A Crafty Foe

 I have been in some skirmishes the past few days. I got blindsided. He snuck in and struck when I was defenseless. It was not a physical blow. That would have been easier. The attack was much more subtle. Deceitful. Sinister. I got drug into a fight I did not want to be in and tried to avoid. I got pulled in anyway. My foe is crafty. Smart and expert in attacking from all fronts. 

I am not in a battle with flesh and blood, though Satan tries to make us think people are our enemy. Our adversary works behind the scenes to stir the pot. He plots people against other people. You see it in our nation with race wars, Democrats verses Republicans, ANTIFA verses established government, Christians verses atheists and agnostics and so forth. Satan schemes are wicked. He is relentless. He is an expert in the art of war. Christian people better be on the alert. Warfare is intensifying. Even to the point of assassination of strong voice for the cause of Christ. 

Our crafty foe attacks the mind. That is where temptations begin. If every thought is not taken captive in obedience to Christ [II Cor 10:5] we may act on the temptation. We try to fight in the flesh instead through prayer. God does faithfully make a way of escape. [I Cor 10:13]. We don't have to fall to the temptations. We do not have to fight in the flesh. The weapons God gives us are divinely powerful for the tearing down of strongholds. [II Cor 10:3-4]

Jesus battled Satan and He did so using scripture. When tempted by the devil, Jesus fought back quoting God's word. We must follow that example. In my skirmish, I had to take hold of Bible truths and pray them. I also had to be reminded who the real enemy is. Satan. The Father of lies. The Accuser of the Brethren. A thief. A deceiver. We fight back with the Bible. Passages like James 4:8. Jesus rebuked demons like the man with the legions of demons in Mark 5:8-9]. We are told to stand firm against the wicked schemes of the devil. [Eph 6:11] 

Our church invited the attacks from our crafty foe. Several months ago we divided our Sunday evening service into half Bible study and the other half prayer. We do not take prayer requests during this time. We take a specific prayer focus for our church or community and divide into prayer huddles. People pray out loud and fill the sanctuary with the sounds of fervent intercessions. Those petitions ascending to God is the sweetest sound I hear each week. I warned the congregation on our first night that the spiritual warfare would intensify. It certainly has. 

A few weeks ago, I was approached about hosting a community wide prayer meeting from a community leader. I believe the Lord called us to do that. We will hold that meeting on Sunday night October 19. Since then the enemy has been on the prowl attacking families right and left. My personal prayers have been more directed and focused on the spiritual war in this community. We invited this fight and we are not backing down. We come in the name and authority of our Lord Jesus Christ. We stand on the walls of this community to keep watch. We pound the doors of heaven with our fervent intercessions. It is true our foe is crafty. It more true that greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world.