I received a letter from a reader of my books. This person told me that she is a practitioner of hypnosis. This was my response to her.
Thank you for sharing your testimony. I’m glad you’ve found my book helpful.
Concerning hypnotism, I’ll briefly offer that I do believe it is extremely dangerous. I believe any external ingredient that altars the mind, such as alcohol and other drugs, is dangerous because it compromises the seat of our emotions and will, and who knows what else. Does hypnotism help people? Whether the answer is yes or no is not the issue. The issue is what is the origin of the power that purportedly heals or helps.
Witchcraft is a good example. I’ve found from my experience in deliverance ministry that witchcraft is a bona fide facilitator of demonic power. It works. Ironically, some witches purport to be white witches. That is, they feel they’re using their power to help people, not to hurt them.
I recall one man who sought my assistance to get rid of a demon who had invaded him and tormented him by moving around in his ear all the time. He got the demon by going to a witchdoctor (he was African) to get rid of a sickness. He was healed of the sickness, but took home a demon as part of the cost of seeking help through a condemned practice.
Alcohol helps the sad person forget their misery. Fornication helps the lonely feel loved.
But not without a cost.
I urge you to reconsider this practice of hypnosis. The human mind belongs to the Lord. No person should yield it to another. And no person should presume to manipulate something that should be directly accessed only by the Lord.
If you found this post helpful, please use the buttons below to share it with others. Also, try one of my other articles on prayer by clicking here
If you want to grow in spiritual warfare and supernatural ministry, read about Eric’s School of Spiritual Warfare and Supernatural Ministry at ericmhillauthor.com. The school’s main forum is Facebook.com/groups/ericmhillauthor.
Some Prayers Will Be Answered Only When You Urgently Seek God
Great Answers to Prayer Often Require
a Sense of Urgency
“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask
when you pray, believe that you receive them,
and you shall have them.”
Mark 11:24
This promise is a continuation of Jesus telling us to speak to our mountains in faith and they will move. There is something both fascinating and critical I want you to understand about this promise. The word “ask,” or “desire” as some versions use, is different from what we might suppose. The word Jesus used, aiteo, includes the idea of a craving that might cause one to beg.
The point is not that we must beg God in the sense that we’re trying to get Him to do something He doesn’t want to do. It is that when we pray we need to understand that what He considers asking may be quite different than our definition.
Window Shopping Is Not Praying
For instance, a young child may walk down the aisle of a store and see the bright colors and point to item after item saying, “I want that!” The smart parent keeps walking until the interest dies down. Adults have fleeting interests, too. Have you ever gone window shopping? “Oh, that’s beautiful. I’d love to have that,” you say, but you keep walking.
When God says we can get what we desire through prayer, He specifically excluded window shopping type prayers. This doesn’t mean He won’t often lavish you with a love gift that’s way out of proportion to your obedience, faith, or prayer. (I mean, my goodness, what is salvation?) But as a general rule, He doesn’t answer prayers that don’t originate from a strong desire. There are a number of reasons for this.
First, mountains or strongholds by definition are too stubborn to yield to prayers that lack a desire strong enough to keep the praying person praying.
Think of Daniel needing to hold on in intense prayer for twenty-one days before the answer came (Daniel 10:1-14).
Second, this brief life is our training ground for eternity, and He uses our prayers as part of the training.
We may not think of it often or seriously contemplate ruling and reigning with Christ throughout eternity on the new Earth, but He is dead serious about this. Everything He does in regard to our prayers is within the context of Him conforming us to the image of His dear Son, Jesus Christ, and us ruling with Him.
God Uses Every Situation to Conform Us into the Image of His Son. This Takes Time!
The significance of this is He never passes up an opportunity to further us along in our spiritual growth. Every prayer is answered, delayed, or denied within the context of growing us up and getting us ready for eternity.
We see through a glass, darkly, and we have partial knowledge. So no matter how wonderful our motives or dire our situation, we nearly always pray from a position of deficiency. So how is this deficiency overcome? How can God grant mountain moving, world changing power to people in this compromised, often sinful, condition?
My understanding is that since we often operate at such an acute deficit of knowledge (or character or faith or love or a hundred other things!) when we pray, we come before Him boldly as sons and daughters, but are nonetheless in utter dependence upon His goodness and wisdom to bring whatever we pray for to pass. And a tool He uses to overcome our deficit is the time interval between the prayer request and its answer. Time is a tool in the hands of God when we are praying.
How God Uses Urgency and Time to Answer Our Prayers
No matter how dire the situation or noble our interest, when we pray God’s primary concern is answering the prayer in such a way that you are transformed. This normally takes time. However, if there’s not enough desire, or urgency, in your heart for the object you’re praying for, chances are you won’t hang around long enough for God’s work to be done in your heart.
Unless God decides otherwise, this often results in what appears as God saying no to your request. Actually, He’s not saying, “No.” He’s saying, “Get yourself back in here so we can finish the transformation process in your heart. You need to be changed so I can answer the prayer.”
If you stay in prayer long enough, the Holy Spirit will search your heart and bring thoughts to your mind. These thoughts will give you a portion of God’s perspective on whatever you’re praying for. They’ll also reveal to you things about yourself.
This is a coveted place to be! It’s the transformation process. If you respond honestly and patiently to these thoughts, you will be changed and barriers to your prayers will disappear.
And as I said when I opened this chapter, some situations are so complicated or so reinforced with demonic power that only sustained prayer power will secure the victory. Sustained prayer. Just another way of saying desire or urgency.
How to Get More Urgency in Prayer
Since urgency is often needed for our prayer to qualify as true prayer from God’s perspective, how do we get more urgency? Good news, it’s not a matter of will power. If it were, most of us would be in permanent trouble because creating willpower is like grasping fog in your hand.
Time to smile. There is a backdoor way to get urgency without short-lived, exhausting efforts of trying to will yourself into it. The secret is to use the right tool. Who changes a tire by using brute force to lift the car off the ground? We use a car jack that allows us to lift thousands of pounds with relatively little effort. Similarly, there is a prayer tool that lifts our urgency level higher than we ever could by will power alone. That tool is exposure to something that automatically produces urgency.
The Bible is filled with examples of people getting spectacular answers to prayers that required great intensity, focus…urgency. None of these people tried to manufacture urgency. Let’s look at one of them to get an idea of what I’m talking about.
Hannah
Hannah’s prayers overcame her infertility (1 Samuel 1:1-20). She didn’t try to have urgency. Nor did she try to pray longer or more regularly. Her urgency, length, and regularity in prayer came automatically by what she was exposed to. She was constantly exposed to the daily taunting of a human tormentor, which aggravated her sense of loss and drove her to her knees.
