Jehoshaphat Prayed the Word
When Judah was faced with the danger of imminent attack by a group of enemy nations, King Jehoshaphat prayed the word of God. He prayed the promises of God to their forefathers and God came swiftly to their rescue.
“Jehoshaphat stood before the people of Judah and Jerusalem in front of the new courtyard at the temple of the LORD. He prayed ‘O LORD, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you! O our God, did you not drive out those who lived in this land when your people arrived? And did you not give this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham? Your people settled here and built this Temple for you. They said, ‘whenever we are faced with any calamity such as war, disease, or famine, we can come to stand in your presence before this Temple where your name is honoured. We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us and rescue us.”
2 Chronicles 20:5-9
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Great! Jehoshaphat knew the word of God and simply threw it back to Him. It is not that God forgot His words and promises. But He will always want us to affirm our faith in His words and walk in His will. Jehoshaphat was reminding God of His promises to Abraham and also to King Solomon during the dedication of the Temple. Let’s see them:
Promises to Abraham
“As the sun went down and it became dark, Abram saw a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses. So the LORD made a covenant with Abram that day and said, ‘I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River – the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.” Genesis 15:17-21.
Promises to Solomon
“So, Solomon finished building the Temple of the LORD, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do. Then one night the LORD appeared to Solomon and said,
“I have heard your prayer and have chosen this temple as the place for making sacrifices. At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or I might command locusts to devour your crops, or I might send plagues amongst you. Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land. I will listen to every prayer made in this place, for I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be my home forever. My eyes and my heart will always be here.” 2 Chronicles 7:11-16, 1 Kings 9:3
Jehoshaphat knew all these promises and promptly threw them back to God at the time of need. And because God cannot deny His words, He immediately responded and saved Judah from the imminent danger. He took over the battle, the three nations killed themselves and Israel had victory. Praise God!
Daniel Prayed the Word
Another good example is Daniel. He knew and prayed the word of God for the deliverance of the children of Israel from Babylonian captivity, and he received the attention of heaven swiftly:
“It was the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede, the Son of Ahasuerus, who became king of the Babylonians. During the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, was studying the writings of the prophets. I learned from the word of the LORD, as recorded by Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years. So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with Him in prayer and fasting. I wore rough sackcloth and sprinkled myself with ashes.”
Daniel 9:1-3.
Now, Daniel and the children of Israel were taken into captivity in Babylon. There, Daniel read from the writing of Jeremiah and understood that it was time for Israel’s captivity to end. It was meant to last just for seventy years. Then, he began to pray on that divine promise and consequently got favourable results.
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Let’s see the promises that Daniel prayed:
“The truth is that you will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised and I will bring upon you home again. For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. I will be found by you,’ says the LORD. ‘I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you again to your own land.”
Jeremiah 29:10-14
These were the promises Daniel prayed on. If you don’t know the word and promises of God for your life, you will overstay in captivity. You must strive to know what the word of God says concerning you, your family, your country and the church. You must know what the word of God says concerning your health, your finances, your children, and your marriage and then pray on them, if you must get the desired results.
Jesus prayed and acted the Word
Jesus also understood this principle that was why He said that He does nothing except what He is directed to do from above. He would always seek for the will of His father to be done. In fact, at a stage He said that He was going (acting) according to how it was written of Him. That means that everything about him has been written down in heaven. His was just to follow the divine script. No wonder, He always got the maximum result of His prayers. When we know and pray God’s word, all things will become possible to us.
Let’s also briefly see what some of the veterans of prayer movement have to say on this:
R.A. Torrey in his work ‘How to pray’ wrote that,
“Mere intellectual study of the word of God is not enough; there must be meditation upon it. The word of God must be revolved over and over in the mind with a constant looking to God and His Spirit to make that word a living thing in the heart. The prayer that is born of meditation on the word of God is the prayer, which soars upward to God’s listening ear.
“The word of God is the instrument through which the Holy Spirit works. It is the Sword of the Spirit in more senses than one. The person who wants to know the work of the Holy Spirit in any direction must feed upon the word. The person who desires to pray in the Spirit must meditate on the Word, so that the Holy Spirit may have something through which He can work. The Holy Spirit works His prayers in us through the word. Neglect of the word makes praying in the Holy Spirit impossibility. If we seek to feed the fire of our prayers with the fuel of God’s words, all our difficulties in prayer will disappear.”
Then, E.M. Bounds also elaborated on this theme in his book, ‘The Necessity of Prayer’:
“Prayer draws its very life from the bible. It places its security on the firm ground of scripture. Its very existence and character depend on revelation made by God to man in His holy word. Prayer, in turn, exalts this same revelation and turns men toward that word. The nature, necessity, and all – comprehending character of prayer is based on the word of God.”
