Thoughts for Life: #20 Learning About the Battle

C. Peter Wagner shares again today
with us from his book, WARFARE
PRAYER:

Around 1980, I began sensing from
God that I needed to concentrate on
the spiritual dimensions of church growth.

Because of my close friendship with John Wimber, who at the time was being called "Mr. Signs and Wonders" by some, I knew that power evangelism would be the first item on my new agenda.

I also sensed that after this, prayer would be my next agenda item although, I must admit, at the time I had no clue how prayer might relate to effective evangelism.

I shared the research I had done on signs and wonders in my book How to Have a Healing Ministry (Regal Books), which was published in 1988.

A year earlier, in 1987, I began to seriously research and teach on prayer. But not until the treat Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in Manila, in the summer of 1989, did I fully learn about the real battle.

I was in a position to integrate these new insights with the Lausanne II Congress because I happened to be a member of the international Lausanne Committee, which was sponsoring the congress.

As I prayed about relating intercession to evangelism, God impressed me with the thought of attempting to identify 30 to 50 of these gifted, world-class intercessors and challenging them to go to Manila at their own expense, bypass the established participant selection process, put up in the Philippine Plaza Hotel across the street from the Convention center where the congress was to be held, and pray together 24 hours a day throughout the congress.

The Lausanne leaders agreed, and I asked Ben Jennings of Campus Crusade's Great Commission Prayer Crusade to organize and lead it. Ben did a magnificent job, and 50 intercessors showed up, fulfilling our highest expectations.

Through the Manila intercession team God gave us what I like to call a "living parable," to show us clearly what the underlying issues for world evangelization really are.

Before I describe the living parable one more crucial factor needs to be explained. {Peter's sharing the more crucial factor will be in my next post on 12/2: The Threefold Cord}

Warfare Prayer

#20 Learning About the Battle
By C. Peter Wagner

(pgs. 39-40) Regal Books

Mark I. Bubeck shares with us from his book The Satanic Revival (pg. 169): "God never intended that warfare with darkness should be relegated to a mental nod of friendly assent. Evil supernaturalism must be faced directly and boldly by using the spiritual weapons of warfare.

The Epistles clearly set forth the believer's day- by -day battle with Satan's kingdom:

  James 4:1 'Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.'
1 Peter 5:9 'Resist him [the devil], standing firm in the faith.'
  1 John 4:1 'Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test
the spirits to see whether they are from God.'
  1 John 5:19 'We know...that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.'
  Ephesians 6:11,12 'Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.'

This sampling of texts from the New Testament Epistles speaks plainly of the believer's authority and responsibility...If we ignore Satan's work, we will never over come his schemes against a revival awakening. Our only hope is to aggressively apply Christ's victorious work over Satan. That's a truth we must not ignore."

God's Blessings

As we gather round the table
We bow our heads in prayer
To thank You, Lord, for loving us
And for Your constant care.

We thank You for our houses,
Our friends and families.
We thank You for Your guidance
And for Your perfect peace.

Thanks for all Your blessings,
The big ones and the small,
Especially for Jesus
Who gave His life for all.

©Frances Gregory Pasch

Pray with me:

Father, help us remember that if we
resist the devil in the name of Jesus,
he will flee from us.

May we stand firm in the faith of God's enablement to deliver, guide, and protect us!

It is to our advantage to put on the full armor of God, we can stand against the forces of evil, which come against us for living for Christ.

It's in Your Name, Jesus, that we pray. Amen.

Today’s Bible verse: Prov. 28:13 "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth them shall have mercy."

Today’s quote: Cindy Sproles – “When Paul shared about his thorn of the flesh, he wanted us to see our successes weren't where God’s power would shine brightest, rather through our weaknesses. He said this gift of grace was sufficient. It’s all we really need. When hardships, decisions, and frustrations attack, God’s power becomes evident to those around us. We rest in the promise of His care because He’s got our backs. God’s might is lived out through these rough patches. From hard to difficult, to resolved, to peace -- His power shines.”

Some thoughts today: It's not just what God, or we do, but the power behind it. God so loved us! It's His power that is rooted in it. It was love that held Jesus to the cross.

- When we are held by love, we can endure what God has called us to do.

- Jesus could have called 10,000 angels to rescue Him, but He humbled Himself to die for you and me. Love is powerful!

29th- Saturday’s post: Our Friends

Jean Oathout

30th- Sunday evening's post: One Who Understands

Dave Roper

12/2nd- Tuesday's post: #21 The Threefold Cord

C. Peter Wagner

4th- Thursday's post: #22 The Living Parable

C. Peter Wagner

A popular post: #7 God's Best: Moses and Samuel

C. Peter Wagner tells us "If I am not mistaken, the two greatest intercessors in the old Testament were Moses and Samuel.