Do you really want more urgency in prayer? You want to pray longer and with more focus. Be like Hannah. Allow your circumstance to drive you to your knees. But what if you don’t have a daily tormentor like Hannah, so to speak? Something like pain or immediate danger to make you get off the internet or turn off the TV? What if you just want more urgency, duration, and focus when you pray about regular stuff?
Get on the Offense! Make that Mountain of Need Drive You to Your Knees in Prayer.
Is the regular stuff important? How important? What happens to the object of your prayer if you don’t pray? If the perceived repercussions of not praying aren’t serious to you, you’re not going to have a sense of urgency. Conversely, if you feel there’s a chance of something bad happening by you not praying, you will find a sense of uneasiness inside of you. What you want is to inflame that sense of unease to a strength level that displaces your other time eating priorities—at least for a while.
You can increase the sense of unease by deliberately putting before your face things that make you think about the object you desire to pray about. You want to pray about someone more regularly? Put their name on your prayer list. Look at their name as you pray. Better yet, use a picture of them if you can. You want to pray for them more urgently? As positive as you might be, make yourself think of worse case scenarios concerning them. Now pray.
I know how that last statement sounds. So let me give you an example that hopefully will put my statement in context. You’re praying for someone’s salvation, but not with any real sense of regularity, duration, or urgency. Make yourself think of what happens if this person isn’t saved. There’s only heaven or hell. The prospect of someone spending eternity in that horrible place will automatically help you pray for them—if you think on it honestly. You can do this for anything you’re praying about.
Finally, perhaps Jesus’s own words will help clarify. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit…blessed are those who mourn…” (Matthew 5:3, 4). The blessing is not in simply being poor in spirit or of mourning. The blessing is that the person knows he’s poor in spirit.
When you know you’re poor in spirit, it produces a spiritual mourning. The end result is you’re driven to Jesus by a revelation of your need.
Now apply the concept of what Jesus said to whatever it is you’re praying about. Just as a sinner is driven to Jesus by an awareness of his spiritual poverty, you can be driven to Jesus by an awareness of spiritual poverty. The poverty is, What is the present condition of my prayer object? What is the worst case scenario of my prayer object if the situation doesn’t change?
Now just as the sinner must think on his condition honestly enough and long enough for the Holy Spirit to change his heart, you, too, must do the same. You will find your heart getting softer and your emotions getting stirred.
If this still seems a little on the negative side for you, do the exact opposite (whatever works!). Think on the good that can happen if you keep praying. Either way…
Here comes urgency!
Lessons Learned
Lesson One. God wants to see real desire in my prayers. If I am only window shopping, I will take steps to intelligently increase my desire.
Lesson Two. I will remember that God uses the time interval between the prayer and the answer to grow me up into the image of Christ and to prepare me to rule and reign with Him on the new Earth throughout eternity.
Lesson Three. I will stop wearing myself out in the flesh trying to be a better prayer warrior, and will instead increase my sense of urgency in prayer by using the tool of honest exposure to the need. I will remember how it worked for Hannah in 1 Samuel 1:1-20).
Practical Exercise
Pray, “Lord, I know that every prayer doesn’t require me to pour out my soul. And I know that You love me, and that You’re so kind and longsuffering that You often answer prayers even when we should pray better. But I know that some things require more fervency and urgency in prayer.
“I’m going to do my best to expose myself to things that remind me of the importance of this prayer being answered. Will You please help me in this? I know You will; so I thank You now that my sense of urgency in prayer is growing.”
If you found this post helpful, please use the buttons below to share it with others. Also, try one of my other articles on prayer by clicking here
If you want to grow in spiritual warfare and supernatural ministry, read about Eric’s School of Spiritual Warfare and Supernatural Ministry at ericmhillauthor.com. The school’s main forum is Facebook.com/groups/ericmhillauthor.
Don’t Stop Before You Even Begin! Get in There and Pray!
Commit to Change the Situation through Prayer
“Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. Then he killed James the brother of John
with the sword. And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also… Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.”
Acts 12:1-3, 5
We know that prayer is our most powerful weapon. We preach it. We teach it. We speak it. We sing it. We write it. Nonetheless, often it’s either the last thing done, the thing done with little duration, or the thing done not at all. What’s going on? Are we lazy? Negligent? Unbelieving?
Certainly, I know there are moments like these and people like this. This book’s intent, however, isn’t to beat up on people; so I’ll let God handle any reprimands. Rather, I want to help those who know, or possibly only have an inkling, that prayer can help their situation, yet find themselves not praying. These people aren’t lazy, negligent, or unbelieving. There’s something else going on here.
Busyness, Tiredness, and Past Prayer Failures
Can Steal Prayer Time
There have been times when I planned to pray and later got so busy doing stuff that by the time I finished, I was exhausted. I’d either press through and get on my knees and promptly fall asleep, or I’d try to outsmart my tiredness by prayer walking in my room. Often that only transformed me from a lying mummy to a walking zombie! Not a lot accomplished.
I haven’t yet figured out how to be absolutely dead tired and pray with any real energy or duration. B…u…u…t I have discovered something useful. If I really want to pray, I have to deliberately take steps now to either not be dead tired later, or change my prayer time from later to now.
What Can You Stop, Start, or Modify to Save Time?
Write or type a list of your daily activities. Which are fixed and which are not? For instance, are you married? Do you have children? What about other obligations that aren’t going anywhere? Now do the same with activities where you have more discretion. How often do you do these things? For how long? Is there anything you can stop, start, or modify that will give you more time to pray? Can you cut sixty minutes a day? Thirty? Ten?
Do you know how much more powerful you would be in prayer if you offered ten more minutes a day of intelligent prayer to your heavenly Father who is just itching to show you His mighty power? Did you know that ten minutes a day comes out to sixty hours a year? The last thing Satan wants is for you to spend sixty hours in the presence of God your Father!
Maybe this short list will give you some practical ideas of how to find time to pray. Ask yourself can you stop, start, or modify any of these activities: cooking, cleaning, talking on the phone, surfing the web, reading, watching television, shopping, eating, sleeping, visiting, working, vacationing, lawn work, hobbies, etc. Believe God for ideas. If you want to pray, He’ll help you find time.
Most People Are Too Busy to Pray…Until a Crisis Makes Time for Them. Don’t Let This Be You!
Or perhaps your best course of action is to simply pray now rather than later. Can you pray as you drive to and from work? Driving to work is better than driving from work because now is always better than later. Can you go to the restroom and pray? I’ve had many, many, many awesome prayer sessions in the restroom. If you did this two or three times a day, you’d have significant breakthroughs in prayer. Can you get up earlier so you can pray? Next time you’re running an errand, can you pull over somewhere safe and cry out to God in prayer? You get the picture. Be aggressive and use your imagination. You won’t regret it!
