Tag Archives: bondages

Quit Giving the Enemy a Foothold in your Life

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Nothings worse than standing on one foot trying to balance yourself all the while you’re trying to get out of the pickle your in. Our pasture had a marshy section in it where the creek would over flow and saturate the ground making it hard to walk through with out having some type of a dilemma. At this particular time the suction of the mud monster held onto my rubber boot making my stocking foot come out of the boot. Even though it might be funny, the point is once something or someone gets a foothold on you, you’re either stopped or extremely hindered in your journey.

Paul exhorts the believers in Ephesus as they fulfill the purposes of God in their lives to not make the mistake of giving place or foothold to the enemy. He says, “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. (Eph 4:26-27)

The enemy gets a foothold in our lives when we willfully sin and continue to walk in disobedience, as well as when we are entertaining wrong beliefs and doctrine in our lives that are contrary to God’s word. James teaches us that temptation comes when we are drawn away by our own “desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death”. (James 1:14-15) When we are pulled away by our fleshly desires the enemy waits to ensnare us and fasten his hold on us.

Recently I was in Alaska for a wedding and while heading to our destination on Hwy 1 we were paralleling the Cook Inlet. I was awe struck at the beauty of the mountains cascading into the inlet with a trace of snow up high on the peaks. My driver was explaining how the tide comes in and out at drastic fluctuations levels up to approximately 29 ft. twice a day. When the tide is out, much of it has no water and is just mud. They call it the Mud flats, which have many stories, some fact and some legends of how different ones have gotten stuck.

The mud is supposedly made up of Glacier Silt, which I understand are finer than the sand and are shaped like billions of small angles that lodge together making an airtight seal around anything that happens to penetrate a soft spot. One such story many years ago is of a husband and wife who were going to cross over the mud flats on four wheelers and dredge for gold but in the midst of the process the wife step off into the mud and ended up getting so stuck that they could not get her free before the frigid tide came back in causing her to drown.

Paul encouraged young Timothy to walk worthy before the Lord so not to get ensnared by the devil. (1 Tim 3:7) Jesus said in John 14:30, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. Jesus who is our example shows us that we can follow His example and live without the devil having a foothold in our lives.

Anytime we venture off the beaten path that God has set for us, walking in places we have no business in, we can get caught in the silk of the enemy. In John’s Gospel we read where Jesus said, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed”. Jesus came to set us free from the foothold of the enemy. We read in 1 John 3:8 where it says, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil”. So quit giving the enemy a foothold!

When Hell Hears Your Prayers

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The anticipation was building as we looked forward to Easter Sunday. The church had been praying and fasting for a harvest of souls. It was the night before and dusk was upon the community as I was walking through my neighborhood and praying for the upcoming service. I followed the Spirit’s leading as a burden for the unsaved in our community came upon me. I therefore contended for the inheritance of the believers. Rounding the corner of my usual path, I noticed a couple of men talking as they leaned on their cars. Continuing to pray under my breath, I greeted them with a friendly smile and tried to pursue a conversation, but to no avail. Fueling my fire of passion for a breakthrough in our city, I continued walking and remained focused for a harvest of souls.

Our prayers should intimidate Hell   (tweet)

The evening air once again was still and darkness was upon me as I walked outside the streetlight’s reach. Coming to the end of my walk just a block from my house, I turn into a cul-de-sac to extend my prayer time. Before I knew what was going on, the quiet evening was pierced by screeching tires and red and blue flashing lights coming toward me. “Sit here! Put your hands on your head!” an officer barked at me. I obeyed as I squinted into their spot light. By this time, armed police surrounded me with curious neighbors looking on. The lead officer spoke directly saying, “We got a report you were mumbling to yourself, ‘I’m sorry I killed my family.’” If it hadn’t been so embarrassing it would have seemed funny. I told them again that I was truly praying for those in my neighborhood who were hurting and in need of God. They looked at me as if I was a religious fanatic. I knew they weren’t convinced. But, thankfully, the Lord delivered me from the two men’s accusations, who were drinking by their car earlier.

Wanting to take this divine opportunity and share God’s love with them, I invited them to be my guests at church the next day. But, still unconvinced they let me go with a stern warning, “We know where to find you if we need you.” After an embarrassing thirty minutes of interrogation, I realized this was the enemy’s attempt to shut down my prayers. It became clear that the officers were being used in this situation as his pawns. I understood he would stop at nothing to hinder our prayers for God’s agenda.

We rattle Hell’s foundations when we pray in accordance to God’s will and promises.   (tweet)

As Christians we need to be aware that the enemy’s mission statement is to steal, kill and destroy the purposes of God (Jn. 10:10). He will stop at nothing to try and distract us from walking in God’s promises.  

Our prayers intimidated Hell. We had hit a cord in the realm of darkness that sent demons scrambling to hinder us. The police drama, the accusation along with the embarrassment, was only a manifestation of the agitation in the enemies’ kingdom. When the enemy hears our prayers, he is quick to try to foil them. It was a direct strategy of the enemy to disrupt the focused and tenacious declaring of God’s will. Let me ask you, when the enemy hears your prayers is he outraged? Only when we pray in accordance to God’s will and God’s promises will it rattle Hell’s foundations. It’s time to intimidate Hell with your prayers.