Tag Archives: Spiritual warfare

In the recent spiritual and sexual abuse scandals, could the church leaders have avoided moral failure by undergoing deliverance? (Part 2)

In the early months of 2020, I learned that one of my heroes of the faith, Ravi Zacharias, was suffering from a rare cancer – sarcoma. The article asked for prayers for him because without divine intervention, he was only expected to live a couple of weeks.

I prayed for Zacharias and even tried to negotiate with God. “Lord, I am willing to take Ravi’s sickness in my body so that he can be healed and live to touch millions more people.”

My negotiations and prayers were not heeded because Ravi Zacharias died on May 19, 2020. He was seventy-four years old when he died which was my age also. (I was born in February and he was born in March.)

A few months later, I was shocked to learn that Zacharias was not the man of God I thought he was.

******

Ravi Zacharias was born on March 26, 1946, in Madras, India. He grew up in the Delhi area and was fluent in both English and Hindi.

His parents were Anglican, but he remained a skeptic until a failed suicided attempt landed him in the hospital when he was seventeen years old. A Christian worker brought him a Bible and asked his mother to read John Chapter 14 to Ravi. 

“Because I live, you will live also” were the words that sliced through Ravi’s skepticism. Ravi committed his life to Christ and prayed, “Jesus if you are the One who gives life as it is meant to be, I want it. Please get me out of this hospital bed well, and I promise I will leave no stone unturned in my pursuit of truth.”

Soon after, Ravi and his parents emigrated to Toronto, Canada, where he received his undergraduate degree from Ontario Bible College (now Tyndale University) in 1972. He furthered his education with a Masters of Divinity from Trinity International University and also studied in Cambridge, England, at a Church of England theological school.

Ravi first evangelized U. S. soldiers and Viet Cong prisoners in Vietnam and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. Then, he packed his bags and traveled the globe. In August, 1984, he founded Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) in Toronto, with his goal to be a “classical evangelist in the arena of the intellectually resistant.” The ministry was later moved to the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia.

As an apologist for Christianity, Ravi argued that a coherent worldview must be able to satisfactorily answer four questions: that of origin, meaning of life, morality and destiny. He said that while every major religion makes exclusive claims about truth, the Christian faith is unique in its ability to answer all four of these questions.

Ravi wrote more than thirty books and hosted two radio programs, all while traveling the world to fulfill his calling. He touched millions of people through his ministry, including mine.

Vice President Mike Pence called Ravi “the greatest apologist of this century” at his funeral which was watched live by 1.2 million people. Tim Tebow and other luminaries spoke of their admiration for Ravi. Whitehouse spokesman, Kayleigh McEnany, summed up what many felt about Ravi: “He made us feel that we didn’t need to check our brains at the door to be a 
Christian.”

And yet, he had a secret life which exploded onto the public scene only weeks after his death.

(Continued in Part 3)

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In the recent spiritual and sexual abuse scandals, could the church leaders have avoided moral failure by undergoing deliverance?

Have you ever had a demon throw you across a room?

Maybe your first thought was one of deep skepticism at my question, believing this types of demonic activities do not happen in America. Yes, it may occur in Nigeria where witch doctors are prevalent, but certainly not in America, right?

If these activities are in the Bible, they can happen anywhere, even here in America.

They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” (Mark 9:20-22).

In the early 1990’s, I spent three to four hours each day in prayer, an hour or more per day in Bible study and reading and two days per week fasting. You would think if anyone should have been free of problems with demons, it would have been me, right?

Let’s stop here and settle something: can Christians be demon possessed?

We humans resemble the Trinity in that we are also three-part beings. Our three parts consist of body, soul and spirit. Jesus moves into our spirit at salvation and reigns there forever and ever. He becomes our treasure in earthen vessel and we proclaim, “We’re saved.”

Our souls − mind, will and emotions − have to be renewed to agree with Jesus and His teachings while our bodies −lusts, desires, pleasures, appetites, etc. − have to be brought into subjection, much like slaves. Both our souls and bodies are continuing works, which we struggle with while we live here on earth.

To be demon possessed, a believer’s spirit would have to be inhabited by a demon. This cannot happen because our spirits are sealed by the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption. 

Therefore, Christians cannot be demon possessed, but they can certainly have demon problems with their minds, emotions, wills and bodies.