Don’t Let Yesterday’s Prayer Failure
Stop You From Today’s Prayer Success
If we define prayer failure as praying for something specific and spectacularly not getting it, then there’s nothing like a prayer failure to discourage you from praying like that again. It’s at this point that we cut back on praying. Or we may do the downward adjustment thing and only pray in safe, general terms. Nothing too specific. Nothing that will by its failure to come or refusal to go can embarrass us or damage our faith any more than it’s already damaged.
But in what field or industry do we find successful people who haven’t had to deal with setbacks, disappointments, and failures? As part of your quest toward regular answered prayers, and even spectacular prayer answers, you must learn to get off the mat and stand on your feet again. Okay, so you prayed for something and things didn’t turn out the way you hoped they would. Join the club. We’ve all been there. This changes nothing about the power, influence, and creativity of God to answer your next prayer.
The story in our opening Scriptures tell of a church crisis that was conquered through prayer. The apostle James was unjustly put in prison for his faith in Christ. I have to believe the church prayed for him. We’re talking eleven other apostles and thousands of converts in an on fire church. It would be a real stretch to assume they didn’t pray. And if they didn’t, James probably did. Wouldn’t you? Nonetheless, James was executed! This is big time prayer failure.
Next, King Herod put Peter in prison for the same purpose. “But constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.” God sent His angel and delivered Peter. That’s way beyond awesome. But here’s what’s also awesome. The church had just experienced a spectacular prayer failure. They had every reason in the world to throw in the prayer towel and say, “We prayed for James and his head is rolling down the street like a bowling ball. This stuff doesn’t work. I’m going back to praying for empty parking spaces at the mall.”
Instead, they refused to focus on their shock, grief, and unanswered questions. They focused instead on the unchanging character of God, and on His power, influence, and creativity to answer prayers. Son or daughter of God, you may have suffered devastating prayer failures, but God is still on the throne and Satan is still defeated. You don’t need to have every question answered before you get back in the win column.
What you do need is what the early church had. They trusted in God’s faithfulness and radically rearranged their schedules to offer prayer sufficient to meet the newest crisis. Let yesterday’s failure drive you to even greater levels of prayer!
Lessons Learned
Lesson One. I can ask God to help me examine my daily activities for areas I can start, stop, or modify things that will give me more time to pray. Even ten more minutes a day is sixty hours a year in the presence of God!
Lesson Two. Yesterday’s spectacular prayer failure doesn’t mean there aren’t many spectacular prayer answers in my future!
Practical Exercise
Pray, “Lord, what can I start, stop, or modify that will give me more time to pray.” Now with your eyes closed, wait before the Lord for a little while. Write down the thoughts that come.
If you found this post helpful, please use the buttons below to share it with others. Also, try one of my other articles on prayer by clicking here
If you want to grow in spiritual warfare and supernatural ministry, read about Eric’s School of Spiritual Warfare and Supernatural Ministry at ericmhillauthor.com. The school’s main forum is Facebook.com/groups/ericmhillauthor.
You Don’t Need to Know Everything About the Mountain to Move It Through Prayer!
Knowing God’s Will When You Pray About a Mountain
“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
1 John 5:14, 15
I heard the sigh of frustration. That’s one of the problems, isn’t it? Often we don’t know the will of God; so how can we pray in confidence, especially if the answer is delayed? Good news! God didn’t give you the promises above to tease or frustrate you. He wants your prayers answered.
How to Pray According to the Will of God
Let’s begin with what’s not mysterious. There are innumerable Scriptures which tell us what to do and not do. For instance, 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything [in, not for] give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
You don’t have to search for Scriptures like these; they’re everywhere. So are the others which don’t have “this is the will of God” in them, but nonetheless are as clear and directive as those that do. So it is entirely possible that the answer you’re searching for in prayer has already been revealed in the Bible. You may be able to cut down your prayer time considerably (at least for the object you’re presently praying) by aggressively searching the Scriptures. I suggest starting by carefully reading through Proverbs.
However, you won’t find a Scripture that says, “Marry Blake. He’ll make a great husband and father, and you’ll never regret your decision.” Sure, you will find a ton of Scriptures about relationships and marriage and commitment and so forth, but none of them will mention Blake. This is where things start feeling like a dangerous coin toss. Thank God, there’s a better way!
Is Your Prayer Paralyzed Because You Don’t Know What God Wants?
Christians are often paralyzed in place, afraid to go left or right, for fear of missing God. Now waiting on God before big decisions is good, but when taken to an extreme, it works against our prayers. I’ve talked to Christians who purported to be so spiritual that literally everything about them was “Spirit led.” Sounds awesome; actually awful.
This one real example represents what I’m speaking of. A woman told me she was so led of the Spirit that she didn’t even dress herself until she was sure of the exact clothing God wanted her to wear. To me this is cringe worthy because my understanding of the Scriptures leads me to believe God gets glory from our growth in Him, and from the decisions that arise from that growth.
Super Spiritual Lady Waiting Hours for God to Tell Her What Clothes to Wear
God gets no glory from a daughter of God sitting in the closet waiting for Him to tell her what clothes to wear. This example may appear silly and a waste of space in a book this size; it’s not. It’s directly related to praying in the will of God.
Imagine the prayer life of a person who thinks like this. If she can complicate something as simple as what clothes to wear, prayer must be an exceeding complicated task for her. I know she’s an extreme case. And in all honesty, I’ve only dealt with a few people who go this far. Yet many Christians who would never ride the bus as far as this lady does, are in fact on her bus. And in my over thirty-five years of serving Christ, I’ve talked to bunches of Christians like this.
To illustrate, I read an article about mental illness. It discussed the different levels of mental illness. For the sake of simplicity, let’s say on a scale of one to ten, ten qualifies as the level where a person’s life is functionally disrupted and perhaps noticeable to others. The article went on to say that tens of millions of people are at levels that don’t reach the severity of ten, but are at high enough levels that they possess extremes in their emotions, judgment, and perspective. Functionally normal, but compromised.
Similarly, many otherwise outstanding Christians who don’t wait for God to tell them what clothes to wear each day do possess a milder version of this paralysis. They go about their lives routinely making hundreds of decisions, some of them quite important, based upon common sense, academic or specialized knowledge, Scriptural encouragement or prohibitions, growth in Christ and experience with God, among other things.
Nonetheless, often when it comes to seeking God for specific things in prayer that aren’t clearly spelled out in Scripture, they wipe the board clean and promptly forget everything they’ve been doing to this point.