Well said by these spiritual generals. Now, we can also know the will of God and pray it through the messages we receive from dreams, visions, discernment, word of knowledge and word of wisdom (prophetic words). God through these revelation gifts can make known His will for an individual, for the church or for the people. And when you sense that the message is coming from God and pray it, it receives answers. I can testify to this. I receive most of my revelations from God through dream and visions.
Though, God also speaks to me through other means, but dreams and visions have become predominant. When I dream, it comes out exactly the same. Some nights, I do have as much as three to four dreams, all carrying different revelations. So, I don’t joke with my dreams at all. Consequently, when I am praying, the things I receive in the dream form a substantial part of my prayer points.
In fact, most times, as the dreams come, the vibrations will instantly wake me into midnight prayer (which is mostly intercessory). Each of us should know and master the surest way that God speaks to us. Jesus said that His sheep would hear His voice. And if you are truly a son, you will always recognise the voice of your father. Since prayer is communication, you and God must have a common ‘medium’ of interaction. This is very important.
So, when praying in the midnight with my team, we don’t lack prayer topics. We receive these points from the word of God (bible), revelations and other prophetic gifts. Through all these we can discern what the will of God is in any given situation and pray accordingly. By God’s grace we always have the results to show for this.
I wish to also comment on the imperativeness of having a prayer and deliverance team in every church. With all humility, I believe that a church without a prayer team is just like a city without walls. Prayer team serves as watchtower, shield and hedges, guide and spiritual lifeline of any church. They detect the evil plans of the enemy against the church.
They protect the church against the arrows and attack of the enemy. And they also draw down the glory and power of God to the church. I can not be in a church without a standing prayer team. I will feel powerless and exposed. We will say more on prayer groups later. But let’s first comment on other things that also aid our prayers.
Praying in Tongues
For your prayers to be effective, especially during the midnight battles, you must learn how to pray in tongues. It is very difficult if not impossible, to pray effectively for very long hours in the night (which sometimes last for days or months) all with plain languages. You will definitely run out of words. But when you speak or pray in tongues, you pray according to the direction of the Holy Spirit and you will never lack words to express your requests, because the spirit knows exactly what requests to make according to the will of God.
If you have been practicing this, you will know what we’re talking about here. You don’t get tired easily and there is always a sense of strength and accomplishment that envelops you after praying in tongues.
Look at how 1Cor. 14:4, 28 puts it;
“A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally in the Lord.”
As he speaks (prays) in tongues, the spirit refills him with more strength. So he can stay on without getting physically tired. Then, also when you pray in tongues, you are talking to God directly through the spirit encoded words. Who can understand God more than the Holy Spirit? The Spirit surely knows what, how and when to make requests to the father. He knows the will and programme of God more than humans do. So, we must begin to pray in tongues, pray in the spirit. In fact, what I understand as praying in the spirit is praying His word and praying in tongues. Or you can tell me more.
Please, also permit me to clarify something here. I would like us to know that there are three forms of speaking in tongues that I found in the bible. One is the speaking in tongues as an initial evidence of being baptized with the Holy Spirit. Two is speaking in tongues as a gift of prophecy. This is the one that requires interpretation. And some are also given the gift of interpreting tongues, according to the scriptures. Then, the third is the one we are discussing here; communicating directly and privately with God. This is the one that the bible said that it is only the Holy Spirit that can decode what you are saying; because your spirit is sending an encoded message to Him directly. And this in what we have called praying in tongues, praying in the spirit or groaning in the spirit.
Pray Until Something Happens (PUSH)
Anyone that is involved in spiritual warfare like the midnight prayer and other forms must have this principle as a banner. Once you know what the will of God is, you must be ready to pray until you see the manifestation or until God tells you clearly that He has answered your prayers. There are so many examples from the bible, but we will just mention two – Daniel and Elijah.
Daniel 10:12-13, “Then he said, don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. But for twenty-one days the Spirit Prince of the Kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the Archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the Spirit of the kingdom of Persia.”
This biblical record gave us a rare insight into some of the activities that go on in the spiritual ream. Daniel was fasting and praying to God. And immediately he began to pray, on the first day, God sent Gabriel (a high ranking angelic being that stands in His presence) to go and deliver the answers to Daniel’s request. As Gabriel was coming, a powerful demonic principality blocked his way and he could not come through to meet with Daniel. Gabriel was there with the demon until another strong archangel – Michael (the Spirit Prince of Israel) came to his help. Only then could Gabriel go to dispatch the divine message to Daniel. Wow!
