Today I was given the opportunity to talk at length with quite a few people. Usually, my conversations with people has been limited to a few minutes. But, today Jose and I must have talked for almost a half hour about faith and life. He shared with me his amazing journey of redemption and I had the privileged to pray with him and for his family. I prayed favor and peace for Jose, but then the Lord moved me to break the generational curse of alcoholism in Jose's family. Something the Lord has been continually teaching and challenging me to do is to walk in the power and authority He has given me as His disciple (Luke 9:1; 2 Corinthians 10:3-8).
Everyday I am confronted by the reality of the great cosmic battle between good and evil where the devil is constantly trying to steal, kill and destroy the life Jesus desires to bring into people's lives (John 10:10). What I've learned over the years of engaging in spiritual warfare both in my own life and in the lives of others is that the only way to stand up against the devil and his schemes is to do it in the authority of Jesus' Name (Acts 2:38; 3:6, 16; 4:10), in the power of the God's Word (2 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 1:3) and in and under the anointing of the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:18, 19; 1 Corinthians 12:7; Ephesians 3:26; 1 John 2:27) which collectively means speaking the truth and life of Jesus into people's lives and releasing in greater measure the presence of God and the reality of His Kingdom.
With each person I talked and prayed with today (Jose, Patrick, Denise, Rahelle, Bridget, Wesley and Greg) what they repeatedly ask for was blessing and what I was repeatedly moved to pray for as well was favor. We are still living in challenging times and people are still struggling vocationally, financially emotionally and spiritually and God's heart towards His children, both found and lost, is one of goodness, kindness and love. But there are many, many people who believe that they need to work their way into Heaven and earn God's good graces. So, much of my conversations with people and the wording of my prayers with them is to help break through this distorted understanding of God's heart towards them. God gives freely with no strings attached. He gives us His unconditional love because He desires our unconditional love in return. The last thing He wants is to coerce us, that's why He has given us free will. He wants us to choose Him over the devil, the things of the world, other people, even ourselves.
Sorry for going off there, but as you can tell I am pretty passionate about this. Maybe it's because it pains me so deeply to see people being deceived and lied to and in bondage and oppressed. When I know that God's not angry with them and that He's not waiting for them to step out of line so that He can punish them. God is not vindictive and petty, but I can't tell you how many people I've met who think He is. What I believe and what I believe the bible says about God is that His plans for us are good and not harmful (Jeremiah 29:11), that He is overjoyed when we call out to Him (Jeremiah 29:12-13; Psalms 34:17-18; 57:2; 147:3; ), that He delights in His creation (Genesis 1; Psalm 104; Zephaniah 3:17) and is eager to be in relationship with us (Luke 15). But the devil, the world, even our own earthly desires will do everything they can to keep us separated from God by deceiving and distorting our view and understanding of who God is and His heart towards us. But, Jesus has defeated the devil (Colossians 2:14-15), overcome the world (John 16:33) and has endured every temptation without sinning (Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22). It is through Him that we have victory and through Him that we receive ALL the joy, peace, riches and blessings of Heaven.
So as Jesus tells us: "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give" (Matthew 10:8 NIV).
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