They default to “I don’t know how to pray in this situation because I don’t know what God wants here.” And since they don’t know exactly what God wants, they can’t pray with the confidence spoken of our Scriptures, 1 John 5:14, 15.
I understand. Trust me. There are some situations that are so complicated and time critical and potentially far reaching in their effects that we don’t want to flip a spiritual coin and hope for the best. So I’m not blasting you for hesitating to thump the coin into the air. What I want you to see is you don’t have to call heads or tails. God has a better way. And it’s one hundred percent His will—always!
What Did Paul Do When He Didn’t Know Exactly What God Wanted?
I don’t believe we need to know exactly what God wants for us to do exactly what He wants. The apostle Paul wrote two-thirds of the New Testament and was, according to the Holy Spirit, the greatest of the apostles. He certainly knew what we call the great commission: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).
Yet we see him going about his missionary journeys in Acts 16:6-10 making what we might call mistakes or presumptuous decisions in his attempt to obey God. He tried to go into Asia (not our geographical Asia) and “they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel in Asia.” So they went to a place called Mysia and “tried to go into Bithynia, but the Holy Spirit did not permit them.”
Lord, I don’t know exactly what to do. But I know You don’t want me to just sit and do nothing. Please cover me with Your grace as I go forward.
What were the others thinking? “Wow, I’m trusting this guy with my life, and he has no idea what he’s doing. Why, he’s just flipping a coin!” Just when the board was about to call a secret meeting to discuss Paul’s inability to hear from God, Paul had a vision directing them to go to Macedonia.
How does this relate to you praying in confidence when you don’t know the exact will of God? Look at Paul. If we conclude that him knowing the exact will of God meant knowing which direction and destination to go, then he clearly didn’t know. Yet in the end, he arrived exactly where God wanted him. What happened for him can and will happen for you.
Paul didn’t know the exact details of what God wanted. So he started with the clear will of God: Go, preach the gospel in all the world. He took this general command and chose a way he could practically implement it. Yes, I’m sure he prayed first, but we know from the record that Paul’s prayers didn’t exempt him from having to forge ahead without customized directions.
He spent time, money, emotions, and work doing by principle what had not yet been revealed to him by revelation. Or in other words, sometimes you don’t get the big unmistakable, “Whoa, that was awesome!” confirmation that you were in God’s will until after you have tried to go into Asia and Bithynia.
Your Asia and Bithynia may be taking a timid step toward what you think may be God’s will. What if you’re wrong? So, what if you are wrong? Was Paul wrong for taking a step toward Bithynia and later Asia?
Did God reprimand him for using his initiative in the absence of customized instructions? No. He blessed him as long as he followed His general will. And when Paul’s initiative, which was in submission to God, brought him to a place God didn’t want him, God spoke clearly.
God is a fantastic communicator. If you get to a place where you are about to make a so-called wrong decision, whether it stems from your humanity or sinfulness, He’ll talk to you, too.
God Doesn’t Expect You to Know Everything When You Pray
Here is something that has helped me and others hugely in our prayers. Paul was wrong only in the sense that he was human, and humans don’t know everything. Please hear and never forget this: God doesn’t expect you to know everything—even as you pray.
I like to tell people that failure is built into the system, and it doesn’t bother God one bit. I get this concept from the entire Bible, but specifically from 1 Corinthians 13:9, 12. Here it says we see through a glass, darkly, and we have only partial knowledge and partial effectiveness in spiritual gifts. Call it what you will, but this sounds like the perfect recipe for a bunch of mistakes and a bunch of unanswered questions.
Don’t worry about this context of imperfection we’re in. It’s just the way it is. It’ll be this way until the Lord returns. Drop to your knees. Submit yourself to God in humility. Tell Him you don’t have all the facts you’d like to have, but you’re going to use what you do have to make your petition.
You know that God is holy, righteous, just, loving, kind, and forgiving. You know that for some reason He has this crazy, irrational love for you. You know that the Scripture says, “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry,” (Psalm 34:15). You know that He has told you to “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
God has set this thing up so that His glory and power is manifested through imperfect and often bumbling misfits who dare to trust Him to do the impossible. Soon you’ll be able to say with the psalmist, “I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4).
Come on, son or daughter of God. You can do it!
Lessons Learned
Lesson One. The answer to my prayer may already be revealed in the Bible.
Lesson Two. Prayer paralysis is often caused by forgetting to use some of the principles we successfully use every day as we make decisions.
Lesson Three. If I don’t know the exact will of God, I can confidently follow the general will of God and what I know about Him until He chooses to reveal more details. My confidence in prayer is not in knowing exact details, but in knowing God.
Lesson Four. God doesn’t hold my humanity against me as I pray. I can boldly go to the throne of grace to get help even when I don’t know as much as I’d like to know about the situation or the exact details in God’s heart.
Practical Exercise
Pray out loud: “Lord, I don’t know as much as I’d like to know about this situation, but I now know You don’t expect me to know everything. Though I offer You my prayers with imperfect knowledge, I have faith that You hear me. As I pray, I’m watching and listening for any further light from You. Until I receive more, I will pray in faith with what I have.”
If you found this post helpful, please use the buttons below to share it with others. Also, try one of my other articles on prayer by clicking here
If you want to grow in spiritual warfare and supernatural ministry, read about Eric’s School of Spiritual Warfare and Supernatural Ministry at ericmhillauthor.com. The school’s main forum is Facebook.com/groups/ericmhillauthor.
Do You Know Who Your Real Enemy Is? Or Are You Blaming God for Satan’s Work in Your Life?
Spiritual Warfare: Is God or Satan Trying To Destroy Us With Sickness and Trials?
The Bible is clear concerning the activities and operations of Satan and his vast army of demons. They have but one goal—to destroy as much of God’s creation as they can before their own destruction.
Since humanity is the greatest creation of God, and since we are created in God’s own image, Satan has placed us at the top of his hit list. He hates us almost as much as he hates God. But he can’t directly assault God. He can only hurt God by hurting us. This is where his efforts are directed. Peter tells us plainly that this is the case:
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour,” (1 Peter 5:8).
Whether we like it or not or admit it or not, we are in a warfare. This warfare is with an invisible enemy whose only goal in life is to destroy us. The picture God gives us is of a hungry lion, walking about, looking for someone to devour. That someone is you.
When Satan Attacks the Innocent: The Case of Job
The book of Job reveals him as one of the greatest men of the Old Testament. He had abundant qualities of love, mercy, gratitude, and unselfishness. He faithfully prayed for his family, gave to the poor, and helped the widows and fatherless. He was the perfect example of a servant of God. For his faithfulness, God blessed Job with abundant riches and a great name.
