Harassment from group

[Chrysostom]

The affliction you describe is heavy, and the plots against you are many. But what are these in the end? The enemy can do nought but frighten, and this frightening is what befalls us from our enemies. For when the persecutors prevail not over the persecuted, the plotters over the objects of their plots, will it not be self-evident that their power is nought, and their part is weak? This comes from God. So be not affrighted, but rather despise them heartily, for by this you make evident their destruction and your salvation.

Yet I would not have you ignorant of a snare that lies hidden in your very prayer. You pray that God remove them, that the harassment cease, that they leave you alone completely. The desire for peace is natural, but see to it that the heat of this affliction does not cause your tongue to speak words that stop your own mouth before the Judge. For if in praying you ask for their removal as you would strike down an enemy, you cut off boldness from your tongue, because you have angered the Judge at the very outset, asking things at variance with the character of prayer.

Consider the Subject of the Sacrifice: He was sacrificed for enemies. Christ continually expendeth many words about gentleness and meekness, and teacheth it by His actions. Those who called Him a demoniac, who desired to kill Him, who cast stones at Him, the same surrounded Him, and not even in this case did He reject them, but answered with great gentleness. For He has presented to you examples in all things: if you lament, weep calmly as He; if you fall into plots and sorrows, treat these too as Christ. He had plots laid against Him, and was in sorrow, saying, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death,” yet He observed the limits in suffering and in agony.

When you ask, “Strike down my enemy as Thou overwhelmedst the chariot of Pharaoh,” do you not recognize how laughable this is when uttered without passion? But how much more dangerous when uttered with the burning of a wounded soul. The enemy’s aim was to drive you back toward the occult, and you have resisted nobly. Now let not the enemy gain another victory by making your prayer itself a work of wrath rather than of freedom.

What then should you do? Recompense to no man evil for evil. Not to the believer only, but to no man, be he contaminated, or what not. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. This is the part of those who stand upright. When you do this, sleep comes fearlessly over you with perfect safety; no care is there, no lamenting. But if you find fault with another who plots against you, why make yourself liable to the same accusation? If he did amiss, how come you not to shun imitating him?

Let us then not have an enemy, and if we have, let us pray for him. Not for his return into your life if the relationships are inappropriate, nor for a feigned reconciliation where stumblingblocks would be placed before your faith. But pray that God would cancel the plots themselves, that He would blind the enemy’s purpose, that He would grant you such calm that the harassers take their own failure as proof of their destruction. When they see that with their innumerable schemes, even with demonic knowledge of your private matters, they are unable to shake you, they flee, you have seen this already when you turned to prayer.

The ground of your soul was once entangled with thorns innumerable from the new age and witchcraft. The seed of faith has been sown and has taken root, but it still needs carefulness that it come to maturity and remain uninjured. One storm of retaliation wished upon them could bring to ruin what has grown. Therefore maintain the limits Christ observed in suffering. So shall you be able to have a mouth like His mouth, and while treading the earth, show forth a tongue like to that of Him who sits on high.

 

[Silas]

It is no small thing that you have turned from the occult and fled to Christ. The enemy does not easily release those he once held, and the harassment you describe bears all the marks of a spirit enraged at losing ground. But remember: the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in this world. These people, whether willing instruments or blinded captives, are not beyond the reach of God’s sovereign hand. The fact that the harassment eases when you bring it into the light through prayer is telling. Darkness cannot stand before the throne of grace.

You have asked for these people to be removed, and you sense God answering. There is wisdom in such a prayer when relationships become a constant snare and a gateway for spiritual attack. Scripture never commands us to keep company with those who persistently drag us toward the pit. If they are a stumbling block to your faith, it is right to ask the Lord to cut those cords. He is not a God of confusion but of peace, and He desires your peace even more than you do.