This is indeed a very rare insight into some of the actions and reactions that go on every day on our behalf in the spirit realm. Now, what if Daniel had prayed for 3 or 4 days, waited for some answer and had given up? Maybe Gabriel would have gone back to heaven and there wouldn’t have been any need for God to send Archangel Michael as reinforcement. Then, Daniel and the people of Israel would have also remained there without any solution to their predicaments.
Without knowing the struggle that was going on his behalf in the spiritual ream, Daniel continued praying and fasting for 21 days, and at last the answer came. Thank God that he stayed on. He endured. That is the mark of an intercessor.
Sometimes, when we pray, we trigger off fierce struggles in the spiritual realm and this can cause delay in receiving immediate responses to our requests. And because we don’t often see what happens in that realm, we get desperate or fall into despondency. We must learn how to persevere in prayer if we must be champions and veterans of spiritual warfare. We must develop the capacity to endure, recognize, ambush and demolish our enemies. I have earlier said that we must persevere, persist, and then we will prevail. And this must be the attitude of a midnight warrior.
Elijah
This man wielded so much spiritual power when he was here on earth that he locks and releases the dew and rain at will. Fire, death, and the laws of supernatural multiplication and velocity also obeyed him. But he once demonstrated that an intercessor must be ready to persist until he/she receives the desired results. Look at what happened after that great contest at Mount Carmel.
He had locked the rain for several years and now he came back to restore it. But that must not happen before his contest with the 850 satanic priests in Israel. After winning and slaughtering those demonic priests, he immediately informed king Ahab that rain was coming. In fact, Elijah clearly said that he was already hearing the sound of a mighty rainstorm and immediately went into prayer.
After the first prayer, he sent out his servant to go and check the rain. His servant went, came back and told him that he saw nothing. Elijah kept sending him until the seventh time. It was at the seventh time that the servant said that he saw a little cloud rising from the sea. And the prophet of God shouted. Then, the rain came.
Now, the lesson is that this great man of God had to persist in pray for seven times before he saw the physical actualization of his vision. He did not give up or show any sign of discouragement. Remember, he had already heard and seen the rain in the spirit and needed to birth it in the physical. We must learn how to pray until something happens (PUSH).
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Let us pray for revival. Let us pray for the release of those in captivity. Let us pray to dismantle the dominion of the demonic forces of darkness. Let us pray against the spirits behind the false religions. Let us pray that the glory and power of God will come down in His Church. May God strengthen us in the name of Jesus!
Prayer Groups and Meetings in the Bible
The early church in Acts of Apostles always met to pray and that was why God released His power and presence upon them. Praying together draws down the ‘Corporate Anointing’ from the throne of God. It also unites the believers.
Let us see Act 1:14-15,
“They all met together continually for prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus. During this time, on a day when about 120 believers were present, Peter stood up and addressed them as follows.”
Again in Act 16:13, 16, we also saw that the early Christians had a particular place where they regularly met for prayers.
“On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we supposed that some people met for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had come together.” and “One day as we were going down to a place of prayer,”
They had a place for prayers and they met regularly. Now tell me why the glory of God would not come upon them. No wonder today’s church has not been able to witness the same level of anointing, glory, and authority as the early church. The early church had places of prayer and they met regularly!
This coming together by the early believers to pray and fellowship precipitated the baptism of the Holy Ghost and ‘explosion’ of the early church. That simply means that, there are things that God will not do for His people unless they come together to pray and fellowship in unity and love.
The bible also said that they (the believers) were in one place and in one accord and God said, “Yes, this is the best time to give them that eternal and wonderful promise I made to them.”
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“And when the day of the Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem, Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven…
“Then they that gladly received his word were baptized and the same day they were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”
Acts 2:1-5, 41-42 (KJV).
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The believers prayed together regularly and the promise and power of God came down. As a result three thousand converts were made in one day. If you also read down that story, you will find out that love, joy, favour, signs and wonders also came upon the church. When believers come together to pray in one accord (in agreement and harmony), there is nothing that they would not be able to achieve.
The devil knows this very well and that is why he will do everything to bring confusion and disaffection amongst Christians and even amongst the ministers. He knows that a united prayerful church is a great threat to his kingdom and his clandestine operations.
The church must come together; we must present a united battlefront against our common enemies – Satan and his agents. We want to see more of interdenominational fellowships, interdenominational prayer groups and meetings. Jesus said, “I will build my church (not my denomination) and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” The more people you have praying in unity, the greater the anointing.
God said in Leviticus 26:8,
“Five of you will chase a hundred and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand! All your enemies will fall beneath the blows of your weapons.”
