They Spoke Boldly. After they prayed... they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (Acts 4:31)

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1 They Spoke Boldly After they prayed... they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (Acts 4:31) Enough kidding around. We know we re supposed to keep ourselves submitted to God s plans, not demanding our way, just desiring His will. But within the clear understanding of this context, the time has come to start asking for big things. Bigger things. God-sized things. There s no doubt that God is working mightily in regions of the world where His people are desperate enough to send their prayers off the charts of propriety. The obstacles they face may be far beyond the pale, but nothing is beyond the power of God or the expectations of a believing heart. And anywhere God s people begin to enlarge their confidence in Him, putting their doubts completely in the dust, God never fails to amaze. We are never taking a chance when we take God at His Word. May nothing hold us back from believing Him. May nothing keep us quiet when He is calling us to speak out. May nothing scare us away from putting His faithfulness on the line. A Christ Awakening may very well be waiting on... Christians involved in bold witness accompanied by miracles, dramatic conversions, and Holy Spirit-empowered victories over evil That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. (Eph. 1:19-21) Adapted from Praying God s Word: Breaking Free from Spiritual Strongholds by Beth Moore* Just in case anyone is still clinging to a few doubts, let me assure you, the devil is real. You may be tempted to respond, Oh, I ve always known that. We live our lives not simply according to what we know but what we really believe. Genuine belief is life-altering conviction. How we walk with our feet of clay on the hot pavement of life evidences what we truly believe. Like many of you, I was not

2 adequately prepared for the warfare that lay ahead of me in my Christian life even though I had been raised in church. I m not blaming anyone, but because I represent a serious casualty, I am compelled to tell everyone I know so that someone else might learn in the classroom what I unfortunately learned on a field trip. Overcome the Enemy I am utterly convinced in retrospect that I, like every other servant of God, became of special interest to the devil the moment I surrendered to ministry as a college student. Although I did my best to serve God through serving my church, I was very little threat to the devil because I did not know the truth. In my late twenties, I realized how absolutely illiterate I was in the Word of God, and I surrendered sacrificially to my first Bible doctrine class. Instead of being bored stiff like this sanguine girl expected, my entire soul sprang to life. I began a love affair with Jesus Christ through His Word that has done nothing but spread like a wildfire in my soul since. At that time I believe I went from being of interest to Satan to being a concern to Satan. That s when the turn came. I taught a lecture-style class every Thursday at a church in Houston. The ladies came to me and said, We love coming to this class, and we really want to stay here, but we want homework like some of the other Bible classes are doing. The tears sting in my eyes as I think back on their approach because I now know they were totally influenced by the Living God who loved me and gave His Son for me. I laughed and told them I couldn t possibly write homework. I didn t know how. They assured me God would teach me. The tears run down my cheeks as I say to the glory of God: teach me He did. In lots of hard ways. In lots of delightful ways. But all of them life-changing ways. What a relief to know that we ll never battle anything that s out of God s jurisdiction. He can easily defeat His opposition on Mt. Carmel as Mt. Zion. It s all His turf. The Psalmist proclaimed, You hide them in the protection of Your presence; You conceal them in a shelter from the schemes of men, from quarrelsome tongues (Ps. 31:20). Walk in Truth Tragically, Satan has successfully duped the vast majority of our churches into imbalance regarding all things concerning or threatening him. Our human natures are drawn like magnets to polar points, and we unfortunately apply our fleshly extremes to our pulpits. We tend to give the devil either far too much credit or not nearly enough. I cannot say this strongly enough: it is imperative in the days in which we ve been assigned to occupy this earth that believers walk in truth and soundness of doctrine. Just as Christ warned in Matthew 24, we are living in days characterized by a rampant increase of deception and wickedness. Satan knows the biblical signs of Christ s imminent return far better than we do, and he is furious because he knows his time is short (Rev. 12:12).

3 Therefore, he has moved into comparative nuclear arms in his war against us, while we re still using popguns in our war against him. A war of unprecedented proportions is waging against the church and the people of God. We must put on our armor, learn how to use our weapons, and fight with the confidence of those who know they are destined to win. When we speak God s Word out loud with confidence in Him rather than in our own ability to believe we are breathing faith. Believing and speaking the truth of God s Word is like receiving blessed CPR from the Holy Spirit: Since we have the same spirit of faith in accordance with what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke, we also believe, and therefore speak (2 Cor. 4:13). When we approach God in genuine repentance, taking full responsibility for our sins, our prison doors swing open. But we could sit right there in our prison cells in torment if we don t stand on God s promises and walk forward in truth: Therefore, dear friends, since we have such promises, we should wash our- selves clean from every impurity of the flesh and spirit, making our sanctification complete in the fear of God (2 Cor. 7:1). Pursue God s Heart Much of the Word applies specifically to the battles we face. However, the Bible consists of sixty-six books. My point? The Bible has much to say about fighting the good fight of faith and becoming well-trained soldiers... but it also has far more to say about the pure pursuit of God, His righteousness, and His plan for us. I believe a wise conclusion to draw from the emphases in the Word of God is: give much time and thought to becoming well-equipped victors in the battle that rages, but give more time to the pursuit of the heart of God and all things con- cerning Him. Much about warfare. More about God Himself. I think sometimes God must listen to our pitifully small acclamations and expectations of Him in prayer and want to say, Are you talking to Me? I m not recognizing Myself in this conversation. Are you sure you have the right God? According to the prophet, There is no one like You. You are great: Your name is great in power. Who should not fear You, King of the nations? It is what You deserve. For among all the wise people of the nations and among all their kingdoms, there is no one like You (Jer. 10:6-7). Believe it or not, the ultimate goal God has for us is not power but personal intimacy with Him. Yes, He wants to bring us healing, but more than anything, He wants us to know our Healer. The prophet, Jeremiah, said, I will give them a heart to know Beth Moore is a writer and teacher of best-selling Bible studies. Previous books include Things Pondered and A Heart Like His. For more go to * Beth Moore, Praying God s Word: Breaking Free from Spiritual Strongholds (Nashville, Broadman & Holman, 2000), used by permission.

4 Prayers to Offer Thanksgiving Thank You, Jesus that You ve given us authority to overcome all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). Jesus, we rejoice in our victories over evil and that our names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20). Dear God, we are grateful that the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds (2 Cor. 10:4). Confession We have not completely overcome the enemy. Lord, forgive us for allowing the enemy to maintain strongholds in our lives. We do not always walk in truth. Cleanse us, God, for submitting ourselves to deception and wickedness rather than Your miraculous power. Our churches often do not pursue God s heart. Jesus, we repent of not making You the focus. Petition Lord, may we see sinners repent and witness dramatic conversions, according to Your Word: It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:31-32). Dear God, as we seek victory over evil, might we sing with the psalmist: I do not trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory; but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame (Ps. 44:6-7). Jesus, as we pursue victories over evil might we discipline ourselves: Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded (James 4:7-8).

5 Promises to Claim Overcome the Enemy Jesus, might we have victory over the evil in this world, for if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does comes not from the Father but from the world (1 John 2:15-16). Walk in Truth Dear God, might we see Your miracles as we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man s conscience in the sight of God (2 Cor. 4:2). Pursue God s Heart As we pursue Your heart, Lord, might our lives point to the One who gives living water, resulting in dramatic conversions:... but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life (John 4:14).