1 Chronicles 12:2 armed with bows, using both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows with the bow. They were of Benjamin, Saul’s brethren
Hebrews 11:33-34 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
As we continue our study of the men who followed David, another characteristic was their ability to war. They learned how to battle with both the right hand and the left hand for hurling stones. If you have ever thrown a ball, you know that you can aim effectively with your dominant hand — but try it with the opposite hand — it’s far more difficult to throw accurately. But the men that followed David learned to throw with both arms effectively! It must have taken months of training to develop such skill.
We also learn to war, not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. And we too must train to use our spiritual weapons, and to use them accurately. The word of God is a sharp sword when used with skill and spiritual authority, and the right scripture for a situation can bring tremendous healing and deliverance; but we must know the word and walk in the spirit to be able to use it in warfare.
Furthermore, every serious intercessor knows he must learn to concentrate his mind and will intently for battling in prayer. For his aim to be accurate and penetrating he must overcome the tendency to wander in his thoughts and lose focus on the issue at hand. To be effective warriors we need to train our minds and wills to concentrate so that our prayers become like lasers for breaking through in the spirit.
In this day and age, Yeshua (Jesus) is calling us to spiritual battle, and our training is critical for success and victory. We must know the word and use it skillfully, and we must learn to concentrate in prayer for the spiritual objectives to which we are called. The Lord will equip us as we ask and seek Him for it, and do our homework. Let’s be inspired by David’s mighty men, training diligently to take aim in our battle with the powers of darkness!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]The Hebrew expression in this verse from Isaiah is rich with meaning. The root “nus” (from the expression “raise up a standard”) is related to or sounds like numerous words which mean “sign”, “miracle”, “to drive away”, “to flee”, “cause to disappear”, “a waving flag”. This abundance of meanings in Isaiah’s poetic style reveals the multiple dimensions of God’s revelation; in this case, the way he deals with evil. The assertion in this word is that the Spirit of YHVH will be powerfully activated when evil comes.
The word contrite in Hebrew is ‘dakah’ which means one that is crushed to pieces. Paul wrote of being a ‘living sacrifice’ holy and acceptable to God. Being a living sacrifice means we often can walk off the altar. To be a continual living sacrifice we need to renew our minds day to day!
Recently, I’ve been impressed by the Lord to address the anxieties many are feeling about the future– how to be strong in the face of the intense opposition we’ll be facing as believers. One of the founders of the modern state of Israel, David Ben-Gurion once said, “Courage is a special kind of knowledge, the knowledge of how to fear what ought to be feared and how not to fear what ought not to be feared. From this knowledge comes an inner strength that inspires us to push on in the face of great difficulty. What can seem impossible is often possible with courage.”
For a season, I worked in Washington, D.C., for one of America’s largest Christian political organizations. Sometimes I saw how politics could get ugly and, more often than not, how it changed people — not for the better…but usually for the worse!
Have you ever felt uneasy, unsettled or unstable? Or maybe a better question is — who hasn’t? How do we overcome these feelings?
Is that a trend or something? I don’t know what it is but I’ve heard that phrase said quite a bit. We were even walking down the Wal-Mart isle to pick up a few things and my wife showed me a T-shirt with “I have issues” written across the front! I guess the world is coming to the sad reality that we really do have some issues.
It never ceases to amaze me, the way the devil uses our offenses and our “offendedness” to divide and conquer marriages, relationships, churches — even entire nations!