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Did you get that? The more the believers, the greater number of the enemies they will pursue. And He also gave the assurance that the enemies will fall for us. Praise God!
National Prayer Meetings in the Bible
In the bible, national prayer meetings were variously called to seek the face of God or His intervention in the affairs of the people. We will mention just two of them because of limited space:
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When three nations Moabites, Ammonites and the Meunites declared war against Judah, King Jehoshaphat quickly summoned a national prayer meeting at the Temple in Jerusalem. God heard their prayers, fought and defeated their enemies. “Jehoshaphat was alarmed by this news and sought the LORD for guidance. He also gave orders that everyone throughout Judah should observe a fast. So people from all the towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the LORD.”
2 Chronicles 20:3-4.
And in the book of Esther, the people of Israel found themselves in a very precarious situation. An irrevocable death decree was hanging on them, not because of any crime, but for the envy of their enemies. Please can we just read the story? It is indeed an interesting one:
“Then Haman approached king Xerxes and said, ‘there is a certain race of people scattered through all the provinces of your empire. Their laws are different from those of any other nation, and they refuse to obey even the laws of the king. So it is not in the king’s interest to let them live. If it pleases you your majesty, issue a decree that they be destroyed, and I will give 375 tons of silver to the government administrators, so that they can put it into the royal treasury.
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“The king agreed, confirming his decision by removing his signet ring from his finger and giving it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite – the enemy of the Jews. ‘Keep the money,’ the king told Haman, ‘but go ahead and do as you like with these people.’
“On April 17 Haman called in the king’s secretaries and dictated letters to the princes, the governors of the respective provinces, and the local officials of each province in their own scripts and languages. These letters were signed in the name of king Xerxes, sealed with his ring, and sent by messengers into all the provinces of the empire. The letters decreed that all Jews – young and old, including women and children – must be killed, slaughtered, and annihilated on a single day. This was scheduled to happen nearly a year later on March 7. The property of the Jews would be given to those who killed them. A copy of this decree was to be issued in every province and made known to all the people, so that they would be ready to do their duty on the appointed day. At the king’s command, the decree went out by the swiftest messengers, and it was proclaimed in the fortress of Susa. Then the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa fell into confusion.”
Esther 3:8-15
This was the situation of the people of God. They were to be killed – their young and old, women and children. All their properties were also to be confiscated after the planned genocide. What did the Jews do? Mordecai tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes. Other Jews joined him. They fasted, wept and wailed.
Now, when Mordecai gathered all the Jews of Susa and prayed for three days, God moved to revoke the death sentence hanging on their necks and also destroyed their enemies.
God started the deliverance process by visiting the king Xerxes in the night. The king could not sleep again because fiery petitions of the people of God were bombarding His throne. The decree against the Jews was reversed, their archenemy hanged and his properties were handed over to the Jews. Praise God!
When a people, a nation or citizens of a state gather to pray and cry to God, the effects are always penetrating. The condition of your people or your nation can be changed if you would bring them together to seek the face of God today.
Individual Prayers in the Bible
Prayers done by individuals also have tremendous results. Moses, Jesus, Joshua, Daniel, Nehemiah etc, are some of the people who have changed the course of their people through prayers. As a prayer warrior; especially of the midnight stock, you should not only affect yourself, your family, but you have the capacity to affect the destiny of your people, your nation and even the entire world. Jesus’ prayers and activities still affect the world till today. Moses’ prayers saved the entire nation of Israel. Daniel’s prayer set the stage for the deliverance of the Israelites from Babylon.
Let us take the cue from Nehemiah. He stood in the gap for his people. Hear him,
“They said to me, ‘Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been burned.’
“When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven. Listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel.”
Nehemiah 1:3-6
You already know the tremendous result of that Nehemiah’s prayer. God intervened. The falling walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt. And the worship of God was restored. God can also do such with you. And remember, there is a reward that will always come after you have prevailed.
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In Joshua 23:10, the bible says that,
“Each one of you will put to flight a thousand of the enemy.”
One person to chase away a thousand enemies? You can only do this supernaturally through praying. Your prayer can bring tremendous results. Yes, your prayer. And also know that when you prevail, God says you will receive a crown and He will make you a pillar in His house. A pillar and a crown reward from God? That will be wonderful!
“All who are victorious will become pillars in the temple of my God”
Rev. 3:12.
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Please, let’s move over to praise.
PRAISE
Chapter Five
Praise
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Paul and Silas also sang praises in the dungeon that night. With fresh wounds all over their bodies, chains on their hands and legs and in the usually dark underground prison cell, they sang praises to God. Praise and worship are some of the most powerful tools given to the believers by God. I mean spirit-filled praise and worship. There is great power in praise and worship. They are tremendous weapons of our warfare and the devil knows that. That is why he would do everything possible to stop or at least, corrupt them.