My particular demonic problem proved to be a deep-rooted one.

We are all born into a fallen world, which is filled with sin and governed by the creator of sin: Satan. Our physical makeup is determined by genetics and statistical probabilities, but our spiritual DNA is always based on one thing: sin.

Keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and fourth generation (Exodus 34:7).

The word iniquity means depravity and always carries within it the hatred of God and His ways.

Iniquity is not a voluntary disobedience to the commands of God, like sin and transgressions, but instead, it is a second nature sin. It is a demonic stronghold within the individual, which may have been passed on through one’s ancestors or the result of continued willful transgressions or the surrender of oneself to an evil ruling principality over a region.

The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin (Proverbs 5:22 ESV).

Ridding a person of iniquity is not as easy as it is for sins or transgressions because it may be intertwined with the person’s personality and attitudes. It requires acceptance of truth, God’s mercy, and the fear of the Lord to set an individual free. This normally depends on a deliverance move by the Spirit of God upon His creation.

My deep-rooted demonic problems were most likely caused by iniquity committed by my parents, grandparents or great grandparents. Do I have any clue about who may have committed it?

My grandmother was born in the mountains of Eastern Tennessee, but unlike my grandfather who was a staunch Southern Baptist, she never opened up to the gospel as a young woman. She instead enjoyed going to palm readers and learning about her future from them. Did she learn this from her parents? I do not know, but palm reading and understanding lifelines on hands are a part of mountain folklore, even today.

There shall not be found among you anyone who…tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer…For whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord… (Deuteronomy 18:10, 12).

The story ends well because my grandmother accepted Jesus as her Savior just days before dying at 81 years of age.

On that particular Sunday, I attended church from 10 a.m. to noon. A married couple approached me before I left.

“Larry, we’d like to pray for you,” said the wife.

“When?” I said.

“Is right now, okay?”

“No, I’m taking my daughter Susan out to lunch.”

“Can we do it later?”

“Sure.”

We agreed on a time for later that afternoon.

I gave no thought as to why the couple wanted to pray for me. We were close friends and these types of things often happened at our small church because many had strong prophetic gifts.

The couple waited for me in the apartment attached to the rear of the church when I arrived. The church’s pastor, her husband and another couple also waited there.

What have I done now? I thought. Oh well, I guess they’ll let me know.

“Do you remember Ellen?” said the wife.

“Yes the intercessor who prays five hours each day.”

“One of the prophetic words you spoke to her was wrong.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I’ll ask forgiveness of her.”

“No, that’s okay because your mistake caused her to spend time praying for you. She found some problems with you.”

With those words, I was thrown across the room. Everyone instantly began praying in tongues. The wife and her husband began commanding the demon to let loose of me. I rolled back and forth across the floor, out of control.

What was going through my mind during all this?

I hoped someone had enough spiritual power to set me free from this monster.

It ended after a few minutes. I stood up and hugged everyone.

“Do you feel better?” asked the wife.

“I don’t know…maybe,” I replied.

I noticed a big difference in the following days, which probably was not so obvious to others, but I felt freer in my spirit.

I eventually believed the Lord revealed it was a religious spirit, which had puppet-like strings attached to my soul −mind, will and emotions. The demon could pull on these at certain times, causing problems. The strings were so tightly woven around my personality I did not even notice them.

Here’s my take on this: hang around believers who pray, hear God’s voice, and have spiritual power and anointing. You need strong friends in spiritual warfare.

(Above excerpt from The Hunt for Larry Who by Larry Nevenhoven)

Continued in Part 2

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Let’s Fight Principalities and Powers Now (Part 4)

Spiritual warfare? How did it come about? And why?

Before the creation of man, God set up earth under an angelic form of spiritual government. The governing angels − or principalities − were located in the heavenly realms over earth, but still underneath God’s heaven, which Paul referred to as the third heaven. 

The head over this angelic government was God

We have no clue what Satan did at first when he and his horde of angels were cast out of God’s third heaven. My guess is that the Devil’s hatred for God and His works caused him to continuously seethe at how God had treated him unfairly. After all, the evil one felt he could have been just like God. 

Satan and his horde became a government in exile. They had no authority and no subjects to rule over.

Let’s fast forward to the first man: Adam.

