Resist
"So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you." James 4:7-8a.
I recently was married and moved to a new town. We have been fortunate enough to find a church fairly quickly that we attend with enthusiasm. Yesterday, something in the pastor's sermon hit home and sparked a desire to share a reminder with my sisters.
How can we resist the devil who wants to fill our minds with anxiety? Prayer.
Dr. Patrick Latham's sermon from yesterday was about praying for others, but the truths he shared apply to praying for ourselves in order to resist our enemy as well.
He gave two simple instructions for how to pray:
Use lists.
Use scripture.
You see why I like this guy?! You know I love lists! Yes, this is the lesson I have learned through battling anxiety and depression. So, I wanted to remind all my sisters who face these same battles. Keep fighting in prayer. Make lists of things to pray for and use scripture. When we use scripture to pray in the Spirit, we are proclaiming the promises of His word and declaring His truth. Dr. Latham called it "prayer plagiarism," and it is a powerful tool. What words could we pray that would be more powerful than THE Word itself?
If you are like me, you might think..."That's great, I want to do that, but I don't know how. What scriptures do I use?"
There are tons of books on prayer, but I have found these to be particularly helpful. I think I have shared them before, but here is a reminder nonetheless. They are Praying God's Word by Beth Moore and Fervent by Priscilla Shirer.
Praying God's Word has scripture-based prayers for every topic we could begin to panic over. I used it A LOT during panic attacks and anxiety ridden moments. I would walk around the house praying these prayers aloud. (I had to make sure the enemy heard me!)
Fervent gives insight to how the enemy works as well as providing scripture to use when praying over certain areas of our life. At the beginning of each chapter Priscilla begins by explaining, "If I were your enemy, I would..." It is a powerful tool to teach us how to resist the evil one using The Word of God.
Resist the darkness, sisters. Resist the temptation to fear. Resist the lies of insecurity. Resist the enemy, and he will flee.
"For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in the dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will be standing firm...Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers..."
Ephesians 6: 12-13, 18