Silas
Beloved of All
Your honesty about being so tired is heard, and your request for prayer is taken seriously. To carry such a long battle and to feel held back while you are trying to walk forward is exhausting, and it is right to bring that weariness to the Lord.
Scripture is clear that the enemy is real and that spiritual opposition is not imaginary. There are evil spirits whose work is to torment and deceive and destroy, and their power is not stopped by hiding or by human effort alone. At the same time Scripture is clear that God sets limits on that power and makes a separation for His own. In the visions given to John, those tormenting spirits were not allowed to touch those who had the seal of God. You cannot by yourself shut them out, but being in Christ means you are marked as His, and He has authority over the abyss where evil spirits are confined and over the place of the dead for men. No demonic horde acts outside His permission, and Jesus has shown His authority to command them and to send them away.
You also named the root honestly, that disobedience opened a door, and that Christ is now delivering you from that disobedience. That is the heart of what the Bible calls repentance, and it is important to understand what repentance truly is. It is not the same as sorrow. There is a sorrow that is godly and a sorrow that is of the world. Worldly sorrow feels bad about consequences and may even weep bitterly, but it does not turn away and it leads toward death. Godly sorrow leads to a change of mind and direction that brings life and does not need to be regretted.
We see this difference in Esau. When he lost the blessing he wept with tears, but his tears were not over his own sin. He was not seeking to turn back to God. He was seeking the blessing he had despised, and his tears were bitterness and anger over the loss. That is why it is said he found no place of repentance. He did not truly repent. In the same way, Israel once said they were sorry for asking for a king to replace God, yet they still wanted to keep the king. That was sorrow without turning. True repentance would have been to turn from the wrong and return to letting God be King.
True repentance is a turning away, a death to the old life and a choice to live a new life. The baptism John preached was a baptism of repentance, and the Jordan River pictured that death to what was before. God looks for fruit that shows the turn is real, not just words or tears, but a forsaking of the sin itself. It is not about trying to convince God by how sorry you feel. You do not need to be told what you deserve. What draws a person to turn is the goodness of God. It is His kindness that leads to repentance.
If Christ is delivering you, that is evidence of His goodness at work in you already. The enemy will try to hold on and accuse and keep you looking backward, but your part is to keep turning from what God shows you to turn from and to walk forward in the new life He gives. Bring forth the simple, practical fruit of that turn in daily choices, even small ones, as God enables you. Where you fail, confess quickly and turn again. Do not confuse the tiredness or the tears themselves with whether God has received you. God receives a heart that turns to Him through Jesus.
You do not have to fight this in your own strength. You are not left to hide and hope the attack passes. In Christ you are sealed and kept, and He intercedes for you.
Let us pray for you now.
Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, I lift this weary one to You. You see the long battle and the tiredness and the many problems that press in. Thank You for Your goodness that has been leading toward repentance and for the deliverance You have already begun. Complete that work. Grant a clear turning from every disobedience that gave place to the enemy, and give strength to walk in newness of life and to bear fruit that shows that change. Where there has been only sorrow for consequences, work godly sorrow that leads to true turning and to salvation and life. Seal and guard this life as Your own. Rebuke every tormenting spirit and forbid it to hold on or to keep this person backward. Speak peace to the tired heart, forgive through the blood of Jesus, fill with Your Holy Spirit, and lead step by step out of confusion into Your will. Restore hope and strength for each day. Amen.
May the Lord keep you close, give you rest, and confirm that you belong to Him as you continue to turn to Him.
Scripture is clear that the enemy is real and that spiritual opposition is not imaginary. There are evil spirits whose work is to torment and deceive and destroy, and their power is not stopped by hiding or by human effort alone. At the same time Scripture is clear that God sets limits on that power and makes a separation for His own. In the visions given to John, those tormenting spirits were not allowed to touch those who had the seal of God. You cannot by yourself shut them out, but being in Christ means you are marked as His, and He has authority over the abyss where evil spirits are confined and over the place of the dead for men. No demonic horde acts outside His permission, and Jesus has shown His authority to command them and to send them away.
You also named the root honestly, that disobedience opened a door, and that Christ is now delivering you from that disobedience. That is the heart of what the Bible calls repentance, and it is important to understand what repentance truly is. It is not the same as sorrow. There is a sorrow that is godly and a sorrow that is of the world. Worldly sorrow feels bad about consequences and may even weep bitterly, but it does not turn away and it leads toward death. Godly sorrow leads to a change of mind and direction that brings life and does not need to be regretted.
We see this difference in Esau. When he lost the blessing he wept with tears, but his tears were not over his own sin. He was not seeking to turn back to God. He was seeking the blessing he had despised, and his tears were bitterness and anger over the loss. That is why it is said he found no place of repentance. He did not truly repent. In the same way, Israel once said they were sorry for asking for a king to replace God, yet they still wanted to keep the king. That was sorrow without turning. True repentance would have been to turn from the wrong and return to letting God be King.
True repentance is a turning away, a death to the old life and a choice to live a new life. The baptism John preached was a baptism of repentance, and the Jordan River pictured that death to what was before. God looks for fruit that shows the turn is real, not just words or tears, but a forsaking of the sin itself. It is not about trying to convince God by how sorry you feel. You do not need to be told what you deserve. What draws a person to turn is the goodness of God. It is His kindness that leads to repentance.
If Christ is delivering you, that is evidence of His goodness at work in you already. The enemy will try to hold on and accuse and keep you looking backward, but your part is to keep turning from what God shows you to turn from and to walk forward in the new life He gives. Bring forth the simple, practical fruit of that turn in daily choices, even small ones, as God enables you. Where you fail, confess quickly and turn again. Do not confuse the tiredness or the tears themselves with whether God has received you. God receives a heart that turns to Him through Jesus.
You do not have to fight this in your own strength. You are not left to hide and hope the attack passes. In Christ you are sealed and kept, and He intercedes for you.
Let us pray for you now.
Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, I lift this weary one to You. You see the long battle and the tiredness and the many problems that press in. Thank You for Your goodness that has been leading toward repentance and for the deliverance You have already begun. Complete that work. Grant a clear turning from every disobedience that gave place to the enemy, and give strength to walk in newness of life and to bear fruit that shows that change. Where there has been only sorrow for consequences, work godly sorrow that leads to true turning and to salvation and life. Seal and guard this life as Your own. Rebuke every tormenting spirit and forbid it to hold on or to keep this person backward. Speak peace to the tired heart, forgive through the blood of Jesus, fill with Your Holy Spirit, and lead step by step out of confusion into Your will. Restore hope and strength for each day. Amen.
May the Lord keep you close, give you rest, and confirm that you belong to Him as you continue to turn to Him.
