The other day a co-worker and brother Christian at my permanent place of work shared with me a concern:
His wife had been asked by her friend to pray for her concerning a threatening miss-carriage. This friend had been battling for years to fall pregnant, and when now she did finally fall pregnant, this threat of a miss-carriage. Had God not at last answered her prayers for a baby?
Well, my friend’s wife had been praying for her when she first heard about the threat, and when now she was asked to pray over her, she was obedient and made a specific action.
That same evening the lady did have a miss-carriage!! What now? Had God not heard her prayer? Did she not pray right? Why would god not honour her prayer?
My friend also related to me how that it was as though Satan had been let loose in their lives. He related several things that had happened to them, including how they were almost involved in a motor accident when out on the open road a car sped up towards them from behind, and at the last minute he swerved off and hit a lamp pole, showering their car with dust and stones.
His faith was starting to waiver. What was happening?
After considering what he had related to me, and praying for insight from the Father, I shared with him the following scriptures:
1. Psalm 59, where David is asking God to deliver him from those who lie in wait for him, wanting to destroy him. But through all of the trials he went through (yes, even he – a man after God’s own hart, went through many trials and hardships) he still worshipped and praised and trusted in God.
2. Deuteronomy 28, where God lays out the blessings for those who follow and obey Him, and the curses that will follow those who refuse to obey Him.
3. Isaiah 53, where Isaiah describes the suffering Christ would go through for our sins and disobedience.
4. Geneses 3:14-19, where God deals out the punishment on mankind and Satan for their disobedience, namely “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (NIV)
It is interesting to note, and this brings me to the possible cause of my friend’s dilemma, that in the last verse, with reference to the woman’s offspring, while offspring can be either singular or plural, male or female, reference is made to a singular and male “he and his”. Here I believe is the first reference to the reconciling work of Christ on the cross. At the very time of dealing out the punishment on mankind, God in His Mercy, Grace and Love, gives a way of escape!!
What I pointed out to my friend was the fact that Christ already, at the time of His crucifixion, took all of Satan’s strikes and poison in His feet for our sakes (when the nails pierced through His feet into the wood), and He descended into Hell to once and for all CRUSH the head of Satan!!
Sure, Satan is still going to do his utmost to confuse us, and disrupt our lives, but he is going around like a headless chicken, and we are allowing him to frighten us and get away with murder, when we need to stand up and expose him for what he really is – a loser.
It is time that we as Christian men began to put on the full armour of God, stand firm against the onslaughts of Satan, and take back the dominion of the earth that god gave us in the Garden of Eden.
For this reason I have decided to add another blog to my portfolio, a blog for South African Christian Men.
Here are two books I recomend. I have both of them, and they've been a lot of help to me:
Here are two books I recomend. I have both of them, and they've been a lot of help to me:
