DISARMING THE ENEMY

The foregoing thoughts are doubtless not new to many who have read them, but is the mighty assistance, the power, of the Spirit in prayer a present and enjoyed experience?

Have we slipped into an unintentional independence of the Spirit in prayer?

Are we habitually "praying in the Spirit" and receiving the full answer to our prayers?

It is very easy for our intellectual apprehension of spiritual truths to outrun our practical experience of their reality and power. Prayer is frequently represented in Scripture under the figure of spiritual warfare. "We wrestle... against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Eph. 6:12, KJV).

In this phase of the prayer life, three personalities are involved, not two. Between God on the one hand and the Devil on the other, stands the praying man. Though weak in himself, he occupies a strategic role in the deathless struggle between the dragon and the Lamb.

The power and authority he wields are not inherent but are delegated to him by the victorious Christ to whom he is united by faith. His faith is the reticulation system through which the victory gained on Calvary over Satan and his hosts reaches the captives and delivers them.

Throughout the gospels, the thoughtful reader will discern that Jesus was concerned not so much with the wicked men and the evil conditions He confronted as with the forces of evil at the back of them. Behind well-meaning and ever-vocal Peter, behind the traitorous Judas, Jesus saw the black hand of Satan. "Get thee behind me Satan," was the Lord's response to Peter's well intention but presumptuous rebuke.

We see men around us bound in sin, and in captivity of the Devil, but our concern in prayer should be not only to pray for them but to pray against Satan who holds them captive. He must be compelled to relax his grip on them and this can be achieved only by Christ's victory on the Cross.

Jesus dealt with the cause rather than the effect, and the leader should adopt the same method in this aspect of his praying. And he must know how to lead those under him to victory in this spiritual warfare. In a graphic illustration, Jesus likened Satan to a strong man, fully armed, who kept his palace and goods in peace. Before he could be dispossessed and his captives released, Jesus said he must first be bound, or rendered powerless. Only then could the rescue be effected (Mt. 12:28-29).

What does it mean to "bind the strong man," if not to neutralize his power by drawing on the conquering power of Christ who was manifested "to destroy [nullify, render inoperative] the works of the devil"?

And how can this be done but by the prayer of faith which lays hold on the victory of Calvary and believes for its repetition in the specific context of the prayer?

We must not make the mistake of reversing our Lord's order, and expect to effect the rescue without first disarming the adversary.

The divinely delegated authority placed in our hands may be confidently exercised, for did not our Lord say to His weak disciples,

"Behold, I have given you authority... over all the power of the enemy" (Lk. 10:19, RSV)?