SPIRITUAL WARFARE

Jesus walked in the ministry of reconciliation; He constantly prayed to the Father. He understood that the excellency of the power is of God. His testimony was, “I do nothing of myself;” (St. John 8:28). He never even considered going forth without the instructions and blessings of the Father. This same ministry of reconciliation has been given to the Sons along with the weapons of warfare. It is obvious that you are called to do battle with the enemy for the souls of others. It is your encounter with man that initiates the battle. Your intercession is the first line of offense against the enemy. Your trip to the throne of grace on behalf of those who are lost, ignorant and out of the way begins your battle for souls. Intercession is a solicitation of the power of God to be used for the saving of the lives of others. It is here that the Father evaluates the petition as well as the presenter of such. If He regards iniquity in your heart then the petition never reaches the ears of the Father. It is impossible to successfully pray for the soul of one and hold iniquity in your heart against another. Those who work in the vineyard must be one with the Father. In Him are neither schisms nor shadows of turning. God is love and light, in Him is no darkness at all. The true intercessor must be able to testify of the same. The Lord has given us this wisdom and power over Satan and his demons so that no flesh should glory in his presence (1 Corinthians 1:29).

The time has come and all the variables are in place, we have entered a season when the Sons of God will take hold of that which God has freely given to us. They will know the truth and walk in the freedom that truth brings. We must be prepared to contend for the faith whatever the cost, including the sacrifice of our very lives, for to lose our lives is great gain. Those things we have seen and heard of God must be the motivation for our existence. The Lord has spoken relative to the Sons of God entering the domain of Satan and doing battle with him. You need to understand your part in spiritual warfare. It is erroneous to think that we are roaming around in the spirit world doing battle with the forces of evil as some cosmic warriors. This is not the scene at all. There is no biblical account of any man or woman who had been anointed by God in the earth realm entering the spirit world and doing physical battle with the enemy other than the Lord Jesus Christ. All such battles or encounters with spiritual beings must be according to the power of His name.

PRAYER:

Prayer provokes spiritual warfare in the heavens. When the cry of the godly is heard in the heavens at the throne of grace, the ministering spirits are dispatched by God to respond to the petitions made by the righteous. The powers of darkness then mobilize themselves to hinder the answer or response. We war in the heavens and the manifestation of that warfare is seen in the earth, specifically in ministry and the answer to prayer. Up to this point, the Son of God has done nothing more than talk to the Father on the behalf of lost or feeble-minded souls. This is intercession. In spite of all the drama and theatrics some offer as “doing battle in the spirit world,” the battle for the Son is in his prayer closet. It is not in the spirit world with principalities and powers. Instead it is praying in the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God. You must talk to the Father. Jesus never taught us to shut away and talk to spirits or demons or even Satan for that matter. The Sons are to beseech the Father for the needs of the lost.

1 John 5:16

If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death.

THE CONFRONTATION:

Though you are commanded to work the ministry of reconciliation, the enemy will often challenge your spiritual location with what he thinks will be a temptation to you. Here is where you confront the devil for your own soul salvation and peace. That confrontation however is one of obedience to the Word of God. It is the greatest weapon against the tempter. Obey God and reverence His Word. Hold the Word dear and allow it to remain in your heart. Remember the heart is the target of the enemy; he wants to pervert your desires and steal the joy you find in serving the Lord. Once you have conquered and secured your own soul then you are ready to start a war to deliver others. The place of confrontation is another issue. Though Satan and his principalities reside in the heavenlies, our confrontation with them is in the earth realm. The earth is the domain of men and the heavens are the domain of the angelic host. They are the watchers over the Word of God, as well as the ministering spirits for the Sons of God. They are protectors of the Word. Therefore, when the prophetic voice of the Son is uttered in the heavens (in prayer to the Father in the name and character of Jesus Christ), it is the responsibility of the angels of the Lord to see to it that their word reaches the throne of grace. It is also their responsibility to bring forth the answer from the throne to the earth. They are the physical warriors of the heavens. It is our word however that initiates the war. Successful prayer is manifested in our daily spiritual walk and our encounter with the powers of the darkness of this world. When the scripture declares that we wrestle with principalities and powers and the rulers of darkness, the location of those forces are in the earth realm. In other words, though they are spiritual beings, they are manifested in people, situations and relationships. This is where you will have to confront the enemy. It is even rare that he will show up in your prayer closet. This is not to say that spirits will never attack our personage. My inference here is that you will come face to face with these powers as you attempt to witness, preach the Gospel, heal the sick or rebuke and cast out demons. It is here that the prayers prayed in secret are rewarded openly. St.