When we praise God, we bring down His presence and glory. No wonder the bible says that God inhabits the praises of His people. This simply means that He dwells, lives, occupies or resides in the praises of the believers. When you praise God, you create the atmosphere for Him to come and occupy.
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Now, you cannot make a success of midnight prayers without praise and worship. Midnight battles must start and end with them. Even, there are times you may not need to make any request, but just praise our great God and you will see your needs melting away on their own. I have tried it severally. I would get up around midnight and start to praise Him. I would do that for hours hoping to pray after, but would be submerged in His presence and consequently forget my file of requests. Then, I would watch those needs sorting out themselves.
In fact, I see praise as more powerful than prayer, though both are means of communicating to God. When you make it a habit to praise God at the face of every difficulty or persecution, the devil will begin to think twice before he brings problems to you, because he would have known what your reactions would be.
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Praises usher us into the presence of God. An intercessor and all Christians should always have this in mind. The presence of God has a gate to it and praises and worship are the keys. When you come to do battles in the midnight, the first thing you must do is to open the gate of His presence with the key of praise. Then, you can begin to receive the answers to your requests.
The Psalmist knew this very well when he said in Psalm 100:4,
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and bless his name.”
And you know what will happen when you go into the courts of the LORD through the gates. Definitely, you will not come out the same. Your burdens, needs and requests will be met. Praise and worship will open the gates!
There are also other things that a spirit-filled praise will do for us. It will give you the wonderful privilege of joining the heavenly beings in worshiping God and bringing heaven down to the earth.
Just look at Rev. 4:2-11,
“I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it! The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones-Jasper and Carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow. Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crown on their heads. And from the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven lamp stands with burning flames. They are the seven spirits of God. In front of the throne was a shinny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal.
“In the centre and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back. The first of these living beings had the form of a lion; the second looked like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth had the form of an eagle with wings spread out as though in flight. Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night, they keep on saying’ ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty – the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.
“Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever, the twenty four elders fall down and worship the one who lives forever and ever. And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, ‘you are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power.For you created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created.”
Majestic! This is the duty of the fearful four living beings and the twenty-four elders in heaven. I ran the whole record so that you can understand exactly what you do when you praise and worship God. I am always conscious of this fact when I am in worship – that I am joining the hosts of heaven and the billions of believers all over the earth to say that our God and King is worthy to be worshiped forever. This is sweet!
We also sacrifice when we praise Him. And you know a sacrifice is offering something precious and of great value to somebody. God deserves our best. We must give Him the fruit of our lips – that is praise as sacrifice. Our praises must ascend to Him as a sweet smelling savour.
Hebrew 13:15 says,
“Let us continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by proclaiming the glory of his name.”
Praise as a Mighty Weapon
Praise and worship are also mighty weapons in the hands of the believers. When you praise God, you throw Satan and his dark kingdom into confusion and panic. You disorganize and defeat their plans. Look at the case of Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah again; when those three enemy nations came to attack them. After praying and getting directions from God, the bible said that King Jehoshaphat assembled the singers and marched to the battleground. They did not only defeat their enemies, but went home with more than enough spoils of war.
“After consulting the leaders of the people, the king (Jehoshaphat) appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the LORD and praising him for his holy splendour. This is what they sang: ‘Give thanks to the LORD; his faithful, love, endures forever!’ At the moment they began to sing and give praise, the LORD caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had finished off the army of Seir, they turned on each other.
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“So when the army of Judah arrived at the look-out point in the wilderness, they were dead bodies lying on the ground for as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemies escaped. King Jehoshaphat and his men went out to gather the plunder. They found vast amounts of equipment, clothing, and other valuables more than they could carry. There was so much plunder that it took them three days just to collect it all! On the fourth day they gathered in the valley of Blessing, which got its name that day because the people praised and thanked the LORD there. It is still called the valley of blessing today.”
2 Chronicles 20:21-26.
God moved ahead of them and dealt with their enemies immediately they began to sing His praises. When you praise God, He goes ahead of you to defeat your enemies. You will only come to the battlefield to pick the spoils of war and celebrate in the valley of blessings. Go into night battles with praise and worship. Make it a duty to praise God always, no matter what is happening around you. This is just my secret. Day and night, not just when I’m praying, I join the heavenly hosts to worship our King, LORD and Saviour.