God formed a new kingdom government on earth with His creation of man, giving dominion over all the earth to man, through Adam. God was the King, the King’s angelic spiritual government was set in place in the second heaven, and His flesh and blood ambassador on earth was Adam. 

All worked well until Adam sinned.

Adam’s act of treason overthrew God’s kingdom government on earth and also God’s angelic spiritual government. Satan became the god of this world and his demon hierarchy of angels took over the principality sites in the heavenlies. Man and creation were no longer connected to their King and under His direct reign and protection.

Also, because Adam forfeited his face-to-face position before God, Satan regained a position before God in which he accuses the saints day and night. 

Through Satan’s coup d’état and by default, Adam and all future subjects on earth, were placed under the reign and authority of Satan and his angelic government.

Spiritual warfare has been fought between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness since the Garden of Eden. The King desires to reclaim His subjects under His righteous reign while Satan hopes to continue his government of enslavement, depravity, and sin. The battles still rages today.

For us believers, we are dual subjects while we live on earth, in that, we are royal sons of the King, but still live in a world ruled by Satan. Our dual citizenship poses daily problems for us.

(Excerpt from Storming the Kingdom by Larry Nevenhoven, © 2014 by Larry Nevenhoven, Amazon eBook)

(Continued in Part 5)

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Let’s Fight Principalities and Powers Now (Part 3)

Let’s check out our spiritual adversary: Satan. Scripture gives us a little insight about the evil one and a few other conclusions can be drawn through biblical reasoning.

Satan was created as a covering cherub or a type of angel. Angels are spirits and not flesh and blood creatures like God created on day five and day six in Genesis. Therefore, Satan is a spirit.

Scripture doesn’t state when God actually created Satan, but I believe we can deduce that Satan and the other angels were created before the end of the fourth day or Genesis 1:16. (Maybe even as early as the first day.) Why?  Because His angels perform God’s word and the angels rejoiced when the foundations of the earth were laid. They may even have been the ones who helped to determine its dimensions.

God created Satan to be perfect in wisdom and beauty. But Satan’s pride corrupted his wisdom and caused him to rebel against God. 

When did Satan rebel against God?

Jesus stated that Satan was a murderer from the beginning, never stood in the truth, and was the father of lies. Thus, by deduction, I believe Satan must have rebelled soon after God created him along with the other angels. 

Where did all of Satan’s fellow demons come from? My answer will seem a little roundabout, but bear with me, okay?

Prophecies in Scripture may have an early and a later fulfillment to them. Usually, the early fulfillment is a partial one whereas the later one is a complete one.

For example, Jesus referred to John the Baptist as the “Elijah who is to come.” His words referred to the prophecy in Malachi 4:5. Yet, John did not fulfill all the words of the Malachi prophecy. We have to wait until the time just before Jesus returns to earth for the complete fulfillment.

Another example, Jesus answered the disciples’ questions about when things would happen by prophesying in Matthew 24: 4-31. The disciples would have thought Jesus was referring to the destruction of the Temple. Yet, when Roman soldiers destroyed the Temple in 70 A.D., not all of the scriptures were fulfilled. The complete fulfillment will occur during the tribulation.

And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So, the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Revelations 12:7-9)

If you read Revelations Chapter 11 and all of Chapter 12, the only conclusion you can reach is that this will happen during the tribulation. But I believe an early fulfillment of this prophecy happened when Satan and a third of God’s angels rebelled against God and were cast out of God’s third heaven. I believe these angels then became Satan’s demonic hierarchy in his kingdom of darkness.

One scripture that backs my theory was when Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” His words did not refer to the tribulation, but something He saw while He was in heaven, before His birth to Mary.

There are other scriptures, but this should give us a basic understanding about Satan and his demonic horde.

(Excerpt from Storming the Kingdom by Larry Nevenhoven, © 2014 by Larry Nevenhoven, Amazon eBook)

(Continued in Part 4)

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Let’s Fight Principalities and Powers Now (Part 2)

I watched various students crisscrossing the Campanile Esplanade on their way to classes. They looked normal, wearing typical college apparel. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. My spiritual eyes then kicked in, and what appeared normal in the natural realm was not so normal in the spiritual one.

