Fighting in prayer (Part 5)
Verse of the Day: 2 Corinthians 2: 10-11 “ If you forgive anyone anything, I too forgive that one; and what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sakes in the presence [and with the approval] of Christ (the Messiah), to keep Satan from getting the advantage over us; for we are not ignorant of his wiles and intentions"
This scripture is very important because it shows how Paul was concerned about the strategies of the enemy against the people of God. I often hear Christians minimize the attack of the enemy saying that they have nothing to do with the devil because Jesus defeated him on the cross. This is the truth, but I must say that in some letters written by Paul, he often shows that we face principalities, rulers and spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6: 12). To underestimate or to ignore the strength of the enemy does not give us the victory but makes us fall into the trap of the enemy. Yes Jesus disarmed the devil on the cross but why are there still problems that we see in the Church? Why sin is still a reality in the Church? All this shows that as long as we are in a corruptible body, we always have to fight otherwise the victory of Jesus will not be visible in our lives. The fight that will allow us to enter and walk in Jesus' victory is the fight in prayer.
Let's go back to the verse of the day based on the Amplified Bible: At the end Paul asks the Corinthians not to let Satan get the advantage over them because they do not ignore his wiles and intentions (2 Cor 2: 11).
Unfortunately most of the children of God ignore or underestimate the wiles of Satan. The enemy wants Christians to be ignorant by believing that there is no more fight, that we are untouchable because of the victory of Jesus on the cross; such belief gives him a great advantage. If Christians just believe, sing, read the Word without praying, NOTHING will stop the devil! Constant prayer is a fight and it is for this reason that in writing to the Romans who were passing through a very difficult time Paul insisted by saying: " rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing STEADFASTLY in prayer"(Rom 12: 12).
In order to understand how Satan attacks Christians, we must first know the man's constitution. A human being is made of three parts: body, soul and spirit.
The physical body is all you can touch or see with your physical eyes
The soul contains the emotions, the feelings, will and the intellect
The spirit contains the consciousness, the subconscious, the intuition and God discernment
In the sixth part, I'll show you the devil's strategy to attack us and how to fight against him in prayer.
Chris Ndikumana
