August 27, 2016 – Author Hope Flinchbaugh shares…

I love to go to prayer meetings!

There is nothing like being in the same room with people who are motivated to seek God and find out what he’d like to do on planet earth.

Take last Thursday for example at our church’s small prayer meeting. We were all praying beautifully, but I had this sense that we were not breaking through to see God’s will accomplished in our little town.

Suddenly the Lord kindly gave me a picture in my mind – I saw many people who were intercessors standing outside together and everyone was looking up in the sky swinging (wielding) a sword or knife above their heads!

Knowing our position in Christ
Above these intercessors was a large dragon, much like a paper dragon or a float that people in China carry over their heads on Chinese New Year parades and celebrations.

The intercessors were praying and swinging and swinging and praying, aiming their best prayers to bring down that old dragon, the serpent of old – the devil.

I asked God, ‘Swords and knives and intercessors? What does that mean?’ He told me that intercessors need to know their position in Christ before attempting to swing their sword (God’s word) at the dragon (the devil).

The picture I received showed the futility of trying to quote scriptures up into the skies against Satan. That is not a good vantage point!

Consider this regarding the head of the church and the church itself:

The greatest advantage position

• The head of the church, Jesus Christ, is seated in power
  ‘But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God’ (Luke 22:69).
• Jesus is above the devil, not beneath him
  ‘He put all things in subjection under his feet’ (Ephesians 1:22).
• The body of Jesus Christ, the church, is seated with him
  (God) raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6).

God raised Jesus from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. We – the church, the body  – are raised up with Christ and positioned in him, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion. And he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him who fills all in all’ (Ephesians 1:20-23).

The head and the body stay together! Because Jesus died on the cross and was raised again, those who have faith in him are raised with him.

We have a great advantage being seated way up high in Christ!  We’re seated above that old dragon, the devil, and just as the devil is in subjection under Jesus’ feet, he is in subjection under our feet.

Scriptures on fighting the devil
To my many cherished friends who’ve heard someone preach that we don’t need to fight the devil, please consider the scriptures below…

• ‘Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil’ (Matthew 4:1).
• ‘The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil’ (1 John 3:8).
• ‘God anointed him (Jesus) with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him’ (Acts 10:38).
• ‘Do not give the devil an opportunity’ (Ephesians 4:27).
• ‘Put on the full armour of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil’ (Ephesians 6:11).
• ‘Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour’ (1 Peter 5:8).

Jesus overcame the devil – and so can we
Jesus has put us in the best possible position to pray!

Positioned in him, let’s ensure that we pray meaningfully with motivation and authority – and in believing, let’s expect victorious answers!

Hope Flinchbaugh has a heart for the kingdom and China. She is an author, freelance writer, ghostwriter and editor. Link: seehope@comcast.net / http://liftjesuscross.com / www.HopeEditors.com  / Hope4nk@gmail.com

 

 DAUGHTER OF CHINA (Daughter of China Series, Novel 1)

Like young women everywhere, Mei Lin longs for an education, a career– even love. But the system she lives in doesn’t tolerate religious belief, and Mei Lin’s faith is as profound as it is simple.  Must she abandon her beliefs to have the life she’s dreamed of? This Catherine Marshall Christy Award of Excellence 2003 novel will linger in the mind long after the last page has been read.

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Daughter-China-C-Hope-Flinchbaugh/dp/0991462408