1/21/12
Greetings,
Do you ever feel like you’re getting body slammed by the devil? Maybe your life is kind of like walking into a flying elbow or waking up in a head lock? Do you feel like you just got thrown in the boxing ring with Muhammad Ali—and left there just to get beat on? Do you wish the devil would just run out of karate chops?
I want to be very clear about something. The devil is a whole lot better at spiritual warfare than most Christians. I hate to say it but a majority of Christians, overwhelmed by the devil’s power, throw in the towel and walk away from their spiritual battles. They accept defeat because for them, subjugation is easier than victory. I will not settle for anything less than the victory that Jesus purchased for me, and I pray that if you have been accepting defeat, you decide to make a change today!
I am going to discuss a few effective strategies for keeping the devil off of your back. This will help you to begin to establish the victory of Jesus Christ in areas you may have forfeited (or never had at all). One of the utmost important tools in defending ourselves from the devil’s unrelenting attacks is our spiritual armor. This armor should be applied daily. How do we apply our spiritual armor? We speak it over ourselves. The Bible is very clear that there is power in the tongue.
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:21)
Some people like the silent approach to Christianity. They don’t say anything. Their prayers are in their heads and their primary form of witnessing is the notorious “lifestyle witness.” Death to works of the enemy and life to the hurting areas of our lives are loosed through the tongue. Things must be spoken. The power is in saying things out loud.
Applying our spiritual armor is done by speaking out loud. I recommend simply memorizing Ephesians 6:14-17 and speaking it as a prayer daily. Here is a prayer you can speak over yourself to apply the armor of God.
“Father, right now I choose to apply the armor of God. I will stand against the wicked one having girded my waist with truth, and having taken up the breastplate of righteousness. My feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above all else I take up the shield of faith to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. I put on the helmet of salvation and take up the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. I speak this in Jesus’ name, Amen.”
With the armor of God on it is more difficult for the enemy to beat you up. Don’t just stand there and let him punch you in the gut and karate chop you in the face! Put some spiritual armor on so that when the attack does come (because it will) it will have a greatly reduced impact on you. Natural things are modeled after spiritual things. Why would we agree that giving armor to soldiers in the natural is a good thing and neglect to apply the armor we have been given spiritually? It’s not good for business.
The next thing we can do to reduce the enemy’s ability to impale us with terrible things is to apply the blood of Jesus. There is so much teaching that could be done on the blood of Jesus. It was by His blood that Jesus established the new covenant. Without the new covenant it would be impossible to be saved. Think about it like this: no blood, no covenant. Moreover, the new covenant also includes an array of incredible promises that we get access to when we get saved. Therefore the blood is actually a gateway to all of the promises that have been established by our new and better covenant.
“But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.” (Hebrews 8:6)
Jesus mediated the new covenant to replace the old covenant otherwise known as the “Law of Moses.” To do this He established the covenant with His own life; the very life of God. By shedding His blood He allowed His blood to speak of better things and better promises. The blood He shed actually speaks the testimony of Jesus’ victory. The victory of Jesus means that we have obtained great and precious promises. This is why the blood of Jesus speaks of better things than that of Abel’s. Abel’s blood spoke as a testimony to injustice, but Jesus’ blood speaks as a testimony to victory!
“to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:24)
There is so much power in the blood that the book of Revelation declares that by it we overcome the enemy (Revelation 12:11). As a matter of fact, the apostle John even declared that the blood is one of the three witnesses of God in the earth!
“And there are three that bear witness on earth the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.” (1 John 5:8)
Picture it like this. The devil is running towards you to give you a flying head butt. You speak and suddenly you’re wearing cybernetic armor that even bullets can’t pierce. He’s seen this before so he keeps running. You speak again this time pleading the blood of Jesus over yourself. As he leaps into the air a giant slab of concrete lifts out of the ground thirty feet into the air. The devil slaps into it face first. POW! Meet the power of God.
I have been subject to many attacks of the devil. Believe me; I’ve been hit on every side, ambushed, surprise attacked, had the rug pulled out from under my feet, you get the idea. In the process I have learned a thing or two about keeping the devil at bay, or even causing him to run in the other direction. Getting in the habit of applying the armor of God and pleading the blood of Jesus is at the foundation of these techniques. When it comes to pleading the blood of Jesus, we have to remember that we are not the only party that the devil can attack or manipulate in an attempt to destroy our lives. He uses others as well.
I like to plead the blood of Jesus over everything touching my life. This includes my wife, friends, close family members, bank account, house, cars, electronics, etc. I particularly like to plead the blood of Jesus over people that I am just getting to know. I’ve found that the devil will often destroy people’s lives if he thinks by attacking them he can keep them from being influenced by strong Christian people. You may have witnessed similar things happen to people you are just getting to know as well.
In closing, if you are feeling the impact of the devil’s attacks it’s time to wise up and use some of the defensive tools that God has provided us. Apply the armor of God and plead the blood of Jesus over everything. If you’re not quite sure how to plead the blood of Jesus, just use the following prayer.
“Father, I plead the blood of Jesus over myself, my residence, my (list of relationships, assets, projects, etc.) . I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.”
