Fighting in prayer (Part 8)
Verse of the day: James 4: 6 "But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble"
In the seventh part, I said that we cannot be vigilant as long as we ignore the strategies of the enemy. There are many but I preferred to talk about two of the most used to bring down the servants of God and many Christians.
As I said before, the first strategy of the devil is to convince Christians that he has no more strength because of the victory of Jesus and therefore they must ignore him and pretend he is not there. I remember the day I went for the first time in an evangelical church, the pastor was teaching from the book of Revelation and he said that Satan is now in jail and can only send his demons while still in his cage. Later I discovered in the Bible that Satan will be imprisoned for the millennium but is free now. I also understood that in order to defeat him, we must watch and pray while keeping the total trust in the Lord.
The second strategy of the devil is to sow pride in Christians’ hearts. The devil knows how to create pride in the hearts of Christians using the gifts God gave them. Pride is the favorite gateway for the devil that allows him to penetrate into the life of Christians. If you let pride invade your heart, the devil will not have to struggle to get into your life because a large door will be opened for him. A prideful life devalues prayer. You can pray and fast but with no effect because of pride. The devil can show you how much you are very strong, intelligent and beautiful for the sole purpose of having a door to enter in your life. Without realizing it, many Christians fall into the trap of appropriate the gifts of God and when their hearts are puffed up, the verse of the day (James 4: 6) says that God resists them. Notice that this is not the devil who resists them but God Himself. In the contrary, God gives grace to the humble. The devil manages to block some of the children of God's blessings despite their prayers because of their pride.
The fight in prayer is very effective to the humble. In the next verse (James 4: 7), it is said that if we submit to God, we resist the devil and he will flee from us. Nothing can scare the devil as humility in prayer life.
In closing this teaching, I want to clarify one thing: The devil does not need your car, your house, your money or anything valuable for you but when he attacks all these things, know that your faith is the target. If you lose your faith, you can no longer pray. Let us be firm despite opposition and persevere in constant prayer in all humility. Let us watch and reject all negative thoughts that the enemy is trying to inform our minds and let us be sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit.
The fight in the prayer made in all humility is a fight won in advance.
God bless you
Chris Ndikumana
