Where Am I?

Where Am I?

It is a beautiful, warm summer here in Australia and my friend and I were enjoying the lovely beach together. We had driven to a bay of sparkling waters of varied hues of blue, that lapped gently onto white, clean sands. Scattered across the beach were clusters of content people all enjoying the refreshing waters. We placed our beach bags and towels in an easily accessible place on the sand, and with our body boards in hand, we strolled into the cooling waters. We were busy chatting and laughing in the spirit of friendship as we lay on our boards floating under the warm, summer sun as a gentle breeze played lightly on the waters. We were captivated by the little grey fish swimming safely in schools beneath us. Stinger-free jellyfish intrigued us as they maneuvered gracefully through the calm waters beside us. Suddenly we looked up at the sandy shoreline and unknown to us, we had drifted slowly down the beach, still close to shore, but away from our belongings. We had been so happily absorbed in the treasured moments of friendship and the delights of the sea creatures that we had failed to recognise that we were slowly being carried away with the gentle current beneath us. It took some effort on our behalf to swim against the flow but we soon made it back to our starting point.

The new year is upon is. It is often a time to reflect on the varied goals we have or have not accomplished in the past year. It’s a time to ponder and maybe implement new objectives, new plans and new ideas for the family. It’s a time of the wonderment of a new year spread out before us.  At this time I pause to thoughtfully consider the question, am I where I want to be spiritually? Have I been so busy, preoccupied and caught up in life that I have drifted unknowingly from that quiet place close to Jesus’s heart? Do I need to retrace my steps and get back to where God wants me to be?

May this new year find us all  in close fellowship with Him and as the year progresses may we not stray but keep our eyes firmly fixed on Him.

1 Peter 3:15 “But set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts..” NET

Love Your Enemies

Love Your Enemies

1 Sam 26:11 "The LORD forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the LORD'S anointed.."

King Saul hated David. Saul was busy hunting David down and wanted to destroy him. What was David’s great sin that Saul should hate him so much? Saul simply cherished a spirit of jealousy and once envy was cherished it became hatred which led to Saul desiring to murder David.

"Envy is the offspring of pride, and if it is entertained in the heart, it will lead to hatred and eventually to revenge and murder." EGW

Jesus was hated.

John 15:25 “...they hated me without a cause.” '

I am hated. How much self wants to retaliate, to shout the real truth from the mountain tops, to respond in anger, bitterness, to hate back, to desire their downfall. God calls to my heart to surrender all to Him. To surrender all my hurt, all my anger and all my desire to hurt back, all my desire to restore my ruined reputation. 

God calls me to not touch the one He has anointed for ministry. How do I surrender to God’s calling? How does God want me to feel, to act, to respond?

I pray the prayer of David and my heart calls out to God

Psalms 35 :19- 26 “Let them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies; Nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause. For they do not speak peace,But they devise deceitful matters Against the quiet ones in the land. They also opened their mouth wide against me,And said, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen it.” This You have seen, O Lord; Do not keep silence. O Lord, do not be far from me. Stir up Yourself, and awake to my vindication, To my cause, my God and my Lord. Vindicate me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness; And let them not rejoice over me. Let them not say in their hearts, “Ah, so we would have it!” Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”
Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion Who rejoice at my hurt; Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor Who exalt themselves against me.”

I cry out for God to vindicate me. I cry out for God to speak to my enemy’s heart that they may see their wrong and be ashamed and be led to repentance.

Time. Waiting. Day after day goes by. How long oh Lord?

How do you want me to live in the midst of this hatred? What do I do?

Prov 25:21, 22" If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the Lord will reward you

Rom 12:19-21 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Ex 23:4,5 “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.”

God calls me to treat this person who hates me with kindness and thoughtfulness. To think of their needs. God asks me to do only good to one who does evil to me.

What attitude does God want me to hold? What are my thought processes to be?

Matt 5:11 "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake."

1 peter 2:23 " Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously"

1 Peter 3:9" Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing."

Rom 12:17-21" Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 

Lev 19:18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.

God wants my heart to surrender all rights and desires to pay back, the desire for vengeance, the desire to respond with evil for evil. He asks me to search my motives and my words and my thoughts. What is truly deep in my heart? He asks me to not hold onto any grudge...no bitterness and no unforgiveness in my soul. He calls me to live peaceably and to feel blessed. He asks me to commit the whole situation to Him. Most of all God calls me to love the one who hates me. To love with other centred love.

