Trending News This Week:
- Massacre in Paris leaves more than 120 people dead and 350 injured.
- French military launches second wave of airstrikes on Islamic State in Syria.
- ISIS video threatens that Washington D.C. and all others involved in Syrian airstrikes will suffer.
With extreme violence on the rise and terrorist attacks occurring with more frequency, many Christians are asking, “Lord, what can we do to protect ourselves and our families?”
The Lord gives us the answer in Ephesians 6:18:
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
We can see that there are two parts to this: (1) praying in the Spirit, and (2) praying for each other.
Praying in the Spirit is our first line of defense. The Holy Spirit is our guide and He shows us things to come. When we spend time praying in the Spirit, God will be able to reveal things to us, including ways to keep ourselves and our families safe. At times, that may come as a prompting to stay home on a particular day, or take a different route home from work.
When we yield to that prompting by the Spirit of God, He keeps us safe, healthy, and prosperous. God ALWAYS wants what’s best for us. When we listen carefully for His voice … He will teach us and guide us in the way in which we are to go; He will counsel us with His eye upon us. (See Psalm 32:8.)
If you don’t know how to hear God’s voice, practice praying in the Spirit with a pen and paper handy. As you pray, write down what comes to you. This may seem more like your own thought, but if it brings clarity and peace, then it was likely from God.
The more you practice, the more accustomed you will get to sensing His Presence and hearing His voice.
The Lord has also directed us to pray for each other. We should be continuously holding up our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ in prayer. The Lord Jesus said:
Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. Â For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Matthew 18:19-20
There is power and strength in numbers, especially when we come before the Lord in agreement. And to be in agreement, all parties to the prayer need to have faith and doubt not. Doubt will weaken the prayer, the same as a frayed thread weakens a rope.
Time in the Word and relationship with God will produce the kind of faith that overcomes any doubt. God’s Word can never fail, and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Therefore, pray without ceasing, listen for the Holy Spirit to direct you, and take the needs of others to the throne of God.
Say this faith declaration out loud: Lord, thank you for protecting me and my family. I thank You that I hear Your voice and not the voice of evil. Thank You for the Holy Spirit, Who comforts and guides us. Thank you for the angels that are encamped around us. I will pray to you without ceasing, and I will be diligent to lift up the needs of others. Thank you for placing a hedge of protection around my home, my neighbors, and my community.
Scripture Reading:
And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Ecclesiastes 4:12
Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
Psalm 103:20
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 2:4