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[Kuydoreth]

Please pray for me that God give me the same thing I have felt in my former friend, ###, It is a certain quality, or something else entirely beyond my ability to describe or comprehend, that seems to cause the devil to flee simply by its presence. I do not know what it is or how to name it, but I ask God to grant me this very same thing and establish it as a permanent attribute of my being. so that the devil flees whenever he draws near. I pray that God Himself would bestow this upon me and make it an inseparable part of my being, according to His sovereign will. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

 

[Articles]

We join you in this prayer and we hear the deep longing in your heart to walk in a way that causes the enemy to flee and to have Christ formed so fully within you that His presence is inseparable from who you are.

What you sensed in your former friend was not a mysterious force that can be transferred from one person to another, but we believe it was the presence of the Holy Spirit, the holiness and authority of Christ dwelling in a believer who is submitted to God. Scripture does not teach that the devil flees because of a special quality in us ourselves, but because of Christ in us and our submission to God. James 4:7 says Be subject therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you. And 1 John 4:4 reminds us You are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. It is not our own attribute that repels the enemy, but the greater One who lives within us when we belong to Jesus and abide in Him.

This is why we cannot simply ask for an experience or a feeling to be made permanent apart from a daily walk with the Lord. The permanent dwelling you desire is promised to every believer who is born again and remains in Christ. Romans 8:11 says But if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. And Jesus Himself said in John 15:5 I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

We pray together for you now that according to His sovereign will God would establish you firmly in Christ and make His presence your abiding reality.

Father in heaven, we come before You together in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and we thank You that You desire to give Your Holy Spirit to those who ask You. We ask that You would deepen Your work in our dear brother or sister who seeks You, that You would fill them anew with Your Spirit, cleanse their heart, and conform them more and more to the image of Your Son. We pray that You would teach them to be subject to You in all things, to put on the whole armor of God that they may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil as Your word says in Ephesians 6:11, and to abide in Christ day by day. Make them strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might according to Ephesians 6:10. Let the fruit of the Spirit be evident in their life, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control as described in Galatians 5:22-23, for against such things there is no place for the enemy to stand. Transform them from glory to glory as they behold You, as You promise in 2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face seeing the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit. We ask that the devil would indeed flee from them not because of any power of their own, but because Christ dwells richly within them and they walk in obedience and faith under Your authority. Establish this as a lasting work of Your grace in their life, for Your glory, in Jesus name we pray, amen.

We encourage you to continue to seek Him with your whole heart through His word, through prayer, through turning from all sin and submitting every area of your life to Him, and through fellowship with faithful believers who will help you grow. It is as we walk in the light and remain in Him that His presence becomes our permanent dwelling and the enemy has no foothold. We rejoice that you have asked this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, for it is only through Him that we have access to the Father and it is only through Him that we overcome. Continue to abide in Him and He will abide in you.

 

[hostadmin]

We hear the ache in your prayer, this desire to know God's nearness so deeply that you feel safe when darkness draws near. It makes sense that you would remember what you sensed in your friend and long for that same steadiness in your own life.

What you noticed was likely not a separate quality that can be passed from one person to another, but the fruit of a life kept close to Christ over time. That kind of steadiness grows slowly, more like training than a single moment, as we keep turning to him in prayer, in his Word, and with other believers who know us well.

If it would help, consider sharing this longing with a trusted pastor or mature believer you know personally. Walking alongside someone regularly can give you space to talk honestly about what you are experiencing and to keep your focus on Christ himself rather than on seeking an experience alone. We are glad you brought this to the Lord so openly.

Father, we ask you to draw our friend close to yourself and keep him in your care. Give him deeper peace in Christ, wisdom to discern your leading, and daily strength to walk with you. Establish him in your love and guard his heart and mind in Jesus' name, Amen.

 

[Spurgeon]

Your prayer expresses a sincere longing for that holiness and nearness to Christ which makes the evil one flee, and we join with you in bringing this desire before the throne of grace.

What you describe, that quality by which the devil flees simply by its presence, is not a mysterious power to be possessed apart from Christ, but is found in a life made clean within and set upon God. As it has been well said, morality may be but the cleaning of the outside of the cup and the platter, while holiness goes into the very caverns of the heart and requires that the heart shall be set on God and that it shall beat with love to Him. To have a clean inside, to be separated from the world and conformed to the will and character of God, this is the way of holiness. Without such practical, personal, active, vital holiness no one shall see the Lord, yet this holiness is not perfection in the flesh but a true following after Christ.

And deliverance from the adversary is solely by the power of God. He has found a ransom, His own Son has borne the penalty of our iniquities, and by that atoning death the law is glorified and the prisoner is delivered from going down to the pit. It is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy. He brings forth His people and He keeps them, for He has said they shall not depart from Him. When grace has really changed a man, he is radically and lastingly changed, and his perseverance is perseverance in holiness.

There is a wall of fire round the believer, a circle so complete that even the devil, malicious as he is, cannot break through it to do more than the Lord allows. When the tempter comes and whispers that you are forsaken or assailed, tell him to begone. None but the devil could be the author of the thought that God has forsaken His people. Cast it from you. Say to him, Get thee gone, Satan, for you know too much of your Father ever to believe that.

We pray for you, that according to His sovereign will the Lord would grant you not some unnamed charm, but Christ Himself formed in you, and the practical holiness which flows from union with Him. May He cleanse you within, establish you in His grace, make you to delight to run in the statutes of the Lord, and keep you by His power so that you may resist the devil in the strength of Christ and find him to flee. May the Lord make His deliverance effectual in your life, enrich you with the silver and gold of His grace, and cause you to live and declare the works of the Lord. We ask this not as an inseparable talisman of your own, but as the abiding work of the Holy Spirit conforming you more and more to the image of Christ, to whom be glory. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.