Great Testimonies
Now, let’s hear from a one-time very powerful agent of the kingdom of darkness, now a servant of Jesus Christ – Emmanuel Eni. Incidentally, I gave my life to Jesus in one of his crusades in the eastern part of Nigeria in the 80s. We will have many of his testimonies and others in this work. Hear him on the effectiveness of praise:
“You must learn to sing praises to God always. There is power in praises. There was this Pastor – Pastor I.K (name withheld) he was the pastor of a church in Ebute Metta, Lagos. He became my target and his offences were that he disturbed our peace by carrying out early morning calls, i.e. preaching in the early hours. He went about with his megaphone and stationed himself at N0. 2 Bus Stop, along Akintola Road, Ebute Metta. There he would preach, he would not stop at that, but would keep binding demons, etc. In his church, he would preach, exposing the works of darkness, after which he would start binding demons. He prayed a lot. He was always singing and praising God.
“I sent my messengers to him but they could not kill him, so I decided to carry out the mission myself. On the said day, I saw him walking along the new G.R.A. A thing worth mentioning here about this pastor is: any time we went for him, we would see pillars of cloud by his right and left going along with him, so these hindered us. But this particular day, I saw nothing, so I was doubly sure my mission would be very successful. I commanded rain to fall to enable me to strike him with thunder. The rain started and the thundering began. All the trees in the area started losing their branches but this Pastor was singing joyfully. I still remember the chorus: ‘In Jesus Name, every knee shall bow…!’
“As he continued with this chorus, the rain stopped and the thundering ceased. There appeared immediately two angels, one on each side, with flaming swords. Their eyes and the swords were like flames of fire. Then a strong wind carried me away and I found myself in another town! In fact, I was baffled, but because we were so hardened, what I said was: ‘this man has escaped again!’ The Pastor did not know the spiritual war that was fought on his behalf. So, you can see, the child of God is well secured. When the bible says: ‘Nothing shall by any means hurt you,’ it means what it says!”
(Excerpts from the book: ‘Deliverance from the Powers of Darkness’).
Truly, great is Jehovah our God! Did you read that? His presence protects us and if not for this kind of confessions, we may never know the numerous battles that our great God fights for us daily. Just imagine the above story. Please, live a life of praise. I mean sincere praises from your heart. It is always a powerful weapon in hands of a child of God.
Let’s move quickly and consider the other weapons we have and of course hear more chilling testimonies. Go over to the Name of Jesus.
THE NAME OF JESUS
Chapter Six
The Name of Jesus
“Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11
“I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else in this world or in the world to come… and we are seated with him in the heavenly realms – all because we are one with Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 1:19-21, 2:6
“And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents. And if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Mark 16:17-18 (King James Version).
The name of Jesus is a very great weapon in the hands of a Christian, especially the prayer warrior. It is always fatal to Satan and the dark kingdom when mentioned by a believer, and even sometimes, by the unbelievers. The name of Jesus opens the doors of heaven and also brings all the powers in heaven, on earth, under the earth and in the water to subjection. But, why is it so powerful?
First of all, Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came from heaven. This is a very simple introduction of Jesus. But if you study the scriptures very well, you will no doubt arrive at the undisputable fact that Jesus is God. He is God, but came in human form. From the Old Testament to the New, everything points to this fact. So, if this man was God in the flesh, why would He (His name) not command absolute authority and influence over His creation? Tell me.
Secondly, before you accuse me of not knowing my bible, Jesus also ‘earned’ the highest authority when He successfully paid the price for sin and also rose from death. Hope you read those verses at the beginning of the chapter? They are self-explanatory. And this is why I may not comment much on them.
Now, read the following scriptures and make the conclusions by yourself:
“For in Christ the fullness of God lives in a human body and you are complete through your union with Christ. He is the Lord over every ruler and authority in the universe”
Colossians 2:9-10
“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation. Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things we can see and the things we cannot see – kings, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities. Everything has been created through him and for him. He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together.”
Colossians 1:15
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Great! Now, what do you want me to say again? If Christ has these nature and attributes, how then can a created being (like Satan and dark agents) ever stand before Him? Now these are the things we must understand as Christians. That Our Savoir Jesus Christ is God. That He created and is controlling all things in the whole universe – be it power, principalities, rulers, authorities, thrones, dominions in the air, in the waters, on the earth, on the mountains, in the dark places, in the day and in the night.
So, when you mention His name, these created beings hear the name of their creator and they have no choice than to obey, bow and submit to His authority. A creation will always be subject to the creator. Simple!
Jesus knew this very well and that was why He ruled over demons, sicknesses, nature and situations while He was still on earth. And even at the point of death, He had to willingly submit Himself, because mortals could not physically arrest not to talk of killing Him. Let’s just see the drama that happened at His arrest:
“After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees. Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had gone there many times with His disciples. The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a battalion of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove.
“Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him. Stepping forward to meet them, He asked, ‘who are you looking for?”
“Jesus of Nazareth,’ they replied.
“I am he,’ Jesus said. Judas was standing there with them when Jesus identified himself. And as he said, ‘I am he’, they all fell backward to the ground! Once more he asked them, ‘whom are you searching for?’
“And again they replied, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’
“I told you that I am he’, Jesus said, ‘And since I am the one you want, let these others go.’ He did this to fulfil his own statement, ‘I have not lost a single one of those you gave me.’
“Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s servant. But Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup the father has given me?”
John 18:1-11
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Wow! That was indeed a drama at the point of Jesus’ arrest. Sure, so much to learn from here. We went through this story so that you will be able to appreciate the authority and nature of Jesus while on earth. A battalion of soldiers with all their weapons could not arrest Him. When He told them, ‘I am he’, they all fell to the ground. He later willingly submitted himself to them so that He would be able to fulfil His divine mission of sacrificing His life for mankind. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for men to kill Him.
Yes, He was always on top of every situation. This same Jesus is saying that He has given us that authority in His name to cast out devils, withstand Satan, heal the sick, and march upon principalities, powers, and rulers of darkness. The believer, especially the prayer warrior must understand this very well. At the mention of the name Jesus, every power and every situation must bow.
Confession of a Former Occult Master
Before we continue, let’s see a confession of a one time powerful and high-ranking agent of Satan from Nigeria – Evangelist E. O. Omoobajesu as recorded in his book ‘My Conversion’. This will help us to appreciate the power in the Name of Jesus. Read:
“I recall a meeting of the cults held at the Lagos Bar Beach. All the high-ranking occultists in Nigeria were present and among our members were some of the traditional rulers from all over the country. Thus, from every part of the country we came and assembled at the beach, dressed in demonic regalia while our evil powers made us invisible. We were just settling down on the beach to start the meeting when a man came to pray on the beach. Though we were invisible to him, we could all see him clearly. Unknowingly, he started to march on the members seated on the sand.
“We were all infuriated, and a person in our assembly was ordered to deal with him. Instantly, he gave the intruder a very heavy slap. The man started to feel dizzy. On realizing this, he cried out aloud. He shouted J-E-S-U-S! The echo of his voice rented the silence of the night.
“What happened? Immediately [after] the name of Jesus was called, a ray of light came out of his mouth and disappeared into the heavens. We all sat down looking at what would happen next. After a few moments, the light reappeared out of the sky coming back to the earth. The light again exploded in mid-sky and subdivided into various parts, still coming directly towards us. This light encircled our gathering on the beach and made the whole surrounding very brightly lit.
“Looking more closely, we saw accompanying these rays, all forms [kinds] of weapons of war, chariots of fire and winged-beings, all were running furiously, heading towards us. We all had to disperse; everyone ran away, the chariots chasing each of us home. All these [things] happened within the twinkling of an eye.”
Powerful! My God is great! This is a true confession of a one-time very powerful and dreaded agent of Satan. It is very possible that that prayer warrior (Christian) who called the name of Jesus did not and may never know what eventually happened that night; the war that heaven declared on his behalf. All he would say is that Jesus delivered him from the attack of the enemy at the Bar Beach. But, the Satanists saw everything clearly. This is exactly what happens each time we mention the name of Jesus in our warfare against the kingdom of darkness. They scamper for safety. They run in confusion and total disarray.
All powers, principalities, rulers of darkness bow and genuflect at the mention of the name of Jesus. They obey at the mention of His name because He conquered and disgraced them at the cross. Christians, including the midnight warriors, must begin to appreciate and appropriate the power that is in the Name of Jesus.
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Emmanuel Eni also tells the story of how the Name of Jesus threw Satan down at one of their meetings in the underwater world. Hear him:
“One day, a girl named NINA came to me. NINA whose parents were from Anambra State was a very beautiful young girl but lives mostly in the sea, the underwater spirit world. She was an ardent agent to the Queen of the Coast (goddess of the sea) and very wicked. She hated the Christians so much and would go any length to fight Christianity. I first met her during my visit to the sea. NINA came for an errand from the Queen of the coast.
“We left immediately and reaching there I learnt of our having a conference with Lucifer. Satan, in this meeting, gave us the following instructions: to fight the believers and not the unbeliever; because the unbelievers were already his. When he said this, one of us asked: ‘why?’ He said the vision was that God drove him out of ‘that place’ (he refused to call the word ‘heaven’ and throughout our meetings with him he never mentioned the word ‘heaven’). Rather he would always use the word ‘that place’, because of pride, and therefore he does not want any Christian to get there.
“He also told us that we should not fight the hypocrites. ‘They are like me’ he said. He continued his speech and said that his time was near; therefore we should fight as never before and make sure no one enters ‘that place!’ So, one of us said to him, ‘we heard that God has sent someone to rescue mankind back to God.’ Satan then asked: ‘who is that?’ One member answered ‘Jesus!’ And to our greatest surprise, Lucifer fell from his seat. He shouted at the man and warned him never to mention that name in any of our meetings if he loves his life. It is true that at the name of Jesus every knee must bow (Phil. 2:10), including Satan.”
Yes, the word of God is true! Every knee, including Satan, must bow to the name of Jesus. What else do you want to hear? His name also opens the doors of heaven and blessings for us. That was why Jesus said that anything you will ask in His name will be given to you. It is the key to open God’s heart, His mercies and treasures. It locks the gates of hell but opens heaven for us. Let’s see the next – The Blood of Jesus, with more testimonies.
THE BLOOD OF JESUS
Chapter Seven
The Blood of Jesus
“And they have defeated him because of the blood of the lamb and because of their testimony.” Rev. 12:11
“…Jesus is the great shepherd of the sheep by an everlasting covenant, signed with his blood.” Hebrews 13:21
Another very powerful weapon that God has given to us is the blood of Jesus Christ. When a believer pleads the blood of Jesus, he/she is automatically protected from the attacks of Satan and his agents. His blood reminds Satan and the demons of their defeat on the cross. The shedding of Christ’s blood on the cross, His death and subsequent resurrection brought us back to God and also sealed the eternal doom of Satan and his fallen angels. Sure, taking Jesus to the cross remains one of the things that the devil will eternally regret.
In fact, the bible said that if he (the devil) had known, he wouldn’t have killed the Lord of glory. The shedding of Jesus blood unknowingly to the devil was what was needed to seal the everlasting covenant between God and us. And once you invoke that covenant the devil is disorganised, disarmed and disgraced. That is exactly what the scriptures say.
Look at Colossians 2:15,
“In this way, God disarmed the evil rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross of Christ.”
Did you get that? The sacrifice through the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross disarmed and disgraced the devil. So, when you plead the blood of Jesus, this is exactly what you are doing. You are neutralizing the powers and the activities of Satan. You render him impotent, powerless and also bring shame upon him. If it is so, then tell me why he should not get jittery at the sight or hearing of His blood?
Let us again see the testimony of Evangelist E. O. Omoobajesu. This incident happened when he was still serving Satan. He said,
“Then, I called the fourth of the superior spirits in the government of Satan, whose name is Belial. (Anywhere you see some people gathering or holding a meeting or dance party and later, they start fighting, using the chairs or benches and whips or perhaps they cut each others body with knives or broke bottles, it is Belial, the demonic spirit who has visited them. That is his function in the satanic order, to cause quarrels, be it in the family, among friends or even in a community).
“I commanded him, ‘go forward and work on them to start fighting.’ I said to myself, after all they call themselves revivalists. When they start beating each other with benches, the newspaper will carry it in the headlines the next day that, ‘Revival turns to a free-for-all fight.’ ‘Carry on,’ I commanded the demon. He took a few quick steps and then stopped. ‘What is wrong again?’ I enquired. He asked me to come and see and I moved in to look again. This time, it was no longer fire that I saw, but BLOOD. The whole place looked as if it were an abattoir where millions of animals have been freshly slaughtered.
“It was as if all the people were totally immersed in the flowing river of the blood. He told me pointedly ‘That is the BLOOD of the Lamb of God.’ But since I didn’t understand him, I asked him again, mocking, ‘you mean that God has a sheep and that He killed it and the blood of it is now frightening you?’ I, too, have sheep at home. I will kill it for you later, so that you can drink the blood. He said that it is not like that.
“He said firmly: ‘that is the BLOOD of the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world!’ He added, ‘nothing in this world or in any department can face that BLOOD in combat.’ So he bluntly refused to go and I chased him off also.”
The Blood of Jesus! The above incident happened as the then agent of Satan went to stop a revival meeting being held by a Christian group. He called in the demons to do the job, but they were prevented by the blazing fire of God. He later invoked a more dangerous and very destructive demonic principality – Belial (the spirit of violence, destruction and disobedience), and the blood of Jesus immediately showed-up and submerged the entire venue of the crusade. And the demon could not risk going near, but turned to start lecturing his human boss on the origin, the power and efficacy of the blood of Jesus. Yes, they know!
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