Scripture: Mark 3 v 26-27.
"And if Satan rise up against himself, and be
divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. No man can enter into a strong man's
house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then
he will spoil his house."
When we pray we need to intelligently consider our plan.
We need to be guided by the Holy Spirit into the correct way to deal with every
situation. Many prayers go unanswered because we pray amiss according to James.
If we want answers we must avoid praying amiss and find a
prayer that gets heard and answered.
We need the gifts of the Holy Spirit to bring our focus
onto the real underlying issues. We need the gift of discerning of spirits of
good and evil. This gift reveals if the problem is caused by an evil or unclean
spirit. The carnal person would refer to this as "feeling a bad
vibe!"
We need more information than that to deal with a wily,
deceitful foe who is troubling our family with sickness or poverty.
Speaking in tongues bypasses our limited understanding
and enters into the depths of the mind of Christ who knows all things.
Revelations, wisdom and knowledge bubble to the surface in our minds and the
answers are very clear.
When we are under attack from an unseen enemy this
spiritual information is priceless. It will reveal the "strong man"
or ruling spirit. The spirit from hell that is controlling the situation which
is going from bad to worse.
He has evil spirits under his authority who stir up
trouble and confusion. These things begin when you are starting out in the
ministry. The enemy wants to discourage you before you become a problem to him.
Jesus did not say your ministry would be trouble free. He said He would be
there to get you out of trouble.
You may identify the spirit of Bitterness as the strong
man in your situation. He controls things that will cause bitterness and
unforgiveness in your life because he knows that such response within you will
cause distance between God and you. Mark 11 - Unless you forgive, I will not
forgive you - says the Father.
To bind this strong man you therefore need first to
repent and forgive those who have hurt you. This disarms or neutralises the
evil spirit of Bitterness. You then rebuke (condemn) him and bind (paralyze)
him in Jesus' name. Pray further to rebuke any underlings that are harassing
you and command them all to go back to the pit of hell.
Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with all His goodness and
love so there is no place for further sneak attacks.
In Hosea it says "My people perish for lack of
knowledge" and sadly its true. Jesus died that we may know the truth and
the truth shall set us free. At the beginning of the chapter on the gifts of
the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12) Paul writes, "My brethren I would not
have you ignorant concerning spiritual gifts."
God, Paul and I know the power of these gifts to release
the captives from bondage. We want to inspire you to seek to know more about
them so that you can effectively destroy the plans of the enemy before he can
achieve his aims.
Used with wisdom and under the control of the Spirit they
form an arsenal the enemy has no answer for. After years of continual use the
gifts flow powerfully in your life. Many of you will have parcels under the
tree for your family this Christmas. How would you feel if no-one opened their
gifts or ever used them?
How do you think Our Father feels when He sees calamity
befall us and hinder us when it could have been avoided or fixed using the
gifts He gave us. My people perish from lack of knowledge.
There are many Strong Men of demonic origin that need to
be bound.
If your children are hanging with the wrong crowd you
know they have stopped listening to your advice. There is a "strong
man" controlling that bad crowd. You ask God to show you how to deal with
it. It could be Rap Music which is one source of gangsterism; or a Controlling
spirit like witchcraft working through the leader of the group. Do not be
afraid to deal with it. Jesus will apply what you pray to bring about change in
that group.
Work with Jesus and let Him guide you so that you may
bind that strong man and set your children free.
Prayer: Heavenly Father forgive us for spurning or
neglecting Your precious gifts that are given to give us the edge over our
enemies. We need all the help we can get. Teach us to use Your gifts wisely to
bind the strong man sent to destroy us. Let's turn the tables on him. In Jesus'
name. Amen.