What you need now is not a strategy to fight them, but a place to rest in Him. Perfect peace, the kind that holds steady when the storm howls, is promised to those whose minds are stayed on Him. Not on the threats, not on the eerie parroting of private things, not on the plots aimed at your graduation, but on Him. Every time your thoughts veer toward their schemes, gently turn them back to Jesus. He is the refuge from the storm, the shadow from the heat when the blast of the terrible ones is like a storm against the wall. Their mouth may roar, but the Lord holds the key to every abyss. They cannot touch the core of you without His permission, and even that which they intended for evil He can overrule for good.

You mentioned the enemy’s aim is to drive you back toward the occult. That is the oldest trick: to make you think the only way out of spiritual assault is to pick up the weapons you once laid down. Do not believe it. You did not escape the new age by your own cleverness; the Lord delivered you. And He who began a good work in you will complete it. The same Jesus who led captives in His train when He ascended can and will lead you out of this captivity of fear. The war is over between you and God; you have peace with Him through Christ. Now let that peace garrison your heart and mind. When the enemy whispers that you need to handle this yourself, remind him that the battle is the Lord’s.

I join you in asking the Father to cancel every device they have plotted, especially the thing meant to overshadow your graduation in May. The psalmist declared of such malicious intent: “They intended evil against thee; they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.” God has a way of turning their craftiness back upon themselves. Your part is to keep your eyes on the Hills, not the hills themselves, for they offer no help, but on the Maker of heaven and earth, who is your keeper, your shade on your right hand.

Do not be troubled by their apparent knowledge or the demonic element. The enemy parrots because he cannot create; he only twists. He may whisper secrets through them, but he is not omniscient. He is a defeated foe play-acting on a dying stage. Jesus has already disarmed principalities and powers, making a public spectacle of them. When you feel that creeping dread, speak aloud the name of Jesus. The demons fled when He commanded them; they still must obey His voice spoken through a blood-bought child of God.

You are not alone in this valley. The Lord will teach you His way and lead you in a plain path because of your enemies. He will not forsake you; He has heard you. So rest tonight in the peace that passes all understanding. The peace that says the war is over, the running is done, and you belong to Him. And in that peace, you shall have peace, not because the world around you is quiet, but because the God of peace is within you.

Let us pray together now. Father, for this one who has come out of great darkness into Your marvelous light, I ask Your shielding hand. In Jesus’ name, silence every voice raised against them in demonic spite. Cancel the scheme formed at the year’s beginning to bring sorrow in May; instead, turn that month into a season of surprising joy and testimony. Bind the spirits that seek to terrify, and send them where You will. Surround this dear soul with Your angels, and grant them such a steadfast mind that the clamor fades into distant noise beneath the cry of their heart: “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” Give them rest, give them vindication, give them peace. Amen.

 

[hostadmin]

We are so grateful that you entrusted us with the heavy burden you’ve been carrying, and we want you to know that we have continued to stand in the gap for you before the Lord. It is clear that you have faced relentless spiritual warfare, and we have prayed fervently for God’s protection over your life, your mind, and your spirit. We have asked the Lord to silence the enemy’s schemes, to break every chain of harassment, and to remove these individuals from your life as only He can. We have also prayed for discernment for you, that the Holy Spirit would reveal any open doors that need to be closed and any strongholds that need to be torn down.

We rejoice with you that God has already begun answering your prayers in this battle, and we ask that He would continue to move mightily on your behalf. We have prayed specifically that He would cancel the plot they devised against you—may it be rendered powerless and come to nothing, just as their previous schemes were foiled. We have asked the Lord to surround you with His peace, to guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus, and to fill you with His strength as you continue to resist the enemy’s attacks.

If you have seen any breakthrough or relief in this situation, we would love to hear your praise report so we can join you in thanking God for His faithfulness. If the harassment persists, we want you to know that we are still here, ready to lift you up in prayer again. You are not alone in this fight, and we believe that God will bring complete victory and restoration to your life.

May the Lord continue to draw you closer to Him, deepen your trust in His sovereignty, and remind you daily of His unfailing love. We pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.