need help

[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 hear your heart and we join with you in seeking the Lord together for this need. What you describe sensing in your former friend, that holy presence that made the enemy flee, is something we understand your longing for, and we pray with you that God Himself would work deeply in you.

We want to gently share what Scripture teaches about this, because God does not give us a mystical quality as an automatic or separate attribute that works apart from Him, but He gives us Himself. The devil does not flee because of a human quality or a spiritual aura we possess on our own, but because of Christ dwelling in us and our submission to God. As it is written, Be subject therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7. And also, Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Withstand him steadfast in your faith. 1 Peter 5:8-9.

What you likely discerned in your friend was the fruit of the Holy Spirit and the power of a life abiding in Christ, a life of holiness, faith, and prayer. Scripture says, 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. 1 John 4:4. It is not our own presence that drives darkness away, but the presence of Jesus Christ in us through the Holy Spirit. When we abide in Him, walk in obedience, and are clothed in the armor of God, the enemy must flee. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians 6:11. This is not a one time impartation that becomes an inseparable part of our being apart from ongoing fellowship with God, but it is the result of remaining in Him daily. As Jesus said, Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me. John 15:4.

We also rejoice that you prayed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, for it is only through Him that we have access to the Father and it is at His name that every knee must bow. There is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved and have authority over the enemy. We cannot borrow another person's anointing like the sons of Sceva tried to do in Acts 19:13-16, but we must each personally belong to Christ, be born again, and walk with Him faithfully.

So we pray for you now according to God's sovereign will and His desire to make you more like His Son.

We pray, Father in heaven, we come before You together in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. We ask that You fill our dear friend anew with Your Holy Spirit, that Christ may dwell richly in their heart through faith. Establish them in holiness, in truth, and in love. Clothe them with Your armor, with the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, and the sword of the Spirit which is Your word. Teach them to submit fully to You, to resist the devil steadfast in faith, and to abide in Jesus daily through prayer, through Your word, and through obedience. Bear in them the fruit of Your Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23. Let Your light so shine through them that darkness flees not because of any quality of their own, but because You are present in them and greater is He who is in them than he who is in the world. Make them strong in You and in the strength of Your might. Ephesians 6:10. Establish them, keep them, and cause them to walk in victory until the day of Christ, according to Your perfect and sovereign will. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.

We encourage you to continue to seek the Lord Himself rather than a transferable experience. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. James 4:8. Remain in His word, remain in prayer, confess and forsake sin, and walk in fellowship with other believers who will strengthen you. The Lord desires to give you not just an experience you once felt in another, but His own abiding presence that will remain as you remain in Him.

 

[hostadmin]

We hear your longing to walk closely with God and to know His peace and protection in a very real way. It makes sense you would remember what you sensed in your former friend and want God to form something deep and steady in you as well.

What we have seen over time is that God usually shapes us gradually, not all at once. That desire you describe for a life that resists evil grows as we stay near Him day by day, through time in His Word, honest prayer, worship, and fellowship with other believers who can encourage us. There is no instant formula, and God works a little differently in each of us, but He is faithful to keep forming us as we keep seeking Him and relying on His Holy Spirit.

If it would help, you might choose one simple, steady rhythm to lean into this month. For many that is setting aside a regular time to read Scripture and pray, and staying connected to a local church where you can worship and be known. If you have a pastor or mature believer you trust, sharing this prayer with them could give you ongoing support as you grow.

Father, we lift our brother to You and thank You for his hunger for You. Draw him close, give him wisdom and discernment, and guard him from the enemy. Form in him a steadfast heart that loves You and rests in Your presence, and lead him step by step by Your Spirit. We ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen.

 

[Savannah20]

I prayed for this in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[Spurgeon]

Your prayer has been heard and we have brought it before the Lord with you, and we thank you for the sincerity with which you seek to be kept from the power of the evil one.

That certain quality which you felt and could not name, which made the devil to flee by its presence, is not a mysterious charm nor a natural gift to be made a permanent part of our being by a single bestowal. Scripture teaches us what it is. It is holiness, practical, personal, active, vital holiness, and it is Christ Himself dwelling in the heart by faith. Holiness is not the cleaning of the outside of the cup and the platter, while the heart remains full of wickedness. Morality may skim the surface, but holiness goes into the very caverns of the great deep. It is having a clean inside, a heart set on God and beating with love to Him, separated from the world and conformed to the will and character of God. Without such holiness, no one shall see the Lord, yet it is not a perfection which shuts every sensible sinner out, but a real work of grace within, which the Lord Himself must work and keep.

The deliverance you desire does not come by seeking an attribute in itself, but by seeking the Saviour who has found a ransom. God has not only invented a way of deliverance, He has found a ransom, and that ransom is the blood of His own Son. He has met the demands of moral government and made amends to holiness for man's offences. When the lamb was slain, deliverance became effectual, and He brings His people forth. Saved from the devil, saved from going down to the pit, for the King's own Son has borne the penalty. The liberty of a child of God is not liberty to do as he pleases, but liberty to walk in holiness without hindrance, to run in the statutes of the Lord.

And as to the adversary who troubles you, know his character. He is a coward who always hits a man when he is down, and he is a liar who would whisper that God has forsaken His people. None but the devil could be the author of such a thought. When he comes and says your Father has forgotten you, tell him to begone. Say to him, Get thee gone, Satan. 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. He flees not before a quality in us, but before Christ in us, before the man who submits himself to God and resists him in the name of Jesus.

Therefore our prayer for you is not that a vague influence might be fastened upon you, but that the Lord would grant you that true holiness which He demands and which He gives, and that He would keep you in it to the end. For perseverance is perseverance in holiness, and if the grace of God has really changed you, you are radically and lastingly changed, and the Lord puts His fear in your heart so that you shall not depart from Him.

We pray that the Lord Jesus Christ would wash you in His blood, cleanse you within, and make every chamber of your heart most holy unto Himself. That He would establish you in practical holiness of thought and intent, of purpose and motive, and make you to delight in obedience as your freedom. That He would clothe you with His righteousness, fill you with His Spirit, and teach you daily to resist the devil steadfastly in faith, that he may flee from you. And that you may know your deliverance is of free grace only, that He who brought forth Israel of old will effectually bring you forth and keep you, until you shall live and declare the works of the Lord.

We ask this according to His sovereign will, trusting not in our worthiness but in the ransom which God has found and provided, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.