One day the angels of God presented themselves before God. For some reason, Satan appeared also. The conversation between God and Satan is fascinating:
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the Lord, and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”
Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”
So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”
And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord,” (Job 1:6-12).
This conversation is the greatest and most direct Old Testament proof that Satan is evil beyond reason. It also firmly establishes him as our enemy. When asked by God from where he had come, Satan truthfully answered that he had been going around the world.
When you couple that Scripture with 1 Peter 5:8 above, we graphically see how Satan prowls the earth in search of someone to victimize. Often, he’s able to do considerable damage despite his victim’s goodness.
A brief study of Satan’s attack upon Job will reveal some activities and operations of Satan and his demons.
Sickness and Trials Not Necessarily Proof of Fault
First, from God’s own mouth we find there was none like Job in all the earth. He was a perfect and righteous man that feared God and hated evil. God also said that Job’s trial was “without cause,” (Job 2:3). This is the man who was singled out by Satan for attack. This proves that trials are not necessarily proof that the victim is at fault.
Satan is a Limited Being
Second, Satan is not all-powerful. He is a limited being. He can only do what he is allowed to do—either by God or by humans. In this case, God gave Satan permission to attack Job. God gave permission because Satan needed permission. An all-powerful devil would not have needed permission.
Satan’s Attacks Often Appear as Natural Occurrences
Third, the methods Satan used to attack this righteous servant of God in his first assault were not obviously supernatural. Each attack appeared as normal, everyday occurrences:
Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house; and a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, when the Sabeans raided them and took them away—indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped to tell you!”
While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
If Satan Killed Job’s Family with a Storm, What Might He Be Using Against Us?
While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; and I alone haves escaped to tell you!” (Job 1:13-19)
Successful spiritual warfare requires us to know with certainty that every part of life may be influenced one way or another, directly or indirectly, by spiritual forces, whether good or bad. This is all within the context of God’s sovereignty, His immediate and ultimate plans, and humanity’s submission to or rebellion of His rule.
Is It Possible that Your Natural Problem May Actually Be Supernatural?
As a seeker of healing, it’s critical that you understand the significance of what’s revealed in Job. Satan attacked this righteous and blameless man not because he was bad, but because he was good! The tools Satan used were crime and weather:
First, the Sabeans robbed him of property and killed some of his servants.
Second, lightning fell from heaven and destroyed some of his property.
Third, the Chaldeans robbed him of property and killed some of his servants.
Fourth, a tornado-like wind hit his children’s home and killed them.
Had this happened to someone in our day, we would declare this man the most unlucky man in the world. Yet luck had nothing to do with this series of tragedies. The appearance of the events seemed to be common, explainable tragedies. But the Bible clearly shows that behind these seemingly natural events was the supernatural influence of Satan. He directly caused two groups of bandits, a tornado, and a lightning bolt to hurt Job.
What do we do with this information? Do we treat it as interesting trivia only to be forgotten? Or will we allow it to give us insight into the affairs of God and people? Will we allow it to increase our understanding of spiritual warfare?
Satan Often Directly Attacks Our Physical Body through Sickness, Disease, and Torment
Job’s trial was not limited to simply losing his property and family. Once Satan saw that his plan to pressure Job into cursing God had not worked, he sought permission of God to do even more damage. The conversation between God and Satan follows:
Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord. And the Lord said to Satan “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”
Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.
So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life”
So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head” (Job 2:1-7).
It is conclusive from the above that Satan caused the boils. According to Job 2:11-12, his disease was so bad that it made him literally unrecognizable to his friends. And later in Job 7:5, 13-14, he states that “my flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome…When I say, my bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint; Then You scare me with dreams, and terrify me through visions.”
The picture we have here is one of pure agony. This poor man had been unmercifully hit with a series of unimaginable tragedies that wiped out his enormous wealth and killed many of his children. And while his gaping emotional wounds were still raw with shock and bewilderment, Satan hit him with a repulsive disease that bred worms. His suffering was so great that he wished for death. When death did not come to mercifully end his misery, he tried to escape the pain by going to sleep. Yet, even there Satan tormented him. Terrifying dreams and nightmares interrupted his sleep.
Our point in recounting this event is to show you that Satan can and does attack people. It’s to reveal some of the ways in which he does so. You’ve seen that he is able to use people, weather, and disease. For the purposes of this book [this article is an excerpt], I’ll deal only with the tool of disease.
Why Did Job Have to Suffer?
Are You Following Spiritual Truth or Religious Tradition?
Generally it is believed by most serious students of God’s word that Job’s entire trial lasted about 9 – 12 months. That is a long time to be in such a terrible trial. The reasons given for his trial by various Christian factions are varied. I know of at least two that I consider totally unsupported by the Bible. We’ll discuss these two reasons because what you believe about Job and his trials could help or hinder your search for healing.
Unsupportable Reason One: God Decided in His Wisdom to Afflict Job to Teach Him Something
The first reason is one usually held by traditional denominational Christians. It’s assumed that Job suffered because God in His mysterious wisdom simply decided that it should be done. The reasoning goes that God is sovereign over His creation. Thus, He can do whatever He desires. If in His mysterious wisdom, He saw a need to afflict Job, then so be it.
This is a position that appears to be motivated by humility and unquestioned submission to the will of God. But upon closer observation, it’s seen to be a religious safety net to those who are unaware of Satan’s abilities and activities. Whenever an unexplainable tragedy hits, God is automatically assumed to be the author.
I Hurt You Because I Love You
In this scenario, the pastor puts on his best I-feel-your-pain face and explains how God is somehow using the tragedy to teach us a lesson. We normally are not told what this lesson is. Stunned and devastated by the loss, we desperately try to hold on to the unlikely possibility that our loving God is behind the attack.
Some are better able to believe this than others. Those who do have the ability to shut down their thought processes to such a degree that they can believe something even if it’s unsupportable or ridiculous. They tenaciously cling to this belief because they’re desperate to make sense of the tragedy. No Christian is eager to believe that a horrible tragedy in her life is without benefit—even if it requires her to blame the event on God’s mysterious sovereignty.
Yet, some minds won’t shut down simply because tragedy strikes. They were keen and thoughtful before the tragedy, and they’re the same during and after the tragedy. These Christians won’t bite the first religious worm they see on a hook just because they’re hungry for an answer. They have a hard time believing that a brutal rape, a killer cancer, or a dreadful accident is God’s way of saying I love you.
Unsupportable Reason Two: Satan Attacked Job Because He Opened the Door of Fear
The Charismatics and Word of Faith people correctly reject the default position that says God causes calamities and diseases as a teaching tool. But we also offer a fully indefensible explanation. Our answer for Job’s trials is that God allowed Satan to strike Job because Job had broken down the hedge of protection by harboring fear in his heart.
