Silas
Beloved of All
Thank you for sharing your heart with such honesty and for wanting to honor the Lord even while you feel under heavy attack. Gratitude is a good place to begin, and the Lord sees that thankfulness even on a difficult day.
The verse you mentioned in Luke 10:19 is a precious promise. Jesus has given His followers authority over the power of the enemy, and nothing can ultimately harm you when you are in Him. That authority is not exercised by striving in your own strength, but by resting in what Jesus has already finished and by using the spiritual weapons He has provided, especially prayer and His Word, with a rejoicing trust that His Spirit is greater than any evil that comes against you. You do not have to take harassment from the enemy. You can refuse it in the name of Jesus and stand in the deliverance He has already accomplished.
You asked about prayers being blocked. Scripture does teach that certain things can hinder our prayers, such as unconfessed sin, speaking evil or deceit with our tongue, returning evil for evil, harboring unforgiveness, or turning away from those in need. Peter writes that the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and His ears are open to their prayers, but His face is against those who do evil, and he calls us to turn away from evil, do good, and seek peace and pursue it. At the same time, Scripture gives wonderful assurance. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That includes the sins we are aware of and those we may not fully see. You do not need to live under a cloud of wondering whether you have confessed enough. Bring what you know to Him, ask Him to reveal and heal any unforgiveness in your heart, and trust His cleansing.
There is a difference between having peace with God and living daily in the peace of God. Many are delivered from sin and have peace with God through Jesus, yet do not enter into His rest. That rest is not God being tired. It is the rest of completion. Just as God rested when His work of creation was finished, we are invited to rest in the finished work of the cross. We enter that rest by faith, by ceasing from our own efforts to earn or secure what Jesus has already done, and by keeping our minds stayed on Him. He will keep in perfect peace the one whose mind is steadfast because that person trusts in Him. When our eyes are fixed on the turmoil, the trials, and the brazen evil around us, we lose that peace. When we look to Jesus, the sure foundation and cornerstone, we find real rest that prosperity and pleasure can never give.
The turmoil you describe, where it is hard even to write and where peace feels far away, is like the troubled sea Scripture describes that cannot rest and is constantly churning. That is the condition of a heart at war, but when you turn to Jesus and receive His forgiveness and healing, the war is over. You are no longer running from God but yielding to Him, and He gives beautiful and wonderful peace.
So labor to enter that rest by simple trust. Refuse to repay evil for evil or insult for insult. Guard your tongue from evil and deceit. Turn from the path of evil and walk in uprightness, letting wisdom lead you in pleasantness and peace. Cease from anger and do not fret yourself to do evil. Recognize that the battle is spiritual and meet it with prayer, with Scripture, and with quiet confidence in the Lord.
May the Lord grant you His deliverance, His forgiveness, and His healing for any hurt or unforgiveness you carry. May He rebuke what is evil and remove its oppression from you, and may He lead you into His rest where you cease from your own works and rest in His. May He keep you in perfect peace as your mind remains on Him, and may you know both peace with God and the daily peace of God that guards your heart in Christ Jesus.
The verse you mentioned in Luke 10:19 is a precious promise. Jesus has given His followers authority over the power of the enemy, and nothing can ultimately harm you when you are in Him. That authority is not exercised by striving in your own strength, but by resting in what Jesus has already finished and by using the spiritual weapons He has provided, especially prayer and His Word, with a rejoicing trust that His Spirit is greater than any evil that comes against you. You do not have to take harassment from the enemy. You can refuse it in the name of Jesus and stand in the deliverance He has already accomplished.
You asked about prayers being blocked. Scripture does teach that certain things can hinder our prayers, such as unconfessed sin, speaking evil or deceit with our tongue, returning evil for evil, harboring unforgiveness, or turning away from those in need. Peter writes that the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and His ears are open to their prayers, but His face is against those who do evil, and he calls us to turn away from evil, do good, and seek peace and pursue it. At the same time, Scripture gives wonderful assurance. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That includes the sins we are aware of and those we may not fully see. You do not need to live under a cloud of wondering whether you have confessed enough. Bring what you know to Him, ask Him to reveal and heal any unforgiveness in your heart, and trust His cleansing.
There is a difference between having peace with God and living daily in the peace of God. Many are delivered from sin and have peace with God through Jesus, yet do not enter into His rest. That rest is not God being tired. It is the rest of completion. Just as God rested when His work of creation was finished, we are invited to rest in the finished work of the cross. We enter that rest by faith, by ceasing from our own efforts to earn or secure what Jesus has already done, and by keeping our minds stayed on Him. He will keep in perfect peace the one whose mind is steadfast because that person trusts in Him. When our eyes are fixed on the turmoil, the trials, and the brazen evil around us, we lose that peace. When we look to Jesus, the sure foundation and cornerstone, we find real rest that prosperity and pleasure can never give.
The turmoil you describe, where it is hard even to write and where peace feels far away, is like the troubled sea Scripture describes that cannot rest and is constantly churning. That is the condition of a heart at war, but when you turn to Jesus and receive His forgiveness and healing, the war is over. You are no longer running from God but yielding to Him, and He gives beautiful and wonderful peace.
So labor to enter that rest by simple trust. Refuse to repay evil for evil or insult for insult. Guard your tongue from evil and deceit. Turn from the path of evil and walk in uprightness, letting wisdom lead you in pleasantness and peace. Cease from anger and do not fret yourself to do evil. Recognize that the battle is spiritual and meet it with prayer, with Scripture, and with quiet confidence in the Lord.
May the Lord grant you His deliverance, His forgiveness, and His healing for any hurt or unforgiveness you carry. May He rebuke what is evil and remove its oppression from you, and may He lead you into His rest where you cease from your own works and rest in His. May He keep you in perfect peace as your mind remains on Him, and may you know both peace with God and the daily peace of God that guards your heart in Christ Jesus.
