But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you(Matthew 5:44).
Some Christians have what they call “Enemy vanquishing services,” where they pray against their perceived enemies. But that’s not scriptural. The Word says, “…Love your enemies….”
Whatever God tells you to do is for your benefit. If He tells you to love your enemies, it means you can, and it’s also for your advantage. So, you’ve got to do the Word. Moreover, the Word shows that the adversary we contend with isn’t flesh and blood: *“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood…” (Ephesians 6:12).
Christians who pray against their enemies do so mainly out of fear and insecurity, and that’s because they’re ignorant. If Jesus Christ is your Lord, the Master and Shepherd of your life, then you have nothing to fear. David understood this and exclaimed in Psalm 27:1, *“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”* Have this same consciousness.
Consider Solomon; the Lord said to him, “…Ask what I shall give thee” (2 Chronicles 1:7). Solomon asked for wisdom and knowledge. Then, God said to him, “…Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies…
Wisdom and knowledge are granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like” (2 Chronicles 1:11-12). This is instructive! The Lord commended him for not asking for the destruction of his enemies.
The desire of the Spirit is to see the salvation of your enemies. They’re already in trouble with God if they don’t repent. However, your role is to intercede for them and bring them words by which, or through which, they can be saved.
Sometimes, some Christians, while praying, would say, “Whatever evil my enemies have planned against me, Lord, give them double! Anyone who wants me dead, let that one rather die a sudden death!” No, this isn’t the right way to pray as a Christian; not when you’re full of the Spirit!
Those who pray like that are praying according to the desire of the flesh, not according to the Spirit. Our opening verse says, “…Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust (desire) of the flesh.” It’s the desire of the flesh to see the death of your enemies, but the desire of the Spirit is to see their salvation.
When you pray against your enemies, that’s walking in the flesh; that’s praying in the flesh. What God wants is for us to pray in the Spirit: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication IN THE SPIRIT…” (Ephesians 6:18). Stay in the Spirit; don’t be perturbed by whatever your enemy may be scheming against you.
Jesus said, “Pray for,” not against, your enemies: “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).
You may feel hurt, and upset or angry, but refuse to hate. You’re too full of love to hate or curse anyone. You’re too sweet in your spirit to be bitter or take record of the wrongs done to you.
Don’t give attention to your adversaries, for they don’t count. It makes no difference how many people gang up against you; they’re not a factor. You’ve been raised together with Christ! Greater is He that’s in you than he that’s in the world.
Read the words of David in Psalm 27:2: “When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.”
There was no need for him to pray against his enemies; they simply took their place: they stumbled and fell. That’s the fate of anyone who professes to be your enemy.
If they don’t repent, they’re doomed. But your role is to pray for them, hoping God would grant them repentance unto the acknowledgment of the truth.
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked (Ephesians 6:16).
In Christianity, faith is our lifestyle. When the Scripture tells us to take up the shield of faith against the enemy, it means our faith is a shield. With your faith, you’ll be able to neutralize or put out all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
There arefiery missiles directed at you, and they’re coming from demoniacal forces. But with your faith, you can put them out. Discouragement and anger, for instance, are missiles of the enemy.
Some people could be by themselves and suddenly have anger and discouragement assault their minds. Those are darts of the enemy.
Some suddenly feel something like a hard object hit them from the side, yet there was no physical object or person present; that’s a fiery dart of the enemy.
For some others, it comes as a sudden sharp pain somewhere in the body. But thanks be unto God! These darts from the enemy can be neutralized with your shield of faith.
The Bible says, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
1 John 5:4 says, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” Your faith is what you need. This is what puts you over and above Satan and the circumstances of life.
Remember that you don’t have to look around for a shield called faith; faith is in your spirit as Paul succinctly puts it in Romans 12:3. Keep building your faith strong by learning and acting on the Word.
Irrespective of what happens around you, refuse to fear; speak the Word in faith. That’s how to use your shield of faith to put out Satan’s wiles and stratagems. Stand on God’s Word, and your victory will be as sure as the Word is. Hallelujah!
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you (Luke 10:19).
The word, “power” is referenced twice in the verse above. But they don’t exactly mean the same thing. In the first reference where it says, “Behold I give unto you power,” it’s translated from the Greek, “exousia”, which means authority. The second one is from “dunamis”(Greek), which means power, ability, or “working.” Jesus gave us absolute authority over the power, ability, or workings of the adversary.
There’s a difference between authority and ability. Let’s take the president of your country as an example. In his personal capacity, he can’t withstand the army of his country. But he’s got the authority of the state behind him! When he exercises supreme command and control over his armed force or the military, they have to comply!
With all their weapons of war, the entire armed forces are at the president’s bidding; when he gives an instruction, they’re obligated to obey. They have power, weight, or substance; but the president has authority. Authority changes everything.
It doesn’t matter how much power or force the enemy wields or can gather; you’ve been given authority over him in Jesus’ Name. The Bible says His Name is “high above all other government and authority and power and dominion, and every title of sovereignty used either in this Age or in the Age to come” (Ephesians 1:21 WNT). Hallelujah!
When this same Jesus tells you, “nothing shall by any means hurt you,” you better believe and act on it. Read what He tells us in 1 John 4:4: “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.” Glorious news!
No wonder the Psalmist affirmed, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1). You have nothing to fear in this life. Reign and rule in the Name of Jesus every day. Hallelujah!
–GSW–