Day 4: The Gates of Hell Shall not Prevail

  “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” 
— Mathew 16:18

The bride of Christ was purchased by the blood of Jesus once and for all. The devil can fight as he wants but the church is here to stay. However, we must push back daily to knock down the gates of the devil and free every captive behind his gates. The church must embark on fervent prayers- James 5:16 “

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 17 Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.” We must first of all confess our sin and come before God with a clean heart. 1Peter 3:12 “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

2 Chronicles 7:14-15 “14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hearfrom heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.”

We are the people called by the name of the Lord.

Pray that the church will come to the understanding of humility and pray.

Pray that the church will desire to seek God again

Pray that God will forgive his church.

Pray for the healing of the church.

God is ready to hear our cry.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 “4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Pray against the strongholds- mind set, ideology- wrong influence, misinformation and lies that has taken captives the minds of people and they cannot see beyond that.

Pray against arguments and every thing that the devil has built in the mind to challenge the authority of the truth of God’s word. Psalm 107:20 “He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.”

Pray that the thoughts of evil must surrender to the authority of the name Jesus. It is such thoughts that pushes a man to wake up in the morning with high degree wickedness. Psalm 36:4 “Even on their beds they plot evil; they commit themselves to a sinful course and do not reject what is wrong.” We must pray because these thoughts leads to death of people, wrong decisions making, and manipulation of destinies etc.

Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”

Easy request but less response. Pray for strength and a mind set to arise again and call on the Lord.

Prayer is our weapon and must be used continuously but the church has gotten cold in the application of this weapon. Pray that the passion for prayer will come upon the church again- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Pray that every mask blinding the minds of the people must catch fire so that they can see the light of Jesus. 2 Corinthians 4:4 “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

The church carries the anointing needed to open the eyes of those living in darkness. Pray for the church to arise in its authority and power. Acts 26:18 “to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.”

Prayer is highly needed for the revelation of the glory of God in the church. Pray that the church will come to the understanding that prayer is needed.

Isaiah 40:5 “And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Habakkuk 2:14 “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”

There is help in the presence of God but we need to invite ourselves there. Pray that the church will arise in confidence to approach the throne of God.

Hebrew 4:16 “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Day 3: God’s Battle Ax

 You are My battle-ax.
— Jeremiah 51: 20

What is an ax? A tool use for cutting wood into pieces that can be used for firewood. My grandmother sold firewood, she cut the wood herself and tired them into bundles. An ax consist of two parts; the sharp edge that goes into the wood and the handle. The edge is very sharp, therefore you must be an expert to strike the wood. I know for a fact that she never had an accident for missing a strike. I consider her an expert. Firewood is meant for the fire; thus its name.

In Isaiah 7:4 “Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood.” The Lord is referring to Rezin and Aram with their plan to invade Judah ( details in Isaiah 7: 1-18). God refers to Judah’s enemy as “stubs of firewood’.

If the Lord is a man of war as stated in Exodus 15:3 “The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name.”

Therefore, according to John 1:12 “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” Being children, we are recruited in the military camp. That is why he says in 2 Corinthians 10:4 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.” and Ephesians 6:12 “For our battle is not against flesh and blood……

The creator of the heaven and earth is the only one with the qualifications to train us and use us as his battle ax for war.

God brings war to his enemies; Revelation 19:11 “Then I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse. And its rider is called Faithful and True. With righteousness He judges and wages war.”

The enemy is also at work; according to Psalm 24:8 “Who is this King of Glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.” However, 1 John 5:19 “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” God has work to do with his battle ax and weapons of war as list below Jeremiah 51:20-24( details on Prayerline tonight)

Jeremiah 51:20-24 “20 You are My battle-ax and weapons of war: For with you I will break the nation in pieces; With you I will destroy kingdoms; 21 With you I will break in pieces the horse and its rider; With you I will break in pieces the chariot and its rider; 22  With you also I will break in pieces man and woman; With you I will break in pieces old and young; With you I will break in pieces the young man and the maiden; 23 With you also I will break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; With you I will break in pieces the farmer and his yoke of oxen; And with you I will break in pieces governors and rulers. 24  And I will repay Babylon

And all the inhabitants of Chaldea

For all the evil they have done

In Zion in your sight,” says the Lord.”

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Pray that we will walk in what God had intended and created even before we were known, pray for the full manifestation of his work in us.

1 Samuel 16:18 “One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him.”

For one to become God’s battle ax, God must first approve and after that, he dwell within us. What was the secret here? Ask God for help. Pray that as he approves, he should make you into a man of war.

Isaiah 41:15-16 “15 Behold, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff. 16 You will winnow them, and a wind will carry them away; a gale will scatter them. But you will rejoice in the LORD; you will glory in the Holy One of Israel.”

Pray that this word of God will be made manifest in your life just as it is written.

Psalm 18:34 “He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.” Psalm 144:1 “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.”

Ask God for training. Ask the Lord for help to walk in obedience. We cannot be military people but fight like civilians.

Isaiah 42:13 “The Lord goes out like a mighty man, like a man of war he stirs up his zeal; he cries out, he shouts aloud, he shows himself mighty against his foes.”

Pray that the Lord equips you with strategy

2 Corinthians 6:7 “By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left.”

Pray for the grace to walk in God’s truth, his power and to be clothed with the armor of his righteousness. This is our weapon against the enemy.

Jeremiah 1:10 “See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and plant."

As God trains, he appoints; therefore arise and stand on his word.