Matt 5:43- 48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

God give me a heart that loves my enemy, give me a heart that prays for her, give me a heart that is perfect towards her as yours is perfect towards me who was once your enemy
Col 1:21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled.

Lord for how you have loved and treated me is how you want me to love and treat my enemy. 

Ps 109:1-5 Do not keep silent, O God of my praise! For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful Have opened against me; They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, And fought against me without a cause. In return for my love they are my accusers, But I give myself to prayer. Thus they have rewarded me evil for good, And hatred for my love.

Oh Lord I give myself to prayer. I want your other centred love in my heart.

Guard Well The Avenues to The Soul

Guard Well The Avenues to The Soul

1 Kings 9: 15-17 And this is the reason for the labor force which King Solomon raised: to build the house of the Lord, his own house, the Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer and burned it with fire, had killed the Canaanites who dwelt in the city, and had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.) And Solomon built Gezer, Lower Beth Horon, Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land of Judah,

What appears to be random verses in the Bible of just simply stated facts can often hold deep insight to something God is calling for me to do in my life.

Here we see Solomon busily building. He is building Millo, a fortified strong hold in the city of Jerusalem, he strengthens the wall of the city,he builds Hazor, a strong city in the far north of his territory, Megiddo a strong hold in the far south, Gezer, strategically placed in the western plains, Beth Horon a town in an important mountain pass, and Baalath and Tadmor are outlying towns, he strengthens.

Solomon, ruler of a vast territory, King of strength and power and wealth and might. From Solomon’s life of the busy work of fortifications and plans of defense for his territory, what does God call me to do in my life? Solomon is guarding well all avenues into his dominion so that the enemy may not enter in and thus conquer any part of his territory. Nor does Solomon give the enemy any opportunity to entirely defeat him and bring him to total destruction.

“Those who would not fall a prey to Satan’s devices must guard well the avenues of the soul; they must avoid reading, seeing, or hearing that which will suggest impure thoughts. The mind should not be left to wander at random upon every subject that the adversary of souls may suggest” MYP 285

Do I guard the avenues to my soul as diligently as Solomon guarded his domain? Do I plan how those avenues can be guarded? Do I pray about it? Do I fortify those places? 

My mind is my citadel. It is up to me to choose to guard all avenues to it. To hold it in strong protection. It is the domain of God in my soul. I do not want the enemy to conquer any part of my mind, to weaken it, to take over God’s domain in way...not in part or in whole.

Phil 2:5 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus...”

John 17:20 You, Father, are in Me, and I in You

As the Father dwelt in Christ’s mind so he desires to dwell in my mind.

John 15:5 Abide in me, and I in you

Jesus’s mind was a fortress, a dwelling place for God. Jesus wants to dwell in my mind and set up a strong hold against the enemy in my mind.

Ps 27:1 The LORD is the stronghold of my life

God calls me to choose to guard that strong hold, His dwelling place in my soul, which is in mind.

What are the avenues to my soul that satan will use?

“All should guard the senses, lest Satan gain victory over them; for these are the avenues of the soul.” A.H 401

It is through touch, taste, smell, sight and sound that satan gains access to God's domain in my mind.

Prov 4:23 Above all else, guard thy heart; for out of it flows the issues of life.

1 Peter 1:13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

What I allow into my mind will either take over the domain of God within or enhance the domain of God within and thus out of my mind will flow the enemy of God or God himself.

Prov 23:7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he...

Phil 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Luke 6:45 "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

Every Christian must stand on guard continually, watching every avenue of the soul where Satan might find access. He must pray for divine help and at the same time resolutely resist every inclination to sin. By courage, by faith, by persevering toil, he can conquer. But let him remember that to gain the victory Christ must abide in him and he in Christ. AH 401

2 Cor 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ

John 15:5 Abide in me, and I in you

That All The People Of The Earth May Know That The Lord Is God

That All the People of the Earth May Know that the Lord is God

1 Kings 8:60 “ That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else.”

Solomon offers a prayer and he requests that God hears and answers his prayer so that “all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else.”

What are my motives in prayer? Do I want God to do something for me? Fix a situation? Heal someone? Change someone? Work a miracle? I see just me and my small little world. I pray from my own perspective. I pray so selfishly. Do I want God to answer my prayers His way or my way. How surrendered am I to God’s will anyway? Does my perspective limit God? Does my perspective create in me a a distrust for God as I don’t see my prayers answered in the way I want.God is calling me to pray from His perspective, to see the big picture. God wants me to pray with the motive of all the people of the earth coming to know Him. That is God’s big picture. 

