Putting this last among the weapons list, does not make it the least; in fact this should be top priority for every believer to live a fruitful and blessed life.
Most victories against the enemy are won on one's knees. Not all may have gifts described in this book, but one doesn't need a gift to involve oneself in prayer.
You may still not have entered the phase of speaking in tongues. God
willing you will. But don't waste time, grumbling about it. Pray
with the intelligence that God has granted you. If you can't get victory
with prayer alone, fast and pray.
If prayers can be compared to arrows used to fight the enemy, praying and
fasting are arrows with poison at their tips that demolish the enemy.
When viewed in the spiritual realm, the importance of fasting gained great
significance in our lives. Because she can see the enemy, Jesus initially
told us that we may encounter more attacks than other believers because
the enemy wants to remain hidden and doesn't like its presence to be
noticed or known.
Usually without fasting, the enemy may gain access now & then & we rebuke
and the angels cast them away. A question many arise how the enemy gains
access with the blood net, the wall of fire and so on.
We once enquired of this from Jesus and the Holy spirit said, "They
(spirits) are there everywhere. The harm that they can cause is limited
because of divine protection.
As I said they make their appearance now and then at random but fasting is
a weapon that can and will ever limit their coming near us. This I
observed once in a 7 day fast ( having 1 meal/ day). The enemy did not
approach us for a full 2 weeks. Fasting has to be regular for every
believer. According to the grace that he/she has received and his/her
bodily status, fasting once or twice a week missing one; two or all meals
are all pleasing to Jesus. Taking longer fasts 3 days, 7 days, 14 days,
21 days or more require the consent of the Holy Spirit for provision of
protection from the enemy against attacks to the body.
Recently Jesus impressed upon us the greater effectiveness of a fast when
ever liquids are forsaken. The prayers prayed then (when the body is
afflicted greatly) swiftly finds favor with God. Remember Esther,
Mordecai and the Jews fasting for 3 days without food and water and the
great deliverance that they got.
A vegetarian fast for non vegetarians also has importance in the sight of
God as once told by the Holy Spirit to us. Not eating meat, fish, eggs
,avoiding aerated drinks, milk and milk products for a week or more also is
a type of fast.
However long/short a fast be it has to be according to the
Guidelines prescribed in Isaiah 58 for that is a fast truly pleasing to
God. Points to note from there are:
1. On day of fasting, do what pleases God.
2. Do not exploit your workers
3. Let there be no quarreling and strife; no fights
4. Loose chairs of injustice
5. Untie cords of yoke
6. Set the oppressed free
7. Share food with the hungry
8. Provide the wanderer shelter
9. Clothe the naked
10. Not to turn away from your own flesh & blood.
Then, the Bible says, in Isaiah 58:8, 9
"Your light will break forth like the dawn and your healing will quickly
appear, then your righteousness will go before you and the glory of the
Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call and the Lord will
answer; you will cry for help and He will say. Here am I."
We cannot but end this section without a word regarding the Anointing.
Ethan the Ezrahite speaks in Psalm 89 about the anointing that God gave
David and its effects upon his life "I have found David my servant, with
my sacred oil I have anointed him. My hand will sustain him, surely my arm
will strengthen him. No enemy will subject him to tribute, no wicked man
will oppress him. I will crush his foes before him and strike down his
adversaries".
Beause of the great anointing of Holy Spirit upon David's life none of
his foes could stand against him. Goliath, Saul, Absalom, the Philistines
all were defeated one by one.
The Psalmist writes in Psalm 92:10,
"You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox; fine oils have been
poured upon me".
Nothing or no one I guess can stop a wild ox pounding through the jungle.
It just crushes everything in its path.
In John 3:34, we read that Jesus had the Holy Spirit in Him without
measure. Thus the forces of darkness could never stand against Him with
any sort of arguments.
Our authority over the enemy grows as the anointing increases, because the
effectivity of the weapons depend on the measure of anointing a person
has.
Long back, while I was in Medical College, I visited the Bandipur tiger
sanctuary. We were in the forest early one morning. The sun was begining
to shine through the trees. The birds were chattering away. All of a
sudden a magnificent sight enraptured us. A wild ox galloping through the
forest; its horns and hooves destroying everything in its path; it's
hide shimmering in the early sunlight. What a sight it was. Imagine
yourself as a wild ox charging through in the enemy ranks destroying all
in the path.
"I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to
overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you " ( Luke
10:19)
So wake up Solider of Christ and fight. Put on the armor; pick up the
weapons and get going.
"The battle is the Lord's and the victory is ours; Hosanna, Hosanna".
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