Spiritual Warfare: Tools for Battle

Welcome to today's episode of the Reflective Spaces Ministry Podcast. I'm Tammy Toney-Butler, your Host and Healing Evangelist. But we all know who the host of this show is, and that's Christ. Holy Spirit, come have your way in this time that we have together. May they hear you and not me, see you and not me. May they be guided into all truth, by the spirit of truth. Let their ears be open to hear and they have spiritual vision to see what it is that you have for them during this episode so that it will penetrate bone and marrow, resonate in their hearts, and they will be forever changed. In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray and declare all things. Amen. Today's episode is called Spiritual Warfare Tools for Battle. Everyone faces a spiritual battle at some point in their journey as a Christian. How do you fight it? Are you equipping yourselves with the right tools needed to ensure victory? Are you wearing your armor appropriately for the season you're in? Let's look to scripture to guide us into all truth. Bring us clarity where once there was confusion dwelling and strength to overcome anything we face as a believer in Lord Jesus Christ. So today, Father has laid on me this mini teaching message. I shouldn't say mini, it's... It's got several scriptures that he wants me to go through and for us to look at the weapons of our warfare. Because remember, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty for the pulling down of strongholds. And we see that in Second Corinthians ten times. And remember, what are strongholds? Well, they can be human reasoning, anything that's like a false argument that sets itself up over the knowledge of what the word of God says. And so we need to now more than ever be able to yield ourselves. our spiritual tools so that we can win in every battle that we face because we have the victory. We're seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. So we approach every situation from a place of victory. But do we know it? Do we walk in it? And so those are the things that we want to look at today. And we want scripture to be our guide so that we can be guided into all truth. So when we look at, let's start and grab our Bibles. We're going to go to Psalm one twenty two. So we're going to start with Psalm one twenty two, and I'll be reading out of the Life Application Study Bible, the New International Version. So Psalm one twenty two, stepping into the presence of God, what Jerusalem was for the Israelites, the churches to the believer. And the author of this was David. Pray now. for the peace of Jerusalem. May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels. For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say peace be within you. For the sake of the house of the Lord, our God, I will seek your prosperity. Do you see that? He was praying for peace and prosperity for his brothers, for his friends. He was making intercession for others. He was thinking about others and praying for others. And so we have to remember that prayer is one of our tools. It's one of our weapons in our arsenal as believers. And when we use that powerful tool to intercede for others, to put others above ourselves and start praying for them, it's powerful. It's a powerful tool that we have because what are our tools, our weapons in spiritual warfare? Well, prayer, of course, the full armor of God and the word of God. So we have to look at prayer and focus on prayer and what it does for the believer. Remember when we pray in tongues, we can get edified and built up. Tongues and praying in the spirit can also be used in spiritual warfare. because it's basically spirit speaking to spirit. And it's a direct communication between a believer spirit and the spirit of God. And some people say that it can't be contaminated by flesh and by our thinking. So then we start praying in tongues, even if we aren't sure of the utterances that we're doing, the spirit's making intercession and the Holy Spirit is empowering the believer spirit to pray. And, So if we don't know how to pray, a lot of times those of us who have, you know, the gift of speaking in tongues, we start praying in our prayer language and the Spirit starts making intercession. And we can intercede on behalf of that individual. And remember, if we feel a heavy burden to pray and we start praying in tongues and interceding for someone, I mean, they could be across the world because it's the Holy Spirit. And it's borderless. So we can actually be covering our brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world. So we have to recognize our power at our disposal that we have with prayer. Prayer is very, very, very, very important in spiritual warfare. So we see here that the Psalmist was not praying for his own peace and prosperity, but for that of his brothers and friends in Jerusalem. This is intercessory prayer, prayer on behalf of others. Too often we are quick to pray for our own needs and desires and omit interceding for others. Wow. I know I've been guilty of that. I know I've been guilty of that. We can start getting over into our own cares and our own worries. And we can start lining up all these requests before God. And instead of approaching him with praise and thanksgiving and remembering what he's already done, what he's already brought us through, And remembering others above ourselves, mirroring Christ's example of giving his life on behalf of his sheep, of father sending his only begotten son to the world to die on our behalf so that we could have eternal life. I mean, those speak of a love that's selfless, that's not selfish. That's putting others and their needs above our own. Now let's go to Psalm one twenty three. In Psalm one twenty three, it says, look to God for mercy. That's kind of the theme. We are encouraged to be attentive to God's leading. I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven. As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hands of her mistress. So our eyes look to the Lord, our God, till he shows us his mercy. Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us. For we have endured much contempt. We have endured much ridicule from the proud, much contempt from the arrogant. So we see here a prayer for mercy. These Psalms can be considered prayers. So when we speak them out loud, that's us praying. A prayer for mercy from the proud and the arrogant. And when we look to the sovereignty of God to handle all of our situations, God has the authority to handle every situation that we face. And we don't need to rely on man We need to rely on God and the word of God and the tools that are at our disposal as believers to break off these strongholds. Because remember, we don't wrestle against flesh, but powers and principalities, evil in high places. And again, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. So we don't fight a spiritual battle with man's weapons. We fight them with our spiritual weapons. We have to remember that. We have to remember that. So let's keep going now to Mark two. And if you say, well, why these scriptures? I don't know. This is the order that the Holy Spirit gave them to me in. And when we go to Mark three, what stood out to me and what the Holy Spirit wanted me to point out in Mark two is, was when it talks about, let's see, let's start in Mark two eight. Immediately, Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts. And he said to them, why are you thinking these things? Which is easier to say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven or to say, get up, take your mat and walk. But that you may know that the son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins. to forgive sins. So remember that Jesus had the authority because he was fully God and fully man, fully God and fully man. So he had the authority to forgive sins. And remember, he transferred the authority to his church, to his body. When he ascended up to the right of the father and he seated in heavenly places, he gave us the keys to the kingdom. So that whatever we forbid on earth is forbidden in heaven. And whatever we allow on earth is allowed in heaven. And basically meaning that it's actually a little bit, the meaning is a little different. It's meaning or the meaning is whatever is in heaven We have access to that on earth. So is there sickness in heaven? No. So we forbid sickness in our lives. We say that's not our portion. Healing is our portion. Is there worry, anxiety in heaven? No. So on earth we use our weapons and we speak life over ourself and over our situation. We don't partner up with the deception of Satan who comes to kill, steal, destroy, and distract. Jesus came so we could have life and have it more abundantly. So we need to remember that. And also what stood out to me is remembering that Jesus came fully man. He walked the earth and lived as we live. So basically he had lived experience. experiential knowledge so that he was in touch with our infirmities. He wasn't an out of touch God. He knew our sufferings. He knew what we struggled with and what it was like to live in a world of fleshly desires, of sin, of darkness. Yet He knew no sin. He knew what it was like and what we struggled with and where our weaknesses are. So He is our intercessor. He makes intercession with us to the Father because He knows what we went through. Because He endured so many things on the cross. By his stripes you were healed. Wow. And then what else stuck out in Mark two was on hearing this, Jesus said to them, it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. Remembering that Jesus came for sinners like us. He came for us and we all fall short of the glory of the Lord. So anyone who believes on Jesus can have forgiveness of their sins and walk in health and healing, hope and abundant life. That's powerful. So again, we're using the word of God as a weapon, as our sword, which we're going to learn a little bit more about later. So let's keep going. Now we're going to go to Ephesians. We're going to go to Ephesians. I tried to mark them so I wouldn't spend all that time moving from page to page. Thank you everyone that's tuning in to all of our viewers. I see you there from all over the world. And we are just so grateful that our ministry, Reflective Spaces Ministry and our Reflective Hour podcast have gone all over the world with thousands and thousands of viewers. It's humbling, humbling to know Humbling to know of all the downloads that are occurring and how God's worth is going forth and prospering and changing nations and changing the world. Glory be to Jesus. So now we're in Ephesians three. And I want to look at Ephesians three, particularly starting in, I said, sixteen, but let's look at fourteen. This is a prayer for the Ephesians. So we need to remember these are prayers that we get to use and we get to speak them out loud, say the word of God out loud, and then we can make it personal. Own it. Put your name in there in certain spots. And I'll show you. For this reason, I kneel before the father from whom his whole family in heaven on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you. He may strengthen Tammy Tony Butler with power through his spirit in Tammy Tony Butler's inner being. So put your name in there so that Christ may dwell in Tammy Toni Butler's heart through faith. And I pray that you. being rooted and established in love. And you can pray this for the body of believers, for the church may have power together with all the saints to grasp how wide, long, high, and deep is the love of Christ. And to know this love that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled to the measure of the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to this, his power that is at work within us. To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen. That's a prayer. Say that out loud. Say it over yourself every day. Pray it out loud. Remember to use your sword. Use our weapon. And then we go to Ephesians six. Ephesians six, eighteen. And actually, when we go a little bit before that to Ephesians six, ten. Yeah, let's start with Ephesians six, ten, where it's talking about the armor of God. Finally, be strong in the Lord and his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Now see that? For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers. But remember... Jesus Christ. The name of Jesus. The blood of Jesus. We have all the power. We get to use his name. We get to use his name. We have to realize that we have authority. There's power in the name of Jesus. He has the power. You have the power. The devil is under our feet. The devil has been defeated by Jesus' work on the cross, by the blood shed on Calvary. By the blood shed on Calvary. We have power over the forces of darkness. Use your sword of truth. Walk in your authority as a believer. do not allow yourself to be defeated by the enemy. Walk into the fullness and the measure of all that you have available to you as a believer in Christ Jesus. Therefore, Put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground. And after you have done everything to stand, stand firm