Having cast demons out of many people, I know that certain types of fear can open the door to Satan. However, having read the book of Job, I can also say that it doesn’t appear that Job opened the door to Satan’s attack. And it doesn’t appear that his fear was of the fleshly sort that results from not believing God.
The Charismatic and Word of Faith explanation that Job opened the door to Satan’s attack is also a religious safety net. Folks in our faith circle have a desperate need to believe they are always in control of their situations. They have a desperate need to believe they can absolutely control what happens to them by using the right spiritual formulas.
This takes the uncertainty out of serving God. When tragedy strikes, they are able to assert with God-like certainty that it occurred because you did this, none of this, too little of that, or too much of the other. Everything good or bad, they contend, has a direct linkage to our actions.
Recently I learned a new word: specious. It means to appear good while lacking merit. That’s what this doctrine is; it’s specious. Don’t get me wrong. There’s much truth to certain elements of this doctrine.
Yet, the dogmatic application of its inflexible rules to every situation has turned it into a doctrine of pride and presumption. For instance, according to some, financial adversity, sickness and disease, and other trials can always be linked to our action or inaction. (Hmm…did Jesus die on the cross because He had a lot of faith or a lack of faith?)
There is no place for the sovereignty of God—except for good—in the minds of many Christians. Neither is God capable in their thinking of doing anything that could be considered negative. My opinion is this is ignorance and immaturity on a rampage.
Life is not always so simple. Every event doesn’t fit neatly within the boundaries of our favorite religious doctrines. It’s wiser to buy a larger pair of shoes than to stubbornly cram our feet into a smaller pair that doesn’t fit.
If we force ill-fitting doctrines upon situations larger than our understanding or experience, we will only injure ourselves and the cause of Christ.
When we blame Job’s fear for his situation, we reveal huge gaps in our understanding of life in general and God in particular. It is true that Job had fear, but we need to understand that not all fear is bad.
An Examination of Job’s Fear
After Job’s great calamities came upon him, he uttered these words:
“For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me,” (Job 3:25).
This Scripture is the main reason why many accuse Job of bringing his calamities upon himself. But we don’t realize that when we join this crew, we join those accusers who visited Job in his misery. We won’t examine their accusations in great detail. It’s sufficient to say that very much of the entire book of Job is filled with the accusations of Job’s three so-called friends.
I refer to them as his Charismatic and Word of Faith friends. (I don’t mean to be insulting, but this, unfortunately, is the attitude of many of us so-called faith people.) They believed that Job brought evil upon himself. Yet, in the last chapter of Job, God justifies him and condemns his three friends!
“…the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as My servant Job has,” (Job 42:7).
This is a rebuke against everyone who ignorantly or arrogantly thinks he has the innumerable complexities and variables of life reduced to a few simplistic faith formulas. It’s a rebuke against everyone who presumptuously points a finger at those who suffer and blames victims for their problems.
Did Jesus point an accusing finger at sick people and blast them for their lack of faith? Even when He was rejected in His own home town (Mark 6:1-6), and the level of unbelief was so strong that “…He could do no mighty work there…” we don’t see Him taking the condemning attitude of Job’s friends and many so-called faith people.
For the record, the last thing a suffering person needs to hear is, “If you had stood in faith, this never would have happened.” You say, “But it’s true! That rascal should’ve believed God.” (Remember that the next time you need help from God, okay?)
Whether it’s true or not is irrelevant. There is a time, a place, and a way to say everything. And sometimes it is the wiser part to say nothing. But if we are to speak, the Bible tells us to speak the truth in love. It also tells us that if we see a brother in error, we are to meekly restore him. Meekly.
Job’s friends didn’t come to console him, but to judge him. And this is the same haughty spirit that works in the hearts of many of those who blame Job’s trials on his fear.
Job Had the Kind of Fear We Are Commanded to Have
I stated earlier that not all fear is bad. There are hundreds of Scriptures that command us to fear God. Just to quote one, Jesus commanded us to fear God:
“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell,” (Matthew 10:28).
Job’s fear was not a fear of material loss. According to Job 1:1, his fear was the kind you and I are commanded to have.
“There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.”
His fear was the fear of the Lord. It was the kind of fear that is the beginning of wisdom. Does this kind of fear put us at risk of Satan gaining an advantage? It’s a ridiculous question unworthy of serious consideration. But, you say, his fear was of something coming upon him. Yes, you’re correct.
But we know from his attitude and words during his trial that the something he was afraid of was not the loss of things, people, or health. It was the loss of God’s favor. There is a world of difference in the two.
Jesus had this same concern as He got closer to fulfilling His mission as the sacrifice for our sins. He was to literally become sin for us that we may become the righteousness of God in Christ. This prospect of being separated from His Father’s fellowship—even for a little while—brought great distress upon Him. He prayed fervently that God would remove this requirement.
Finally, after a few hours of agonizing prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, He received heavenly encouragement to go to the cross. Nonetheless, when the full weight of the trial of separation hit Him, even though it was to be temporary, He prayed, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46).
Nothing Wrong with Godly Fear
You see, for those of us who have grown accustomed to not living in deep, unbroken fellowship with the Lord (God help us!), we find it difficult that Job and Jesus had such a concern. We call it spiritual immaturity to fear offending such an unfathomable loving Father.
But it is a consistent, biblical theme that fear of offending God is a good thing. It’s godly. It’s the beginning of wisdom: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…” (Proverbs 9:10). And lack of this fear is why so many “Christians” find it surprisingly easy to consistently sin against the One whom Jesus said, “But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!” (Luke 12:5).
The apostle Paul commanded the Philippians to have this godly fear:
“…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” (Philippians 2:12).
So you see, there’s nothing shameful or dishonorable about fearing God. There is nothing wrong with fearing God’s hand of discipline. Neither is there anything wrong with being concerned that one does not offend God. It is this present day lack of concern of offending God that has caused the church to declare its holiness and righteousness with its mouth, while it serves the world and its flesh with its behavior. It’s the Sardis church all over again: “You have a name that you are alive, but you are dead” (Revelation 3:1).
Yes, Job had a great fear of offending God. (Oh, that we all had this kind of fear!) This is part of the reason for his great success at pleasing God. When sudden calamity struck him in such an obviously supernatural way, he was absolutely sure that God had withdrawn His blessing from him. Why else would two separate groups of bandits, a tornado, and lightning strike him in one day?
And why else would a disease of boils erupt all over his body so severely that even his close friends could not recognize him? This obviously was God, and he had obviously committed a sin or sins so callous and evil that he had provoked God to severely discipline him.