Have you ever seen pictures of a flying dinosaur known as a pterodactyl? It has a long, slender head with a mouth of sharp teeth, scaly-like body, web-like wings, and talons for feet. This sort of resembles the creatures I saw, sitting on the shoulders of almost every student walking below me. Each creature was the size of a large crow and had wolf hair on its body and a slender rat’s tail. They constantly whispered into the ears of students while holding a wing over the students’ other ears. The creatures also defecated and vomited on the students so that each person dripped with slop and sewage. It was ghastly and I yearned to warn the students.

“Follow those two over there,” said the angel, pointing toward two guys.

I focused on the two students. They continued talking to each other as they walked into a free speech area where a street evangelist preached the gospel of the kingdom of God. Both stopped and listened. I watched the pterodactyl-like creatures use their beaks to snatch the seeds of the gospel out of the twosome’s hearts with swift surgeon-like precision. The two students walked away after a few minutes, none the better for their experiences.

I wanted to shout and warn everyone. Someone needed to do it. Why not me?

The angel touched my shoulder again with his hand. I turned toward him.

“Now, it’s time for your spiritual ears to be opened.”

He reached up and touched both of my ears with his hands.

Wouldn’t you think it would be quiet in the spiritual realm over the University of California, Berkeley? Well, it is not. There is constant clamor, reverberating throughout the whole atmosphere, most of which comes from the ruling principality. But what really shocked me was the demonic principality’s words mirrored the liberal attitudes on the campus, from the deans down to the professors, and then, to the students. The religious principality constantly spewed out proclamations like: 

“All white Americans are racists… All wars are immoral and wrong… Homosexuality is not a sin… Pro-choice is a woman’s right… Same-sex marriage is morally acceptable…Traditional Christianity is irrelevant, mean, hateful, judgmental, and dogmatic…Jesus never said anything about homosexuality…Jesus is the Way which is open to other ways, such as Hare Krishna, Buddha, and Mohammad…God is a God of love and not judgment… Satan and demons are fictional beings, thought up by fundamentalist nuts…The Bible contains no more authority than the Koran, Buddhist sutras, Veda, and other spiritual writings…Creating social justice is the main emphasis of the gospel…Global warming is a Christian stewardship concern…”

I stood there with my mouth open, drool running down my chin.

“Hey, many of these statements I agree with,” I muttered aloud, not realizing I had done so.

“And that’s why you are deceived.”

“Deceived? Me?”

“Yes, you and most liberal Christians who believe such garbage.”

“But, but –”

“Not only are you deceived, but your faith is dead when it agrees with Satan’s agenda. He’s always a liar, even when his words sound like truth. Your faith, in order to have life, must be based on what the Lord has stated in Scripture and is presently saying to His church.”

I kept quiet as his words ripped my theology apart.

He paused for a beat or two.

“Not only is this IOU collection day, but it is your deliverance day,” he said in an authoritative voice. “Your past deception, your dead faith, and your deliverance from all of it will give you an understanding of the spiritual battles taking place on America’s college campuses, beginning with the University of California, Berkeley.”

His eyes locked on mine.

“But how –” I stopped myself. How could I complain when I did not know what I was talking about?

The angel almost grinned.

“Now, you’re starting to learn.”

He pointed down again.

“Look.”

There just below us, was a student resembling a fluorescent light bulb walking across the esplanade. She lit up the whole area around her as she hurried on her way. Unlike the others, she did not have a creature sitting on her shoulder, but instead, one hovered around her head, trying to alight on her, but for some reason, the creature could not land. Deep frustration etched a gully in the creature’s face.

“Listen,” said the angel.

My ears adjusted themselves to only listening to the girl. Her footsteps and the movement of her arms came through loud and clear, but also something else.

“Dee, dee, bah, bah, hooka mah hundae,” she whispered over and over.

She spoke in tongues as she walked along.

“Your message to Christians on college campuses is very simple,” said the angel. “It’s the same one Paul gave to the believers in Ephesus when he said, ‘Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, with all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.” Then he added, “In case you have forgotten, these scriptures are located in Ephesians 6: 17-18.”

(Excerpt from Deceived Dead and Delivered by Larry Nevenhoven, © 2012 by Larry Nevenhoven, Amazon eBook)

(Continued in Part 3)

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Let’s Fight Principalities and Powers Now (Part 1)

The angel reached over and grabbed my left hand. We took off at the speed of light. I looked down as Albert disappeared quickly into a black dot and heard a faint “wolf” fall out of his mouth.

