Warriors Arise: April 6th, 2020
Ephesians 6:17, "And take...the sword fo the Spirit, which is the word of God." I have not ever been good at memorizing the Bible. I have had lots of people give me tricks to help, but to no avail. There was a period in my life where I was desperate to know God, know His voice and His presence. I stopped trying to memorize verses and I focused on knowing God as I read my Bible. I was a Bible study leader to high school girls who had lots of questions and wanted everything backed up with Scripture. They were hungry for the truth and I wasn't about to let them down. Since my husband had a Masters in Theology there was the unspoken expectation that I did too!
Scott had already been a youth pastor in Texas for over a year. Shortly after we were married, I went along with him to a youth rally. A couple of the girls came to me and asked if I knew where a particular Scripture was found. While they were telling me what they needed, I was praying for God to share with me. Honestly, I didn't know where it was. Now-a-days, there are posters, t-shirts and trinkets with the verse but not back then. I did not have a masters in Theology and the only verse I could remember without prompting is John 3:16. They were done explaining what they needed. I responded, "Check Philippines 4:13." And off they went to check it out. I remember them looking back surprised and saying, "You're right." I looked to Heaven and thanked God! I passed their test and I knew it was because of God.
I am sure Philippines 4:13 was probably one of my Bible memory verses as an Eager Beaver from my childhood church. And I had heard it a number of times but most people when quoting a verse do not state chapter and verse. To me, what God did that night was a miracle and I wanted to know more.
When we study to know the God of the Bible, listening for His voice, a nudge about a particular Scripture or passage, we are sharpening the edges of our sword. Others are blessed with the ability of memorizing Scripture, but that was not the case for me. I would try from time to time, with note cards around the house, saying them every day. But if I was away from the cards, I couldn't remember the verse. It was pretty frustrating.
I continued with studying to know God through Scripture. Gradually, I would be teaching in my small group or mentoring and a verse with chapter and verse would pop out of my mouth to encourage someone. In my mind, "Wow! God You are AWESOME! I didn't know that but You wanted them to have the verse!" It gave meaning to Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
I came to understand that even though I did not have the ability to memorize Scripture like my husband, Scott, as I read the Bible for understanding God the Scriptures were being written on the inside of me. I had to trust God, what I put in, the Holy Spirit brought out in a time of need. Philippians 4:19, "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." My need was the Word of God to encourage, instruct and build up other believers. God found a different way for me to share His Word. I couldn't memorize but as long as I read the Word and listened to God speak to me as I studied, the Holy Spirit could access it when I needed to share the Scripture with someone else.
How do you sharpen your sword? By reading the Word of God to know Him. Hebrews 4:12: For the word of God is living an powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of should and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and it a discerner of the thoughts and ententes of the heart. Study the Word to know God. The best way to defeat the enemy is to know the Scriptures that reveal his lies. The Word of God is truth; therefore when the enemy speaks lies they are identifiable because they contradict the Word of God, the love of God and the nature of God. God is not the author of confusion. When we seek God He gives us wisdom and understanding. We position ourselves to learn, when we learn we take down the strongholds and reject the lies of the enemy. Cutting between the truth and a lie is a lot like cutting between joints and marrow. We do not want to lose part of the truth by hacking at the lie. People get hurt. Knowing the truth about God and the love He has for each person He created allows us to use the Word of God as a two-edged sword that dismantles the attacks of the enemy and rescues the people.
Lift Your Sword and fight as we pray:
Father God, today my prayer is for the lies of the enemy to be torn down. So many are hurting because they have lost loved ones to the coronavirus or are still in the battle right now. Father, I ask for Your lovingkindness to be revealed to them today. I ask for the truth of Your power to be made known to them. I ask for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord to be saved and healed in Jesus name. When the plague had come upon the Children of Israel because of their disobedience Moses raised a gold staff with a serpent on it. Everyone who looked upon that was healed. God reveal Yourself to Your people today. I ask for everyone who is infected with the coronavirus to call out to You and be healed in Jesus name. So many are saying a cure cannot be found but God. You are the one who makes a way when there is no way. I rebuke those who are speaking the lies of the enemy, telling people to give up hope, to quit, and that there is no God. These lies are from the pit of Hell. I bless the mind of all the researchers who are investigating for a cure. I ask that there be like George Washington Carve who left his lab, took a walk to talk with You and You gave him a way to save the South from economic ruin, over 600 uses for peanuts. God, in this time of need we need something more, we need a cure for those infected. It only takes one researcher to seek You. We lift up our Sword of the Spirit and pray for boldness to the one who will seek You, listen to You and follow through with exactly what You say to bring the cure. Thank You for hearing our prayers and delivering the answer in Jesus name we pray, amen! I believe You make the crooked places straight. I believe You are the living water in the desert. I believe You gave us Your Word so we would know how to fight. We take the battle to the enemy and rebuke confusion in Jesus' name. God bring clarity and direction. We rebuke fear in Jesus' name and declare faith to arise in every believer. We rebuke division in Jesus' name and say we will stand together to see this battle won and God established here on earth. We rebuke the lies of the enemy and bless people to see and hear the truth of who You are and the love You have for each one. We take the Sword fo the Spirit and cut away the death grip of the enemy on the lives of all those infected. We release healing and wholeness in Jesus' name amen!
A Warrior in the Lord’s Army,
Veridee Joy
My hope is for Believers in Jesus Christ to join together each day to pray, to push back the enemy as we release God’s power here on earth against the corona virus. The prayers will be listed each day as Warriors Arise. I will put a date with it so we can keep them straight. If you have any questions please feel free to make a comment or private message me. If you'd like to my posts emailed to you please subscribe now.