Matthew 6:6

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

The point I want to make here, is that we are not in the prayer closet wrestling with spirits. Our responsibility in spiritual warfare is not to be in a physical battle with the devil in the heavens, but to reside and pray in the Spirit of God. We will confront the devil in situations and relationships here on earth as we attempt to bring deliverance in the lives of others. Once we leave the prayer closet we have the confidence that the Lord is working with us in any confrontation or encounter with the enemy. It is not only in the battle for souls that the enemy rages. Often he challenges us in relationships where we must be careful to maintain a spiritual posture or we too will be cut down as wheat. When demonic forces exalt themselves above the knowledge of God, or when they seek to hold men and women captive, we are moved to take the offensive. We are the appointed deliverers of the people. We are the symbols of their hope. If we are to deliver those who cannot help themselves, then we must be ready to enter the devil’s headquarters, the hearts or souls of men. This is the prize. We are endeavoring to turn the hearts of men back to God the Father and Creator of us all. Here is where we confront the devil in the heart, the seat of man’s emotions. If we are successful at capturing the heart for righteousness sake, then the Lord will show up in the Holy of Holies, the spirit of man.

The attitude of the Sons must be that of humility relative to power. It is not the braggadocios, “Satan is under my feet,” or I step on your head devil.” Neither is it the loud preachy sounding proclamations that have come to be called fervent prayer. These are merely the blowing of hot air, which causes prayer to become a three-ring circus in which the people of God are cast in center stage for the amusement of principalities and powers. Satan and his angels know that the power to overcome and overthrow him lies with God through His Christ. It is that Christ whom he fears. Therefore, when the Sons yell and scream at him in arrogance and pride, laughter fills his halls. Even the archangel Michael did not raise a wailing accusation against him, but simply said, “The Lord rebuke thee Satan.” The point here is that our journey in the heavens should take us to the throne of grace. It is there that we will receive help in our times of need. We are sent to work in the hearts of the people who are of God as well as those who have not yet come to know Him. (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (I 1 Corinthians 10:4-5). These are not strongholds in the heavens, nor are they the imaginations of principalities that we cast down. But it is the imagination in the hearts of men that is the target. It is the unrighteous thoughts of men that oppose God and are brought into captivity. The preaching of the Gospel, prayer in the name of Jesus and the anointing of the Holy Ghost are the weapons of our warfare. We confront the enemy when he is present in the hearts and minds of men. It is there that the war in the heavens is manifested on the earth. Once the battle is won in the heavens or the will of God is determined concerning a matter, then the rebuke of the enemy is merely a reiterating of the victory acquired at the throne. We must remember theses words:

St.John 14:12-14

12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

St. John 14:12-14 sets the boundaries for the activities of the Sons in the earth realm. “The works that I do.” As we continue in the testimony of our Master, we find that these works were specified. St.

Luke 4:18-19

18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

The preaching of the Gospel and the healing of the body, soul and spirit are the works Jesus did on earth. These are the works given to the Sons of God in this age to perform here on earth. These works will be accomplished in the same way they were done by Christ through obedience and love of the Father. Our relationship with Jesus and the Father must be one of love and fellowship. This communion can only be obtained by strict obedience to the commandments He has given us. We must love Him with all our heart and soul, and love our fellowman as ourselves. There is no other criterion for servitude in the Kingdom or victory of any sought over the powers of the enemy in our lives or in the lives of others.

St. John 16:23-27

23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.

26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: 27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.

This is the time of understanding and the setting of things in their proper perspective. Prayer is no exception; we must know our place in the spirit world. Jesus prayed constantly but His prayer was always directed to the Father. It was the Father who dispatched the angels to become ministering spirits on His behalf. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? (St. Matthew 26:53).

Notice the sequence here; I will pray to my Father and he shall send angels to help. This is the place of the Son in spiritual warfare, he talks to the Father and the Father determines the movement of the angelic host. When we pray for the saints of God or when we counsel or speak into the life of a saint, we are not dealing as a foreigner in their life. We are all of the selfsame spirit therefore it is meet for us to be able to speak to that part that is lacking and bring it to strength and power to fight the onslaught of the enemy. The exception to this is when you are dealing with a Son who is in rebellion. The rebellious build a deliberate wall around their heart and resist all forms of godliness that threaten the destruction of that wall of offense or defense. The bible describes rebellion as the sin of witchcraft. The reason the rebellious are judged so harshly is because they have known the truth and have been a partaker of the Holy Ghost and the righteousness of God. Yet they prefer sin and the darkness of this world. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry (1 Samuel 15:23). The rebellious will give themselves over to the will of Satan in their lives. They come to despise truth as it threatens their wants and ambitions. The next question is, “Is this person irretrievable?” My response to that is, never cease to pray for a member of the Body unless instructed to do so by the Spirit of God. Love does not give up! To contend simply means to fight. We are commanded to fight for the faith. The faith we have received is that of Jesus Christ. It is the measure of faith that has been and will be given to all those who believe and receive Him. It is that faith that we are instructed to secure in the earth. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, Mary Banks Apostle of the Lord