attacks

[Chrysostom]

Your prayer has been heard, and I join you in asking our Lord Jesus Christ for His protection and deliverance. It is right to cry out to God when you feel pressed and attacked, for He is our refuge and He hears the voice of His children.

Scripture teaches us that the enemy is real and that he prowls like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. He most often assails us when we are isolated and alone, just as he approached Eve when she was apart and as he came to Christ in the wilderness. For this reason do not face this struggle by yourself. Stay closely joined to Christ and to His Body, the Church. Keep flocking together with other believers in worship, in prayer, in hearing the Word, and in fellowship, for when we are banded together we are far less open to his attacks.

Know also what Christ has already accomplished for you. By His incarnation He has delivered us from the curse and brought us into sonship, so that we have received the Spirit of adoption. You are not a stranger without help, but a child of God, and the Spirit within you cries to the Father. The devil has no rightful claim over one who has put on Christ.

God does not always grant immediate and permanent removal of every trial in the way we ask or in the moment we ask it. Sometimes He permits affliction, as He did even with the apostles who were weighed down beyond their power, so that we learn not to trust in ourselves but in Him who raises the dead. He does not always promise deliverance from suffering itself, but He gives what is greater, the grace to stand above it, to despise the fear of death, and to look to the better resurrection He has promised. Your affliction can become a training ground where faith is strengthened and hope in eternal life is made firm.

Therefore continue to resist the enemy in the way Scripture commands. Submit yourselves to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Put on the full armor of God, keep your mind filled with Scripture, persevere in prayer and fasting as Christ taught, confess any sin quickly, and walk in the light. If there are particular sins, habits, or openings that have given ground to the enemy, bring them into the light before a trusted pastor or mature believers so you can receive counsel and prayer.

I pray for you now, that God in His mercy would rebuke every evil influence, surround you with His peace, fill you with His Holy Spirit, and make you strong to stand. May He guard your mind and heart, your home and sleep, and teach you to rest in the victory that Jesus has already won on the cross. May He not only lift this present pressure but form Christ more fully in you, so that you live for His glory and for the good of others.

Keep calling on the name of Jesus, keep abiding in His Word, and keep close to His people. He is faithful, and He will not let you be tried beyond what you can bear, but with the trial will provide the way of escape. If these attacks continue or grow heavier, please seek the personal care of a faithful pastor who can pray with you face to face and walk with you through this season.

 

[Silas]

Your prayer has been heard and I am joining you in asking the Lord to bring you protection and peace in Jesus name.

The Bible teaches that our real battles are not against flesh and blood. There is a constant warfare in the unseen realm between the spirits who serve God and the fallen spirits who rebelled with Satan. Often we are not fully aware of that warfare, yet we feel the effects of it in unsettled emotions, heaviness, fear, and direct harassment. What you are describing is real, and God does not want you to face it alone or in your own strength.

Because the battle is spiritual, it cannot be fought with physical or natural means. Trying to fight in the flesh only leaves a person exhausted and constantly harassed. God has provided spiritual weapons that are mighty through Him to pull down the strongholds of the enemy. Those weapons are His Word, faith, and prayer. Physical weapons have no value in this conflict, but spiritual weapons bring victory because they rest on what Christ has already done.

God has given us spiritual armor so we can withstand these attacks. We are told to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, not our own. That means standing in the salvation we have through Jesus Christ, holding up faith in God's ability and power to work in us, hiding His Word in our hearts, and praying with perseverance in the Spirit. Prayer is often the deciding factor in this warfare. When we remember the Lord and call on Him, fear is driven out.

When the attacks come, recognize them for what they are. This is a spiritual attack, not merely a circumstance or a feeling. Refuse to give the enemy ground, and resist him in the name of Jesus. Keep Christ between you and the enemy. The safest place is to make sure Jesus is between you and every assault. Jesus Himself showed us how to answer attack, by responding with the Word of God, saying it is written. You can do the same. Speak Scripture over your mind and home, declare who you are in Christ, and rejoice that God has given you His Spirit and His power to repel the enemy. Scripture assures us that greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world, and that when we submit to God and resist the devil, he will flee.

Even after great spiritual blessing we are not promised immunity from attack. The enemy often tries to distract and destroy what God has done. That is why we need to both pray and keep watch, taking practical steps to guard our hearts and minds day and night, staying in the Word, staying in prayer, and staying close to Christ.

I am praying for you now. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ I ask You to place Your protection around this dear one. Cover them with the blood of Jesus and let Your presence be a shield. Break every stronghold of the enemy and silence every harassing spirit. Fill this heart with Your Word and with faith, and teach them to stand in Your power and not their own. Let them know the victory that is already won through Jesus, and grant lasting peace, deliverance, and rest. Keep them watchful and strong, and let them walk in the assurance that You are with them and that no weapon formed against them will prevail. Amen.