John 17:3 "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

1 tim 2:3,4 “...God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

2 Peter 3:9 “ The Lord is not ...willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

God’s big picture is for everyone to repent, to be saved and to know Him. 

How can my prayers and my life be a reflection of God’s big picture? How can I step out of the small, narrow perspective of my own little world?

Col 3:17 “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

Every word I speak and everything I do God calls me to do so in reference to the name of Jesus and in the spirit of thankfulness.

What does it mean in "the name of Jesus”?

“To the Hebrews a name was not a label, or a tool to distinguish one person from another; a person's name was viewed as equivalent to the person himself. A person's name signified their person, worth, character, reputation, authority, will, and ownership.” Jason Dulle

God is asking me that every word I speak and everything I do be in reference to His character, His will and His authority.

1 Peter 4:11 "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."

1 Cor 10:31 "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

God asks me to surrender not just everything I do from serving others, or in ministering the Word, but also right down to the every day things in life such as what I eat and drink, into His hands, to bring glory to Him.

What does it mean to bring glory to God? What is God’s glory that I am to reflect? I think of glory as a bright, radiant light. What is this brightness of God?

Matt 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

Ex 33:18,19 ”Then Moses said, "I pray You, show me Your glory!" And He said, "I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you...”

Ex 34:6,7 “Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin..”

Moses desired to see God’s glory and God revealed to Him all His goodness.... His character... His name. 

Ps 9:10 “And those who know Your name will put their trust in You...”

John 5:44 “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?”

God answers my prayers so that all may come to know Him and to know that His character is only one of goodness. He wants me to trust Him, to believe Him. He wants me to reflect who He is in every word I speak, in everything I do. He wants my prayers to bring glory to Him that all may come to know Him.

Lord open my eyes to see your big picture and take my eyes off my narrow small world. May my prayers be motivated by the desire for all to know you.

Isa 43:10 You are My witnesses," declares the LORD, "And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me

Rescued

Rescued

Kidnapped!!! 

Abducted!! 

Snatched away!!! 

Child stolen!!! 

These are all headlines that place a fear in any parents hearts. Who would take someone’s child? How would I feel if it was my child? What would I do?

In the USA there is a kidnapping alert app for mobile phones called Amber Alert. It sends a loud warning sound to the mobile phones with that app’, giving details of any missing child. It enables the public to be aware and to keep a look out so the recovery of the child can be quicker.

Currently one of the most famous cases of kidnap currently in the media is of a British child called Madeleine McCann. In 2007, the then 3 year old Madeleine, was kidnapped from a holiday unit in Portugal. Her parents were devastated. They have set up a world wide campaign to find their daughter. Her photo has been in every country...on billboards...posters...in airports...on t shirts and in newspapers. Millions and millions of dollars have been raised to investigate into her disappearance. People from around the world have thought they have sited her and those sitings have been investigated from Morocco to Spain to New Zealand. Since 2007 almost every week this famous case hits the headlines somewhere in the world and always in Britain. The Portuguese Police have led a full investigation...private detectives have been hired...now Scotland Yard, the world’s famous investigators are working on the case.The parents are leaving no stone unturned in the rescue of their daughter.

Why are Madeleine’s parents putting all of their resources, time, energies and their entire life into rescuing their daughter Madeleine? They do it because of love. They love Madeleine.

It makes me think that all of us have been kidnapped and we don’t even know it. This one solitary planet in an entire universe has been hijacked. Back in the garden of Eden satan, through deception, kidnapped this planet and it’s dominion passed into his hands. Each one of us finds ourselves stolen away from God. God has set in motion an entire search and rescue operation. His love for us drives Him to do everything He can to bring us back to Him. He has emptied heaven of all it’s resources, time and energies in our rescue. He leaves no stone unturned in working to bring us back to Him. God’s own son even laid down His own life to bring about our full and complete rescue.

Col 1:13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son

Gal 1:3,4 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.

By the work of Jesus Christ, we have been rescued from the domain of darkness and we have been returned to our rightful Father who loves us, created us and saved us. 

The question remains. Do I want to be rescued?

Deliverance

Deliverance

Daniel 3:4-6 Then a herald cried aloud: “To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up; and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”

Bow or Burn. 

King Nebuchadnezzar the world’s greatest ruler calls for worship. The worship of the image that he himself has set up in defiance of the true God, who had revealed to him in a dream (Daniel 2), the succession of worldly kingdoms and nations until the end of time. That dream, shown to Nebuchadnezzar, was an image of different metals, with his   own kingdom being represented by a head of gold.The different metals in the image represented the succeeding kingdoms following the overthrow of Babylon itself.

