Inspired by a recent viewing of the Christian movie, “War Room”, my husband and I have set up a “war room” of our own. Not in a closet, as portrayed in the movie, for our 1950s home doesn’t have walk-in closets! But we figured God didn’t care what room we used in our house, and we converted an extra bedroom into our “war room”. We hung up lists of prayer requests where we sensed there was spiritual warfare, and we proceeded to visit our “war room” every morning to do serious spiritual warfare.
The result?
There were notable results almost immediately. Two noteworthy ones, actually.
First of all, we began to see results for some of primary prayers!
Secondly, and sadly the one that sticks out the most in our minds, we also noted a significant increase in our personal spiritual attacks… All the old demons that we both so often battle hit us up, big time, and we both found ourselves falling over and over again into all the old traps…
And so, one or the other of us were continually leading the other up the stairs and into the “war room” multiple times a day to pray over each other.
After the first few days, we began to recognize the increase in our own spiritual attacks, and we upped the warfare. Interestingly, I found that I was becoming a lot more discerning of spiritual attacks! And since it’s a lot easier to battle something that you realize is there, I soon found that victory was only a prayer away.
Sometimes, however, I have to admit, part of me didn’t even want to fight the spiritual battle. Take “anger”, for example. After all, what the other person did that made me angry was wrong. I had every right to be angry with that person! And so the evil demons of unforgiveness would soon have their nasty claws in my soul, bringing me to the point that I didn’t even want to forgive…
I will admit, this isn’t an unusual pattern for me. What was new and, perhaps, improved, was my heightened awareness that this was a spiritual attack, and it became a bit easier for me to desire to let go. But desire is only half the battle. It is possible to want to do something because you know it’s the right thing to do, but deep in your heart, you really don’t want to do it at all! And that’s where I suddenly found myself, over and over again.
God didn’t leave me there. He never does. Instead, He began teaching me the truth of 1 Cor. 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (NIV).
Initially this verse puzzled me. If God was going to show me the way out, why wasn’t He doing it? And so I would go into spiritual warfare and command the demons to leave. And they would. Only to return a few minutes later. Why, God? What am I being badgered by temptations that are truly more than I can bear?
Then one day something important occurred to me. The text says He will not let me be tempted beyond that which I can bear, yes. In my mind, that meant that He would know when I’m unable to bear a specific temptation, and He will remove it. And perhaps, if the text ended there, then that would be the correct way to understand it. But the text doesn’t end there. It goes on to say that God will provide a way out.
It took a moment of contemplation for this to sink in. Just because God provides a way out doesn’t mean that I will automatically take it!
Let’s take an example from driving. There is always a way to get from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’; but that doesn’t mean I will always take it! If it meant that, I would never get lost, and I would be a liar for sure if I tried to convince anyone that I never get lost! In order for me to get from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’, I have to “find” the way, and then I have to choose to “take” it!
Is it the same with our spiritual battles? With our temptations?
I determined to try. And I did. I began looking for that way out. The only problem was, I would be so enthralled in my temptations that I couldn’t see it!
This brought me to tears one day. Why God, would You promise a way out that I, because of the battle I’m fighting, just can’t see?
It didn’t seem very much like something God would do, and so I changed my prayer. I began praying like this: God, I am under assault right now. I am feeling so weak, so weak that part of me doesn’t even really want to fight. You have promised that I will never be tempted beyond that which I can bear. Well, Lord, that’s where I find myself! I’m at that point! You’ve promised to always provide a way out. I’m looking, but I can’t find it. I’m too weak. I need You to carry me through that way of escape!
Wow. I could keep you here for hours telling you stories of how whatever temptations were badgering me when I prayed that prayer would just … fade away to nothingness! God truly gives us a way of escape, and when we’re too weak to even find it, He is right there to carry us through it! We can lean on Him, even for something like finding the way of escape He has promised to us! What a loving, wonderful God we serve!
I highly recommend setting up and “visiting” your “war room” for at least 10 minutes every day. Be prepared, however, for your own spiritual attacks to increase. And when they do, never forget that God has made a way out, a way of escape! And when you are feeling too weak to even seek it, just turn to Him and let Him carry you to and through it. You’ll be amazed at how this changes your perspective on spiritual attacks!
Oh, and if you haven’t already and have the opportunity to do so, I highly recommend the movie, “War Room”…
Hum. If this prayer works so powerfully for my personal attacks, I wonder what it might do when I’m interceding for someone else??? Join us next Saturday for “The Way of Escape”, Part 2…
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two adult boys, Author — “Aboard God’s Train — A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer”, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, The Illustrator, a four-times-a-week internet newsletter, and the Sermon Illustrator website, all with Answers2Prayer Ministries.
(To access the entire “The Way of Escape” mini-series, please click here!)