The dome of the San Francisco City Hall appeared directly ahead of us. It looked like we would crash into it. But before I could scream aloud, we passed through it and landed in the Supervisors’ meeting chamber on the second floor. A wooden bench somehow telescoped out of the wall, up near the ceiling, which he motioned for us to sit down on it.

The eleven supervisors sat in leather swivel-chairs down below us. Each had a laptop computer on the desk in front of them. They talked and carried on. It was the weekly San Francisco Supervisors’ meeting.

The angel turned toward me. His robe whispered softly as he pivoted around. 

“Open your eyes and see,” he said with a quiet power filled with heavenly authority.

I looked down again. This time my spiritual eyes opened.

There I saw grotesque creatures sitting on the right shoulder of each of the eleven supervisors. The chimpanzee-size beings had a mixture of what looked like reptile, dragon, and wolf-like body parts with stubby tails, talons for feet, scale-covered wings, web-like hands, and misshapen faces which protruded into long snouts and were filled with sharp teeth. They resembled dingy, gray gargoyles.

Each creature held its right wing over their assigned supervisors’ eyes. Their right hands were curled into a megaphone shape so they could speak directly into the supervisors’ ears. Their left hands looped behind the supervisors’ heads and covered their left ears.

The creatures never rested. When they were not speaking into ears, they looked up, around and at each other, their heads constantly moved about, their eyes searching to and fro. They seemed to be driven by a deep dread, almost as if a cruel slave master’s power instilled a fear in them about possible future punishments.

What is this? I thought. Why am I here?

“Today is show and tell day, preparing you for your first assignment next week,” said the angel.

“First assignment, next week?”

“Quiet, I’m the teacher. You’re the student. Understand?” he whispered a stinging rebuke at me. 

His voice contained no anger and love cushioned the blow, but yet, I felt the power behind the rebuke. I shuddered and nodded. 

“Earlier today, you had a vision. In it, you saw yourself being used as a sword by the Lord Jesus against a brass gate. The brass gate you saw was a gate of Hell over this city. It must be attacked so the truth from heaven can be heard in San Francisco. You are His chosen weapon for the undertaking.”

I bit my tongue, but my brain continued to be plugged in. I wondered if His weapons ever suffered pain, especially with the vigorous way the Lord swung the sword against the gate. O Lord, will it hurt? I thought.

He paused a beat before continuing. 

“Your spiritual eyes have only been dialed up two notches, but that’s more than enough for you to get an idea of what’s happening in the Supervisors’ meeting room,” he said. “As you can see, demons sit on the supervisors’ shoulders, blocking information that is contrary to Satan’s agenda. At the same time, evil ideas are constantly spoken into the supervisors’ ears.”

He pointed a finger at me. 

“Remember: our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the hordes of Satan.”

I nodded.

He pointed at the supervisors. 

“Look again.”

This time I saw words streaming through the ceiling on what looked like hologram ticker tapes carried on laser beams. These words flowed to the ears of the creatures, the supervisors, and everyone in the room. I read them: “Alternative life style.” “Pro-choice.” “Gay pride.” “Toleration.” “Christians are bigots.” “Abortion is a woman’s right.” “Separation of church and state.”  “San Francisco Pride.”  

With each new message, the creatures spoke into the ears of supervisors. A source from above orchestrated everything.

The angel pointed up. 

“Look.”

The ceiling and roof opened up, allowing me to see into the second heaven. My eyes took a few moments adjusting to the spirit realm, but then, I saw a creature sitting on a large brass throne, blocking a portal coming out of the third heaven. Light rays attempted to flow through the portal, but only a fraction of the rays was able to pass by the large creature.

The creature’s appearance alternated between looking like a beautiful angel dressed in white and that of a gigantic monster version of the dingy, gray gargoyles, sitting on the supervisors’ shoulders. Like the smaller demons, the creature never rested. It caused fear in the hierarchy of demons below it and, at the same time, seemed fearful of its own cruel masters in the ranks above it.

The words I saw, streaming through the ceiling like hologram ticker tapes, emanated from this creature. I saw additional word streams coming out of the creature’s mouth, heading toward Sacramento, Hollywood, Washington, D. C., New York City, newspapers, television networks, movie studios, publishers, corporations, and thousands of other places.