No!! No!!! 

Nebuchadzezzar would not agree to God’s plan and in total defiance he set up an image of complete shimmering gold and calls for worship. 

Three godly young men,Shadrach, Meshach and Abdenego who hold positions of influence and leadership within the realm of Babylon, men who are ministers of the most High God, now choose to disobey the King’s command. They refuse to bow to the golden image.

Will they burn in the fiery furnace? 

The wrath of the kingdom of satan is stirred up against these men who refuse to disobey God. 

Jealousy is stirred...anger and bitterness surface among their Babylonian peers. The Chaldeans quickly seek out the King. They had been watching and waiting to destroy the ministry of these three young men. Now is their opportunity or so they think.

vs 8 “Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews” The word accused here means "to devour pieces of them." These Babylonians didn’t just report the three your men’s lack of worship to the King. They verbally tore them apart. Their hearts with filled with revenge, jealousy, hatred and bitterness. They wanted to see God’s men destroyed.

These three young men, though holding positions of trust in the Kingdom of Babylon were representatives of God and ministers for Him.They remind me that God has called and chosen me to be a minister for him. He called me to the ministry of reconciliation. 2 Cor 5:18 “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation” 

vs 12 “There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.” These men were known to be worshipers of the true God. 

The King is filled with  rage and fury, and like satan seeking to devour God’s people, he sneers at God and taunts Him with the power he, the King himself has.

vs 15“But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”

“I sought the LORD & He heard me & delivered me from all my fears” Psa 34:4

Surrender. Complete surrender to God’s will. These young men knew the Bible promise of deliverance and they knew how to apply this promise to their lives. They didn’t *name it and claim it*. They didn’t demand from God to keep them  from the fiery furnace. They surrendered totally and completely to how God would deliver and when He would deliver. They surrendered to His timing and how God would fulfill the promise in their lives. They didn’t instruct God as to how He should fulfill the promise.

God doesn’t always promise to deliver us before the fiery furnace. Sometimes He chooses to deliver us in the midst of the fiery furnace. How often I want God’s deliverance to be according to my heart’s desires and to not be fully surrendered to Him.

Isa 43:2 "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.”

Ps 34:19 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous,

But the Lord delivers him out of them all.”

Dan 3:16-18 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

They have submitted their lives and their wills to God. They fully trust in Him. 

So often in life I find myself in the midst of fiery trials. Life’s circumstances, other people’s choices that leave me hurt and reeling, consequences of my own choices and the results of sin. I could cry out, “Why God??? Why???.” I could claim the promises of deliverance and feel God never pulled through for me. Why didn’t He deliver me before I was thrown into it all? 

In all things God has a purpose. Rom 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

I Peter 4: 12,13 “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.”

Before the three godly men were thrown into the fiery furnace they were bound. 

Daniel 3:20 And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

So many things in life have me bound.I am bound by lies.I am bound by fears. My thoughts, my feelings, my circumstances, my past trained responses, my faulty view of God’s character. They are all lies and fears that hold me in bondage and keep me from experiencing freedom.

God promises to bread those chains...to unbind me when I am bound.

Ps 107:14 “And he brought them out from darkness and the shadow of death, shattering their chains.”

I may be bound up and I may find myself in the fiery furnace but God promises to be with me in the furnace of affliction and he promises ultimate deliverance in His time and in His way. How often God uses the fiery furnace to actually burn off the cords that bind me. There is a purpose in the affliction.

Isa 48:10 "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

He promises to be with me in that fiery furnace Dan 3: 25“I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”

Isa 43:2 When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you

The fiery furnace burnt off the cords that bound them and held them captive. Christ was with them in the furnace. They were not alone. 

Full deliverance...not just partial ... they received full deliverance. As they stepped out of the fiery furnace not only were their cords burnt off but they stepped out with out even the smell of smoke on them. It was complete victory. Nothing burnt or singed. Total deliverance.

Dan 3:27 “And they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.”

The result? Total glory to God.

Daniel 3:28 “Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angeland delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!”

I may find myself bound by lies, bound by fears, bound by life’s circumstances but God has a way of burning off those cords that hold me so tight. He allows me to experience the fiery furnace. Why? To bring complete deliverance to my life. He doesn’t always prevent me from experiencing the fiery furnace. He wants to use the furnace to burn away the cords that bind me tightly. He wants me to walk around freely in that furnace with Him. He wants me to step out totally healed and delivered without even the smell of the smoke of my experience hovering over me or with not even a hair on my head singed. He wants full and complete glory of who He really is, a God of goodness and other centred love, to be seen by all as a result of my experience. 

