Ephesians 6:12 reads “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.”
Our inexplicable battles are not against laboratories, science, mortal men but against “ wicked powers of the dark world“ that may use some men to execute their plans on earth. With these enemies, we don’t “ sleep”. We put them where they belong. We don’t do that by mere confessions, though confessions have their place.
We don’t deal with them also by just quoting scriptures or deceiving ourselves that they can’t come and tempt or challenge us. Ask Jesus Himself and he will lecture you on the devil who is now the god of this world, reason why he fights believers.
Don’t be scared for you are more than victorious. Know who you are and let the light of God shine whereever you appear for you are the light of the world.
The 1st thing we made mention of as one of the tips on spiritual warfare in our previous write -up was the time at which we pray to command effective results. Until results are produced in the spirit you won’t see their manifestations in the flesh so spiritual warfare are dealt with from the standpoint of the spiritual world with spiritual weapons and not physical.
The second is the length of time we pray. If we have been a Christian for at least a year and cannot pray for at least an hour, we may not be able to ascend some realms or put an end to certain cycles. I’m not just saying we should be praying for at least an hour once a month, a year or when we are attacked or have a pressing need. I mean spending time with the Lord for at least an hour consistently till we get an answer. Believe you me, if we can do that for sometime, even if God answers us later, our habit of praying consistently at the given time we have chosen for ourselves would have become a part of us because it’d have become a pattern that was developed over time. In other words, it becomes an altar that is a mighty weapon to undo the works of Satan and rewrite the narrative of our bloodline.
Jesus speaks here to his disciples in connection with the length of time he expected his disciples to have at least prayed “ Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “ – Matthew 26 – 40.
So you see, no prophet, disciples other than the Master Himself is teaching us a spiritual principle here that cannot be debated if we really want to win some stubborn battles. If occultic men spend months or even years at graveyards to wield power which is a sacrifice they are making unto their demons, what’d prevent you and I from spending time in the presence of God to also open some doors and put the devil where he belongs. You don’t need to personally have a battle before you pray but you can be doing that on behalf of your family, friends and loved ones and see what the Lord will do in, through and with you.
Remember, Jesus said in Luke 10:19 “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” . It’s true we have that authority in principle but does every Christian really have it? The answer is no though Jesus has given it to us. If a father dies with say GHC 200,000 in his account and his children are aware the money is there, do they just sit down and the money comes to them? I know you know the answer is no! Why? Some legal steps must be taken to have access to the cash. It’s the same principle that works with kingdom principles my precious ones so spend time with the Lord henceforth. Don’t let marriage, children, work, etc prevent you from developing your spirit against the evil days. The Bible says “ when you fail in the days of battle, your strength is small – Proverbs 24:10. You see it’s your strength that’ll determine whether you’ll fall when battles come. How do you gain strength in the spirit? By praying for at least an hour consistently ( especially in tongues). When the battles overwhelms you, it doesn’t mean God is not God. It simply means you lack capacity.
The time frames discussed in part 1 are spiritual open doors that we can take advantage of. Even if we are tired, let’s say something at the time we have chosen for ourselves. If you don’t know what to say, speak in tongues. The devil is a liar. You and your family must succeed. Daniel prayed for 21 days to command divine intervention. You may pray less or even more to enjoy some intervention depending on how rooted a problem is. And speedy divine intervention may also depend on the level of the light you command and the mercy of the Lord upon you but remember to always be in His presence for at least an hour.
And Peter, John and James went to the temple to pray at the nineth hour. There was a time allocated for payer and the Jews understood that. In fact, it’s believed at that hour of prayer, the apostles did nothing than prayed. They abandoned everything for prayer.
What do we do these days? Spend time on social media and mundane things and say we are not in the era of the apostles and that Jesus has always prayed for us! Interesting! If you keep that philosophy in your head you will wake up one day and realize that you have done yourself a great disservice.
We don’t understand time. It’s not just the clock ticking. Time is God, a Spirit, communion. Time has a maximum control on the affairs of life. In the fullness of time, Jesus was made manifest. May you not miss your time and become a failure! I see your time redeemed in the name of Jesus. “ Redeeming the times for the days are evil”, the Bible says. Don’t play with your time man, woman, boy and girl.
Everything the devil has stolen in your life due to your stubbornness, baseless arguments, laziness, deception is hereby restored!
The next point is where you pray. The disciples went to a temple to pray. A temple is one of the places you can go and commune with Elohim. In a temple (church), you benefit from what we call cooporate anointing that has more weight than an individual prayer. In a temple, God can use a vessel to meet a particular need in your life that you may not personally be able to deal with. So no need for baseless arguments like I don’t need the church to pray and that God can also listen to me when I pray. It’s true but not in all cases my brother. God knows why he instituted His body, the church.
Moses, like some prophets of old used mountains as their place of prayer and when he came down, cases that other people could not deal with were referred to him because levels are not the same in the flesh and in the spirit. God used 40 years to prepare him in the wilderness.
This does not mean you can’t pray on a field, in your house ( privacy), or any other place you deem fit. All that’s needed is a place you won’t be distracted so that you can easily receive from God.
I declare and decree, henceforth, you’ll pray at strategic times, at least for an hour everyday and at a place devoid of distractions and God will win that health, marital, barrenness, singleness, financial battles for you by personally visiting you via the mode He chooses. You too will testify like others in the name of Jesus!
Dr. David Tobi Ogoudu
Virtuous Living 