24:14) PRAYER FOR LAUGHTER; Lord, thank you for the gift of laughter. Thank you that even you laugh. Show us when to laugh at the enemy in our warfare as you bring deliverance through your mighty hand and outstretched arm. Thank you for the times when we can shout for joy and take spoils from the enemy. We praise you in Jesus Christ’ Mighty name. Amen Amen Amen...
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 12:37:11 +0000
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