THE INTERRUPTION CONSPIRACY

“But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth, more than my necessary food.” Job 23:10-12 (NKJV)

Matthew Henry wrote…” Job knew that the Lord was everywhere present; but his mind was in such confusion, that he could get no fixed view of God’s merciful presence, so as to find comfort by spreading his case before him.” My friend from Brooklyn sent me one of his infamous “tex-votionals” and he told a story about a Pastor who had recently written him. This Pastor shared that…”My greatest battle is not with some secret sin of the flesh but with maintaining a consistent life of prayer and study in God’s Word! Satan rarely tempts me with sexual sin, but he gets me so busy with the daily affairs of life that my times for prayer and study are crowded out. I don’t allow this to happen intentionally but I get caught up in all kinds of projects and interruptions. This cycle is repeated over and over and Satan is robbing me of my time with God.”

Is your prayer closet being invaded by a conspiracy of interruptions? If you are answering yes then understand this…you are not alone. The adversary’s chief target in these attacks is the secret closet of prayer and study. Does he entice us with erotic images, soothing thoughts of escape through alcohol or drugs, or dreams of fame and prosperity? No…not always. That old serpent knows that when we are in union with Christ we cannot be tempted by these things. Instead that crafty beast seeks a way to interrupt our every attempt to enter the presence of God and study His word.

Let’s take the story of Elijah and those 950 crazy prophets of Baal and Asherah. You can find it 1Kings 18 for your own read but the point here is that during that mosh pit of lunacy created by those prophets Elijah stood his ground. God showed Himself mightily and rains came but when the peace of God should have fallen upon Elijah Satan used Jezebel’s anger to send Elijah into a cave with his whimpers of “I’m the only one.” Then it was by the grace and mercy of ABBA FATHER to restore his spiritual equilibrium that had enabled Elijah to go on and anoint Elisha as his successor.

Even though He came to us in a fallen world Jesus always maintained His spiritual equilibrium. That is our example. My friend from Brooklyn’s “tex-votional” had these few other things to say…”All hell quakes at the effectual, fervent prayer of a single believer. The powerful praying of just one intercessor sounds like raging thunder in the caverns of the damned. Not one inch of space in hell remains unaffected by a believer who denies himself, takes up his cross, and follows Christ with his whole heart. Yet, we must remember: The soul that cries out with agonizing yearnings for depth in Christ will become the central focus of Satan’s conspiracy of interruptions.”

“Communion in prayer and the study of God’s Word cannot be optional. Your thought should not be merely that you ought to pray but that you cannot survive without prayer. Only when prayer becomes important enough will you make the time to do it!” AMEN?! – Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a regular blogger for Freedom Fighter

Daily Bible Reading: Job 3-4; 1 Corinthians 2

Quote of the day:  THE INTERRUPTION CONSPIRACY

“But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth, more than my necessary food.” Job 23:10-12 (NKJV)

Matthew Henry wrote…” Job knew that the Lord was everywhere present; but his mind was in such confusion, that he could get no fixed view of God’s merciful presence, so as to find comfort by spreading his case before him.” My friend from Brooklyn sent me one of his infamous “tex-votionals” and he told a story about a Pastor who had recently written him. This Pastor shared that…”My greatest battle is not with some secret sin of the flesh but with maintaining a consistent life of prayer and study in God’s Word! Satan rarely tempts me with sexual sin, but he gets me so busy with the daily affairs of life that my times for prayer and study are crowded out. I don’t allow this to happen intentionally but I get caught up in all kinds of projects and interruptions. This cycle is repeated over and over and Satan is robbing me of my time with God.”

Is your prayer closet being invaded by a conspiracy of interruptions? If you are answering yes then understand this…you are not alone. The adversary’s chief target in these attacks is the secret closet of prayer and study. Does he entice us with erotic images, soothing thoughts of escape through alcohol or drugs, or dreams of fame and prosperity? No…not always. That old serpent knows that when we are in union with Christ we cannot be tempted by these things. Instead that crafty beast seeks a way to interrupt our every attempt to enter the presence of God and study His word.

Let’s take the story of Elijah and those 950 crazy prophets of Baal and Asherah. You can find it 1Kings 18 for your own read but the point here is that during that mosh pit of lunacy created by those prophets Elijah stood his ground. God showed Himself mightily and rains came but when the peace of God should have fallen upon Elijah Satan used Jezebel’s anger to send Elijah into a cave with his whimpers of “I’m the only one.” Then it was by the grace and mercy of ABBA FATHER to restore his spiritual equilibrium that had enabled Elijah to go on and anoint Elisha as his successor.

Even though He came to us in a fallen world Jesus always maintained His spiritual equilibrium. That is our example. My friend from Brooklyn’s “tex-votional” had these few other things to say…”All hell quakes at the effectual, fervent prayer of a single believer. The powerful praying of just one intercessor sounds like raging thunder in the caverns of the damned. Not one inch of space in hell remains unaffected by a believer who denies himself, takes up his cross, and follows Christ with his whole heart. Yet, we must remember: The soul that cries out with agonizing yearnings for depth in Christ will become the central focus of Satan’s conspiracy of interruptions.”

“Communion in prayer and the study of God’s Word cannot be optional. Your thought should not be merely that you ought to pray but that you cannot survive without prayer. Only when prayer becomes important enough will you make the time to do it!” AMEN?! – Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a regular blogger for Freedom Fighter

Daily Bible Reading: Job 3-4; 1 Corinthians 2

Quote of the day:  We stop praying because we can’t see any tangible difference with our natural eyes. We allow our circumstances to get between God and us instead of putting God between us and our circumstances.”—Mark Batterson

Bible Memory: Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord, your salvation according to your promises; then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me, for I trust in your word. Psalm 119:41-42