Thursday, August 4, 2016

PRAY FOR.....PROTECTION

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)
No one has to remind us that we are surrounded by evil. No one has to point out that the times are evil and the wicked rule the world.  We just have to wake up in the morning and walk out the front door. Evil is all around us, and for some, even in their own homes.  Idolatry is worse now than it was from the days of the Philistines and their monster god Dagon to Christians engaging in New Age activities or Eastern Mysticism. There is even an oxymoron called “Christian Yoga” (oxymoron because yoga is Hinduism with its gazillions of ‘gods’ and Christianity only has Yahweh, the Triune God of Heaven). So the existence of evil is something we will live with until the End of the Age, and the Return of Christ.

But God, knowing all of this, has already prepared the way for us to be able to handle and again – it comes back to Prayer.  There is no other way to communicate with our Heavenly Father than through prayer. Singing worship songs in an emotional way, going on retreats and meeting in small groups to talk out life’s problems and even bible reading are all good facets of the Christian life.  However,  if all of this is done without application and supplication we will be one deserted sad population.

The Truth is God has literally shown us in His Word how we are able to and have the right to pray for His protection. He says "The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them" (Psalm 34:7). The more we know His Word, as given in the Bible, then spend time discerning and learning how to interpret and apply, the easier it becomes to believe His promise and claim them as our own. He Who says in 2 Thessalonians 3:3 that “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one”, will send His same angels to watch over us. (See video clip below for illustration).
Why are we able to do this? Because Scripture proves that “… are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). God has said and I believe it that He is “my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. 4 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies (2 Samuel 22:3-4).

We pray thus: "Heavenly Father, we thank You that You send Your angels to guard over us so that we may not dash our feet against the sharp rocks and stumbling blocks out there. Thank You for keeping us from danger from things we never even saw or expected but Your Hands of protection covered us from danger.  

When Your Holy Spirit of Power directed us away from a certain area at the right time; when He kept us away from potentially bad situations and people; when He opened this door and shut that one, because it would have been detrimental for us to take what looked good at the time but was not from You; when Your Spirit guided us into the path of all Truth that we may not sin against You. When You and Your Holy Spirit from Heaven, Whom You embedded in my spirit kept us m from lust, evil and temptation that would have destroyed lives and families – when You did all that and more, Oh Great God of Heaven, Yahweh Shammah – You were there for us- THANK YOU! Thank You for Your Loving Arms of Protection. 

Thank You for fighting for us, for delivering us from all evil so that absolutely no weapon formed against us will prosper or even stand. Even the times You allowed us to go through deep dark and dangerous valleys, You were with us. We were never alone. So Father now, in complete gratitude we adore and worship Your Holy Name and pray that You will continue to go before us, to defeat the daily demons who threaten to depress/disgust and defeat us. Go before us, oh God and then spread Your Wings that not just us, but our families, loved ones and friends will be drawn under the Shadow of Your Mighty Countenance, in Jesus’ Strong and Mighty Name, Amen.


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