Life is warfare. Even though we may wish it is not so, the fact remains that life is full of battles. Conflict and contradictions are part and parcel of human existence. Tears, sorrow and heartbreak are commonplace in human communities. They happen because human relationships often become adversarial. They happen because evil persons seek ascendancy in our world. The network of evil often appears mightier than the individual person, and they tend to overwhelm the common man. Fortunately, there is a place to go; a person to resort to for help. That person is God Almighty.
Our God is the All-Powerful God. The Psalmist says of Him:
Psalms 62:11 God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.
No other power can stand before Him. He created all things, and the keys of all creation are in His hands. That should give us confidence in the battles and challenges of life. It should encourage us to resort to Him. When problems became overwhelming to David, he sang:
Psalms 68:1 Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.
Who are the enemies of God? God’s enemies are those who oppose His rule and reign on earth. God’s enemies are people who oppose the Gospel of His Son, Jesus Christ. They are those who oppose the well-being of His children. Furthermore, God’s enemies are those who oppress the weak and the poor. Let us add one more category; God’s enemies are those who, by their lives and conduct, glorify the devil and/or promote sin or abomination on earth.
It is important to define the enemies of God because many of us tend to think only of our personal enemies as the enemies of God. Yes, our first point of impulse about the evil adversary is essentially personal. However, we must go beyond that and see the bigger picture. Our prayer for God’s intervention in the affairs of the world needs to go beyond what is personal to us. God has a plan for the nations and for the whole earth that is bigger than the individual; and we should participate in that plan because it will ultimately impact us positively.
So when we come to prayer, and we seek to experience the mighty manifestations of God’s power as the Psalmist described, our major prayer should be intercession. Let us engage in warfare against the enemies of the Gospel and of the name of Christ. Let us intercede for the fatherless, the widow, the solitary, the oppressed, the bound, and the poor. Let us call for divine judgement against all those who perpetrate and perpetuate evil in the land; whether or not we are personally affected. Unselfish prayer is a good way to bring down the mighty hands of God. When we intercede, we shall see the power of God at work, and the benefits shall accrue to all – we ourselves inclusive.
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