The angel interrupted my thoughts. 

“What you are seeing is the spirit of depravity. It is a ruling principality over San Francisco and guards a gate of Hell over the city. This spirit is so powerful that its wickedness is spread throughout the nation.

“The reason the spirit switches back and forth between appearances is it is creating confusion by this maneuver in the minds of people, whereby good is called evil and evil good.”

(Excerpt from Jonah by Larry Nevenhoven, © 2012 by Larry Nevenhoven, Amazon eBook)

Obviously, the above is a fictional story on how I perceive the demonic realm may influence our earthly realm.

(Continued In Part 2)

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NEWS FLASH: 13,000 or More Witches to Cast Spell on President Trump. What Should We Do?

 

Michael Snyder at End of the American Dream reports that “as Halloween approaches, thousands of witches will cast a ‘binding spell’ on Donald Trump on October 25th.” (See full article here.)

I am neither Republican, Democrat nor Independent. In fact, I have not voted in an election since 2008.

Yet even so, it wouldn’t matter to me if these witches were casting spells on former President Obama, President Trump or presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, I wouldn’t want witches and demons intervening in our politics.

How could one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had surrendered them? (Deuteronomy 32:30)

Although Satan and his demonic allies love to pile it on in spiritual battles, God has His mathematical formula to fight spiritual battles. One Christian standing in faith can defeat a thousand witches backed by demons and two standing in faith and agreement can defeat ten thousand witches backed by demons.

Using God’s formula, we can expect three or four Christians standing in faith and agreement to handle these so-called witches backed by demons. Just three or four!

What should we do?

Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest. (Proverbs 26:2 NIV)

First of all, ask the Holy Spirit to check each of our hearts. We don’t want the curse intended for President Trump to land on us. So, let’s make sure we don’t have pride, anger, hatred or another sin when we pray.

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior (1 Timothy 2:1-3)

Second, we need to understand that God wants us to pray and intercede for our government officials, not curse them.

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. (Matthew 18:19)

Third, standing in agreement moves the Father to act on our prayers.

Okay, let’s pray in faith and agreement:

Father in Jesus’ name, we plead the protective blood of Jesus over President Trump, his wife Melania, his children and grandchildren. And Father, because of 1 Timothy 2:1-3 and Matthew 18:19, we command all of the binding spells and curses uttered by witches and their variants to fall to the ground and have no effect on the Trump family for this Halloween season. Plus, we cry out to You for mercy for all of the witches and ask the Holy Spirit to open up their hearts to the love of the truth so they might be saved. Amen.

If you have prayed the above prayer in faith, just thank the Lord for His victory in this battle.

 

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A Recent Dream Which I Believe Will Help All of Us in the Days Ahead

A couple of weeks ago, I had one of those dreams which seemed so real that it felt like I was really there.

In the dream, I was walking along a sidewalk through my neighborhood during an early summer evening. The temperature was perfect and the sky was clear.

As I walked, a pretty daughter of a high school friend approached me. She was wearing an attractive, but conservative  blouse and skirt outfit. She stopped and we chatted a bit. I didn’t really think anything was out of the ordinary until she embraced me with her arms. I did the same to her. Our hands groped each others’ bodies in all of the wrong places.

While this was happening, I thought, “What’s happening here? I’m twenty-five years older than her.”

Yes, we were passionately carrying on, out in the open on that sidewalk in front of our neighbors, but that didn’t seem to bother us.

Finally, she said, “I want to go home and change into something more comfortable. Let’s meet at such-and-such place.”

I agreed to meet her there.

When she left, all I could think about was that I was about to commit a sin — a big one!

Next, I began heading toward our meeting place, which happened to be a steep downhill walk for me.  I cried out to the Lord as I moved along. “Forgive me, Lord! Pour out Your grace on me! Stop me before I fall into deeper sin! Help me, Lord! Help me! Help me!”

I kept walking. My prayers did not stop me.

I looked ahead and saw the pretty daughter at the bottom of the hill, awaiting me.  She looked beautiful, luscious and inviting.

Not knowing what else to do, I began fighting with spiritual warfare prayers. “In Jesus’ name, I command the spirit of sexual immorality to go from me right now! Go in Jesus’ name.”

