The more I grow in Christ, I daily understand that a demonic force consistently attempts to exalt itself above the knowledge and the things of Christ. There was once a time when I used to get mad at Christian’s ungodly behaviors, attitudes, and worldviews, but Christ taught me that humanity’s behaviors, actions, and attitudes are influenced and led by what they feed their spirit. Christ followers must feed their spirits with the things of Christ; praying to Christ, reading the Holy Scriptures, and loving our neighbors and enemies. As Christ followers, we must be extremely careful of what we allow in our space, what activities we participate in, and even the types of music we listen to and T.V. shows that are viewed. Christ followers must always be watchful and careful at all times because Satan wants to capture and control the mind and behavior of Christ followers at moments when least expected. I believe that because Satan and Satan’s angels are cunning, crafty, intelligent, and sneaky, this is the very reason why Paul writes in Ephesians that Christ followers should always pray, and pray without ceasing. Christ followers must pray without ceasing because Satan is against Christ, and Satan’s time is short and running out. Because Satan’s time is running out and Satan’s time is short, I believe Satan wants to destroy as many people as possible.
Today, as I was teaching my campers chess, I noticed that when they were met with chess challenges, they wanted to quit. In chess, the proper manner of quitting is to pick up the king and flip it over; almost like waving the king side to side, but in the downward direction. This is a technique that I regret teaching them, but it was my responsibility to teach them how to properly quit. One of the most major insights I realized about chess while driving home was that my students were able to make a decision to either fight through the challenge and gather strength, or to make the decision to quit. Many of them chose the latter option of quitting. Needless to say, the fact that many of them wanted to quit when confronted with a challenge showed me that their generation is about instant results and gratification. Therefore, if these kids, in between the ages of 13-17 is faced with a challenge, they will choose the easy way out and not travel down the “road less travelled.” The road less travelled is the undiscussed road that many of our Christian teenagers are constantly avoiding.
The Christian youths that are learning chess are African-American teenagers with diagnosed learning disorders and other mental and emotional challenges. Most importantly, I noticed that most of their parents do not provide them with resources to receive a good education, healthy food, and a healthy home environment.
What is going on is that the kids carry the spirit of failure and it brought into the room, but I noticed that the spirit is not their fault, but it is a spirit that hovers over that particular region of where they live. The spirit is sometimes passed down to them from generation to generation; parent to child; grandmother to grandchild. It is really the death and dumb spirit that Jesus rebuked in Mark 9. 17-29. After Jesus rebuked it, Jesus said that this spirit can only come out by prayer (v.29). When I noticed that these kids were taking the easy way out, or the road often travelled, i.e. quitting, I became frustrated, impatient, and angry inside; but these are all carnal dispositions. Instantly the Holy Spirit corrected me, and told me that I cannot give up on these kids with my impatience and selfishness, the Lord told me that this deaf and dumb spirit can only be defeated by prayer.
Prayer is the only way that the deaf and dumb spirit can come out. At that very moment, I realized that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they are mighty with God through the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations and every high thing that attempts to exalt itself above the knowledge of God, bring into captivity every thought into the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians. 10.4,5). I will be honest, my initial response to the spirit of failure was to allow them to fail, quit, but allowing that demonic attack to attempt to prevail over Christ’s will goes totally against what God has commissioned me to do during this season of ministry. Therefore, the Lord quickened me with sharing James 1.5-8 with them, and not only did I share that with them, I told them that Satan wants them to quit on themselves and feel sorry for themselves and become angry and sin. That anger and frustration can lead to self-destruction resulting in sin. That disposition is a entry point and doorway for demonic spirits to take hold of our Christian children.
The Lord also quickened me and told me that if I did not pray, that I would be a hindrance to their inheritance into the Kingdom of God. Now that revelation truly convicted me because Jesus says that anyone who hinders a child from coming into the Kingdom of God and doing the will of Christ, in summary, is better for them to drown. People, I am not drowning, I am swimming, so the Lord quickened me to pray for them. Before I left we prayed and the children were completely silent. I did not know what was going on in their minds; I did not know if they were afraid, delivered, healed, hopeful, uncomfortable, or angry. But one thing I noticed, especially with children, is that when they are silent, they process what has taken place, they attempt to discern the cause and meaning of what happened, and their hearts are softened. I believe that spirit was removed from their lives. I believe the Lord allowed me and used me to sow a seed of excellence, perseverance, and strength into their lives, and prayerfully someone will water that seed, and God will perform the growth.
My point for writing this blog is to let you know that many people do not have a clue of what demonic spirit is at operation in one’s life. The spiritual realm and the demonic system is real, and there are activities that give credence and allegiance to Satanic influences to freely operate in the life of Christ followers. Christ followers must be fully conscious at all times. We must ask God to give us a sound mind, love, and power to do the work that the Lord wants us to accomplish for Christ. We must also be aware that people’s greed, love for money, gluttony, anger, selfishness, lust, perversion, seduction, homosexuality, lesbianism, hedonism, addiction, infidelity, idolatry is a spirit that is working through many Christ followers; and they do not even know that it is a spirit. Satan likes the fact that people will not admit that a spirit is working in them, and Satan also likes that people cannot see that an evil spirit is working within them. Fortunately, Satan cannot overcome the power in prayer, and the spiritual discipline and spiritual weapon of prayer. Prayer can break yokes and it is not a carnal weapon. If you would like to read a biblical example of the power of prayer and what prayer can do, read Acts 4.23-31. This is powerful, and I believe that it will transform your belief in prayer. You do not have to be a special person, have a title of a bishop, God hears the child’s prayer just like God hears the apostle’s prayers.
In conclusion, when you recognize that someone is not acting godly, you do not have to judge them, but instead pray for them. Pray that God will take the spirit of anger, the lying spirit, the spirit of fear and remove it; and cast it into the sea. I promise you, when you pray to Christ, you will see results. God bless you! In Christ.