Some Reasons God Allowed Satan to Attack Job
Job believed his protective hedge had been lowered because he had angered God. Yet there is nothing in the Bible to suggest this. In contrast, we could very easily offer that he was attacked because it’s the nature of war. In war, no one is immune. Everyone is attacked.
Joseph was attacked.
King David was attacked.
Jeremiah was attacked.
Daniel was attacked.
Peter was attacked.
Paul was attacked.
Jesus was attacked.
And to sum it up, “Yes and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution,” (2 Timothy 3:12). This means you and I will be attacked.
Nonetheless, in light of the entire Bible, it appears that Job’s attack did involve more than simply being one of many who are attacked. His assault was permitted for several reasons.
First
Satan presented himself to God as did the other angels. Yet, it was God who issued the challenge to Satan regarding Job’s righteousness and faithfulness. The Lord had chosen Job to graphically prove several truths.
Second
One of those truths was to show in story form that God is good and Satan is evil. This seems elementary. Yet the strong tendency of people to blame God for all the evil in world, while blaming Satan for nothing evil, proves that it was needful for God to do such a thing.
Third
The book of Job is one of the oldest in the Bible. Up to that point, there was very little that was popularly known about Satan and his evil abilities to affect the material world. This written confrontation provided spiritual understanding to saints for ages to come.
Fourth
The book of Job graphically establishes God as sovereign. The Lord stated and demonstrated conclusively that Job was perfect, righteous, feared God, and hated evil. He even went so far as to declare him to be the most perfect, righteous, and faithful man in the entire world. And when he allowed Satan to attack him, God was sure to say that the attack was “without cause,” (Job 2:3).
Then near the very end of the trial, God appeared to Job and said many things. But He never once gave him a reason for his suffering. This is not insensitivity; it’s divinity. It’s God exercising His right as God to do what He pleases without getting permission or granting explanations. And this was done without violating His character. (Perhaps we Charismatic, great faith types don’t know as much as we think we know about God’s character.)
Fifth
God used Job’s faithfulness in the fire of persecution to establish a testimony to the world, to the church, and to spiritual principalities and powers, that faith in God is sufficient to overcome the worst of Satan’s attacks—even when we are seemingly forsaken by God.
“And this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith,” (1 John 5:4).
Sixth
God allowed Job to be attacked because Job was an Old Testament type of Jesus. This means that his life was used prophetically to point to Jesus who was to come. There are at least three similarities that Job and Jesus shared:
They both were blameless.
They both suffered without cause.
They both were restored after their afflictions.
Seventh
God wanted to show Job and us how to trust God during Satan’s most vicious attacks.
Is Your Suffering Proof That You Are A Modern Day Job?
Ironically, many people fight their healing by trying to find a reason for God not to heal them. It doesn’t make sense, but they do it anyway. One of their main arguments for rejecting divine healing is that they are suffering as Job suffered.
However, we jump to this conclusion far too quickly. If one were to ask a suffering saint who held such a view to quote three Scriptures that promised divine healing, she probably couldn’t do it. But if one were to ask that same saint why Job suffered, she’d probably tell you what her preacher told her: God was trying to teach Job something.
It’s extremely popular among some Christians to believe God put those trials on Job to teach him something. But it’s critical for us to understand that the Bible doesn’t actually say this. As we proved earlier, it was actually Satan that directly caused the calamities.
Did Job learn something from his experience? Of course, he did. Yet nowhere does the Bible state this was the purpose of his trials. God Himself stated that the purpose of the trials was “to destroy him without cause.”
Did we get that? Let’s say it together.
The trials were not sent by God to teach Job.They were sent by Satan to destroy Job.
So when a Christian justifies his weak faith in God for healing by saying God put the disease upon him to teach him something, he reveals that he knows very little about the character of God and spiritual warfare.
Is the sick person a modern day Job? Well, let’s see. We’ll ask a few questions to determine the similarities between Job and the person who claims to be a modern day Job:
Is he perfect and blameless?
Does he fear God, and hate evil?
Is his level of devotion to God unique in all the earth?
Furthermore, would God trust him above everyone else in the world to prove to Satan, the angels of God, and all humanity, that people will faithfully serve God even in the midst of horribly tormenting circumstances?
And, last, does he know Job was healed? So to be a modern day Job, one must not forget that Job was healed.
Another Compelling Reason We Are Not Modern Day Jobs
However, there is a more compelling reason why we aren’t modern day Jobs. The fact that God chose a man of whom He could say, “There is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears God, and hates evil,” proves that Job represented all of humanity in his fight against Satan. When Job proved faithful, he won a victory not only for himself, but for all humanity.
Therefore, it’s unnecessary for God to repeatedly make the same point millions of times by putting diseases and calamities on His children so they can duplicate Job’s achievement.
Instead, God chose to achieve an infinitely greater victory, once and for all, at a much later date. This time he chose Jesus to represent humanity. When Jesus resisted Satan’s temptations and lived without sin, He qualified Himself as the sacrifice for our sins. He became everything to us and for us.
“But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption…” (1 Cor. 1:30).
This means we no longer look to ourselves, but unto Jesus. So when Satan accuses us of weakness and failure, we answer not with our own strength and accomplishments. Instead, we remind him that Christ has become our righteousness.
Therefore, when Satan accuses us before God, the Lord answers the accusation by recounting the accomplishments of Christ on our behalf. The matter of our righteousness is settled before heaven once and for all.
We are not modern day Jobs. Jesus is the modern day Job. And through God’s goodness, we have been given credit for what Christ has accomplished on our behalf. Thank God!
If You Really Want to be A Modern Day Job, You Need to Be Healed and Restored of All You Have Lost—with Interest!
Yet if we feel we must identify our difficulties with Job’s difficulties, it should be noted that God didn’t leave Job in that condition forever. So to claim to be a modern day Job, and to subsequently plan not to be healed, is inconsistent with the story of Job. I don’t say this flippantly. It’s just an honest observation.
You need to be healed if you want to be like Job.
Finally, there definitely are examples in the Bible of God putting diseases on His enemies, and even on presumptuous or persistently sinful Christians. (Sorry my fellow Charismatics; not sorry you false grace teachers.) But I don’t know of any biblical examples of God putting diseases on His obedient servants. (Even Hezekiah was healed of his death sentence when he cried out to God.) In contrast, the Bible consistently reveals Satan as the destroyer and God as the healer, as the Scriptures below show:
“…How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil, for God was with him,” (Acts 10:38).
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I [Jesus] have come that they might have life, and that they may have it more abundantly,” (John 10:10).
Come on. Wave the white flag of surrender. Admit it.
The devil is the bad guy.
God is the good guy–and He wants you healed!
Lessons Learned
Since this is part of my school of spiritual warfare, it’s time to review what you’ve learned and to think about the questions this post has generated:
Observations
The Bible reveals Satan as an evil spiritual being who aggressively prowls the earth in search of someone to attack (Job 1:7; 1 Peter 5:8).
Good and spiritually strong people may be attacked. One does not have to do anything wrong to be attacked. The attack may actually be because we please God (Job 1:8; 2 Timothy 3:12).
There is a such thing as a spiritual “hedge of protection” that Satan can’t violate without permission from God (Job 1:10). In other words, Satan is not all powerful!
Satan used crime, weather, and sickness to attack Job (Job 1:13-19; 2:1-7). Therefore, it is biblical to assume that some crime, weather, and sickness could be a direct attack of Satan.
God did not attack Job; Satan did (Job 1 & 2).
God sovereignly chose to lower Job’s hedge of protection for several reasons (I don’t claim to know them all.):
God used the confrontation to display Job’s righteousness and Satan’s evilness to that generation and all generations, and to angels and demons.
God used the confrontation to teach all generations specifics concerning spiritual warfare.
God used the confrontation to show us that He is sovereign and can do whatever He in His infinite wisdom decides is best–without consulting us or explaining Himself.
God used the confrontation to demonstrate through Job that our faith can overcome Satan’s most fierce attacks (I say this with deep humility and godly fear.)
God used the confrontation to prophetically point to Jesus as the One who would truly, absolutely, perfectly, and finally suffer for the world in a way Job never could.
God used the confrontation give us an example of trusting God when it appears (due to extreme hardship) that even God is against us, or at the very least has abandoned us.
We are not modern day Jobs; neither do we need to be. Jesus is our Job (1 Corinthians 1:30).
God severely rebuked Job’s friends for presumptuously blaming him for his troubles (Job 42:7-8). Let’s not make that same mistake. “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you,” (Matthew 7:1-2).
Job’s story ends with him being healed and restored with much more than he had materially lost (Job 42:10-17).
Questions
Now it’s your turn. What questions does this teaching prompt? Leave your questions and comments in the comment section of this post.
This is an excerpt from my book, Deliverance from Demons and Diseases. The next post in the Deliverance from Demons and Diseases series is Activities and Operations of Demons. Subscribe here and I’ll notify you of new postings.
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Spiritual warfare novels are those that pull back the curtain on the spiritual dimension and overtly weave elements of this invisible world into the story. Generally, to qualify as a spiritual warfare story, there must be interaction with the spiritual realm upon the natural realm. Or the story could take place totally in the spiritual realm. Although, such a story world without interactions with people would be an exception to the rule.
Have you ever seen the 1990 movie Ghost, with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore? That’s a spiritual warfare movie. Sure, Hollywood put its slant on it, but it was still in essence a movie about spirits affecting the lives of people. What about the first Ghostbusters? (Let’s just pretend they never made a second one!) It was a comedy, yeah, but it was a spiritual warfare movie. And, oh goodness. What about The Exorcist, and the hundred copycat movies like it?
America Loves Spiritual Warfare Stories
Go on down the list. If there are demons or some evil “force” in the story trying to hurt people, that’s a spiritual warfare theme. Now do the same with books. What’s a vampire but a demon with flesh? And what about haunted houses? It seems people never tire of a house with a demon in it terrorizing the residents!
America has a voracious appetite for spiritual warfare movies and books, and Hollywood is more than happy to feed this hunger with their version of spiritual warfare.
But Hollywood’s version of spiritual warfare = Glorifying and exalting Satan’s power and minimizing or ignoring God’s power. We need an alternative. Preferably, one based in truth! That’s where the Christian spiritual warfare author comes in.
Take a Look at Christian Spiritual Warfare Books
Christian spiritual warfare novels, the kind I write (click here to see), include angels and demons and God as integral actors in the stories. But unlike Hollywood’s portrayal, God is not absent or weak. Nor is evil almighty. Rather, I use my imagination to create suspenseful and realistic spiritual warfare stories that are expressed within the constraints of biblical truth—and not to scare people, but to bring biblical truths to life through sanctified entertainment.
Fortunately, many Christians can’t get enough of a good, Christian spiritual warfare story. Yet, surprisingly, many Christians are turned off by such stories. On one hand that’s okay. No one is going to like all story forms. But my concern is of those on the other hand. These are Christians who do not appreciate the story form in large part because they don’t like to think about something as distasteful as spiritual warfare.
Spiritual Warfare without Demons?
One person even wrote to me that I talked too much about demons in my books. What an astounding thing to say about a “spiritual warfare” book that is advertised as spiritual warfare among angels, demons, and people. That’s like a person going to a football game and saying the teams are running around on the field too much. Can’t they play this game while sitting on the bench! Uhh, no. Similarly, neither is there spiritual warfare unless someone is in conflict. That someone would be us and the forces of evil.
The Bible is Full of Spiritual Warfare
The Bible is the greatest spiritual warfare book in existence. This is where we learn of Satan and demons and angels and God. We see spiritual warfare in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, and in Revelation, the last book in the Bible, and in several other books of the Bible. Here are just a few examples:
In 1 Chronicles 21:1, “Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.” Here Satan moves behind the scene to get King David to do something forbidden. It led to national calamity.
In Zechariah 3:1, “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.” Here Satan is again seen literally opposing a man in his work of the Lord.
In Job 1 and 2, we see Satan gaining permission from God to attack Job’s material possessions, health, and family.
In Daniel 10:13, the angel Gabriel explained to the prophet why it took him so long to arrive with the answer to his prayer: “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince [demon power] of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes [angels], came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings [demonic powers] of Persia.”
Like It Or Not, Spiritual Warfare Is Real,
and So Is Your Opponent!
Ignorance of the Enemy is No Defense Against His Attacks. You Must Attack!
We could go on and on and on with biblical examples of spiritual warfare. But we’ll just end it with something Paul said. We are told in Ephesian 6 that wrestling with principalities and powers, and rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places is our common experience. If God feels this issue is so important that it is the major biblical theme, we should welcome Christian writers who use their gift to teach us through their stories how to recognize and combat the wiles of the enemy.
Come on. Let’s support Christian writers of spiritual warfare fiction. Go out and get yourself a good spiritual warfare novel. I just happen to know of a few spiritual warfare authors (smile). Click on each name to see our books: Eric M Hill, Parker Hudson, Donovan Neal, and the godfather of spiritual warfare fiction, Frank Peretti. Enjoy!
It’s wiser to buy a larger pair of shoes than to stubbornly cram our feet into a smaller pair that doesn’t fit.