My spiritual warfare prayers did not help. I kept walking toward her.

I was only a few steps away when I tossed out a last resort prayer. “Lord, I plead the blood of Jesus over me and over this terrible situation.”

Bam!

I was set free and transported by the Spirit out of that seemingly hopeless situation to a place of peace and safety.

And they overcame Satan by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. (Revelation 12:11)

After the Azusa Street Revival, the critics of the early Pentecostals called them “blood obsessed.” Why? Because these early Pentecostals sang about the blood, preached about the blood and pleaded the blood over almost everything in their lives. They had a deep revelation about the power in the blood of Jesus.

For most, that revelation is not so strong in us today.

Pastor Jack Hayford says about pleading the blood of Jesus:

There is no circumstance in life to which the blood of Jesus isn’t key to God’s releasing, protecting, resolving power, whether it’s removing the potential of confusion, overcoming the impact of rebellion, breaking the torment of fear, or the shame of the past. When we “plead the blood,” we are to do so in the understanding sense, with the firepower of the supernatural, and on the basis of the body of evidence that through the blood of Jesus Christ, all hell has been broken in its power, all sin neutralized, the power of death overwhelmed, and every human need paid for once and for all. (See Hayford’s powerful teaching on pleading the blood here.)

Because of my dream, I now plead the blood of Jesus often.

Hey, why not use the “firepower of the supernatural” to help us walk with Jesus?

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Filed under America, Blood of Jesus, Christianity, Intercession, Pleading the Blood, Prayer, spiritual warfare

Prayers for Warriors to Arise in our Hearts (3/14/2019)

“It’s in God’s hands. If it is meant to be, it will happen. If not, it won’t.”

How many times have we heard the above statement or a similar one by fellow believers? Maybe hundreds of times over the years.

Is there any truth in the statement?

Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious]. (Ephesians 6:13 AMP)

The reason we put on the whole armor of God is so we can fight demons, to pull down their strongholds in our lives, destroy their arguments and every exalted and proud thing that opposes the truth of God. We also must fight to take every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ who lives in us.

All of this is done by using the sword of the Spirit (word of God) in our prayers and petitions, always being watchful for counterattacks by demons.

After we have done all of this, then we can place our concerns in God’s hands and trust Him to work everything out for His glory.

Anything less than this will usually end up as a defeat in our lives.

My prayer today:

Lord, help us learn how to fight the good fight of faith so we can finish the race You have set before us and keep the faith while we are still running. (Based on 1 Timothy 6:12 and 2 Timothy 3:7)

Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for our families.

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Filed under America, Christianity, Faith, Fasting, Prayer, spiritual warfare

Praying Against National Discouragement (1/31/2019)

Since 1973, there have been over 61 million abortions in the US. In the world, there have been more than 1.5 billion abortions since 1980. (If you want to see a constantly updated abortion counter board, click here.)

Watching the numbers change at the abortion counter board are mind-boggling. They just keep moving forward. Each tick represents another dead baby. And another. And another. And so forth.

But let’s be honest, it’s easy to be discouraged about abortion, especially when we read about New York’s new up-to-the-time-of-birth abortion guidelines, the Virginia governor’s statement about babies surviving abortions and the media’s words.

Why even pray? Why even fast? It seems like such a waste of time. Might as well just not care at all anymore, right?

But what does discouragement really mean?

Being discouraged actually means we’re looking at our problems and seeing them as bigger and more powerful than our God and His leadership ways. But of course, none of us would ever admit this, right?

Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake. Revelation 8:3-5)

Maybe my individual prayers are not making a big difference at the local Planned Parenthood Clinic, but that’s not necessarily my intention. I’m praying to the Creator to let Him know I agree with Him and His leadership ways against abortion and that I know my prayers will soon cause noises, thunderings, lightnings and earthquakes on earth.

That’s enough to keep me in the battle against abortion and other major problems.

My prayer today:

Lord, I pray that You would give each believer the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of You, that the eyes of our understanding would be enlightened about prayer and that we would know the exceeding greatness of Your power backing our prayers. (Based on Ephesians 1:17-19)

Join with me on Tuesdays to fast and pray for our nation.

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Filed under Abortion, America, Christians, Discouragement, Fasting, Intercession, Prayer, Prophecy, spiritual warfare