When satan brings those into my life who wish to devour me to pieces and through their words and influence seek to destroy the ministry of reconciliation God has called me to and thus I find myself cast into a fiery furnace. I can know for sure that only glory to God will be the result. I can know for sure that the ministry of reconciliation will only be enlarged as a result. God calls me to trust Him during the times of fiery afflictions. For He alone will bring deliverance in His way and in His time. 

Rom 12:12  “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

Spiritual Warfare

Spiritual Warfare

1 Kings 8:44,45 “When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, wherever You send them, and when they pray to the Lord toward the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name, then hear in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.”

Battles...they are God’s battles...not mine.

God hears my prayers and God maintains my cause.

God wins my battles against my enemy. 

How does this enemy work against me?

Rev 12:10 
“...for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.”

1 Peter 5:8
"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

Luke 22:31
"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat.

John 8:44 
“... He ( the devil) was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

John 10:10 
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy...”

Matt 4:1 
“ Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil”

Satan tries to devour me, sift me, he wants to see me destroyed and he steals from me. He uses accusations, lies and deceptions and temptations. This is a spiritual warfare. It is a battle fought in my mind.

Ephesians 6:12, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

There are two kinds of spiritual warfare, offensive and defensive. 
In defensive warfare satan launches his fiery darts that God asks us to quench through the shield of faith. Eph 6:16 "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."

These fiery darts come in one of three forms; temptations, deceptions/lies and accusations. Satan builds a platform of desires and lusts within me from which he can tempt me.

James 1:14-15 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

As satan hurls his darts of temptations towards me God calls me to surrender to Him. 

James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
To submit is to surrender. Give it to God and only then will God be able to strengthen me to resist and for satan to flee from me.

Ephesians 4 is telling us to put off our old sinful nature and in verse 27, it tells us that we can give the devil a foothold in our lives through sin:
"Neither give place to the devil."

Satan shoots his fiery darts of lies and deceptions at me. 

2 Corinthians 11:3 
"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled (deceived) Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."

2 Cor 10:3-5 
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ"

“Countless believers are living in defeat because they have been deceived. The enemy has deceived them and caused them to believe and live a lie. If we allow deception to take hold, strongholds can then be formed in our minds. Strongholds are incorrect thinking patterns based on falsehood. Demonic spirits love to use these strongholds to their advantage against a child of God. Strongholds have tremendous power to affect our feelings and emotions. Many blood-bought children of God Almighty feel guilt-ridden and worthless because they don't see themselves they way they ought to. Many Christians feel unloved and not good enough to be accepted by God because they see Him wrongly. Their perception of Him has been damaged and causes them to see Him as a distant and cruel taskmaster instead of a close loving Father who longs (deeply desires) to have an intimate loving relationship with them!” Robert .L.

Satan throws dangerous darts of accusations at me. He tries to bring up my past sins and failures. He wants me to feel guilt ridden, full of shame and to carry around a sense of failure. He wants my past to cripple me. He desires for me to feel worthless and inadequate. He wants me to think my life is meaningless and I have no purpose and that it is pointless to be alive.

Zech 3:1-5 I was given another vision. This time Joshua the high priest was standing in front of the Lord’s angel. And there was Satan, standing at Joshua’s right side, ready to accuse him. But the Lord said, “Satan, you are wrong. Jerusalem is my chosen city, and this man was rescued like a stick from a flaming fire.” Joshua’s clothes were filthy. So the angel told some of the people to remove Joshua’s filthy clothes. Then he said to Joshua, “This means you are forgiven. Now I will dress you in priestly clothes.” I spoke up and said, “Also put a clean priestly turban on his head.” Then they dressed him in priestly clothes and put the turban on him, while the Lord’s angel stood there watching.

Jesus says to satan, “Satan you are wrong” To me Jesus says “..you are forgiven.”

Satan’s fiery darts in warfare that he hurls at me are temptations, deception/lies and accusations. 

In spiritual warfare the of God is defensive. It protects me from the darts.One of the pieces of the armour is the belt of truth. It is defensive. It protects me. 

Eph 6:14 
"Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth

God has equipped me with one piece of offensive weaponry to tear down the strong holds in my mind based on the lies, deceptions and accusations of satan and the platforms of desires he works his temptations from. 

Eph 6:17 ” And take .....the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”

John 17:17 Your word is truth

God wants me to be protected by truth and to defend with truth.

God wants truth in my heart. He wants truth deep within.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life."