then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the spirit on all occasions. with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given to me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly as I should. How many times is he saying pray, pray, pray, pray, pray? Prayer is a weapon. And if you are facing a difficult situation and you have no idea what to do, you pray, you pray, you pray, you pray, you pray, pray without ceasing, pray without ceasing. Now, I want to read the commentary here on six, eighteen. How can anyone pray on all occasions? One way is to make quick, brief prayers your habitual response. So basically make it a habit to every situation you meet throughout the day. Another way is to order your life around God's desires and teaching so that your very life becomes a prayer. Our very life, how we live our life is an actual prayer. Isn't that something? You don't have to isolate yourself from other people and from daily work in order to pray constantly. You can make prayer your life and your life a prayer while living in a world that needs God's powerful influence. Praying for all the saints means praying for all the believers in Christ. So pray for the Christians you know and for the church around the world. which we just talked about and we saw in Psalm one twenty three and one twenty two, how praying for others, making intercession for others. And when it talks about and pray in the spirit on all occasions, we remember again, praying in our prayer language is spirit to spirit. It's where our spirit is speaking, making intercession. It's not corruptible by our thoughts. So we kind of get us out of the way and pray almost a purified prayer. And it edifies us. It builds us up in the faith. So I, a lot of times I'll just be going around under my breath, praying in tongues in whatever room I'm in. And I'm just always praying, always praying, always wherever I am. If I'm in the car, whatever I'm doing, I always pray. I, even when I'm sleeping, I'm dreaming that I'm praying. And when I'm, uh, wake up, I'm already praying. So prayer is literally a part of me. And it needs to be a part of you with where God's taking you and taking the church in this final hour when we have to be about the Father's business and bringing in the great harvest. And we need to not be deceived in this hour and really focus fight from a place of victory against this spiritual warfare that comes when we try to do God's will. And there's resistance. We have to realize that we are generals of the faith and we have victory over the forces of darkness, over the evil. So we have to speak life. We have to speak, speak scripture. Jesus, when he was tempted, he quoted scripture. It is written. It is written. It is written. Use your sword. Use your sword. And I pulled up on, was looking at the armor of God in a little bit more detail so it would make sense. And remember, the belt of truth is basically the foundation of truth, of knowing what's found in the scriptures. What is the word of God? What is the truth? Not being deceived. And then the breastplate of righteousness is protecting your heart. Guard your heart. You know, what flows out of your heart. You want rivers of living water to flow out of your heart. So make sure there's not seeds of bitterness in it, seeds of hate, any of those things that could affect your prayers. Make sure that you're praying from a righteous standing, right? in Christ Jesus, having a renewed heart and mind, having the heart and mind of Christ. Let that be your prayer to have the heart and mind of Christ. The shoes of the gospel of peace. You're ready to go spread the gospel. The shield of faith. It protects you against the fiery darts of anybody because you know the scriptures, you know, and you know that you know that you know it's true. And by faith, you speak it into existence and you walk by faith and not by sight. Helmet of salvation. It again, protects the mind. It guards your thoughts. It casts down, you know, imaginations and anything that's trying to to become a stronghold that sets you against what the word of God says about your life. And then the sword of the spirit represents God's word, which is used when you're being attacked spiritually. So we need to understand and recognize the armor of God and what it does for us and where it talks here just about praying, praying, praying, praying. So let's go now to John nine. Let's go to John nine. And when we look at John nine. It's talking about spiritual sight and obeying Jesus as Lord. And it that's what is so important. Now, let's look. let's look here. Oh, this is what I wanted to talk about. Jesus teaches about spiritual blindness. And when we look at Mark nine and we go to around thirty five to forty one, Jesus heard that they had thrown him out. And when he found him, he said, do you believe in the son of man? Who is he, sir? The man asked, tell me so that I may believe in him. Jesus said, you have now seen him. In fact, he is the one speaking with you. Then the man said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him. Jesus said, for judgment, I have come into this world so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind. He came to give a spiritual sight, to see the truth that we aren't under the condemnation of the law anymore that he came to give us abundant life through his work done on the cross on Calvary. So we have access to everything in heaven. We get to have it on earth. We get to speak life of ourself. We get to speak victory. We get to approach everything from a place of victory, knowing that the battle's already been won. We just need to see ourselves the way God sees us. We need to view ourself the way God views us. That's what we need to do. Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, what are we blind to? Jesus said, if you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin. But now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. Your guilt remains. Do you have religion or relationships? Are you condemning yourself? Are you allowing others to condemn you? Know what the word of God says and what Jesus did on the cross. And know prayer is your greatest weapon. And when you pray, ask for forgiveness. Forgive yourself, forgive others. Don't walk in bitterness. Pray for spiritual sight. Pray that blind eyes are open. Intercede for others and pray that blind eyes are open so they can see the truth of the gospel and the gospel set them free. Pray for our brethren. Pray, pray, pray. Pray, pray, pray. That's so good. Now let's go to Romans twelve, twelve. Romans twelve, twelve. Be joyful in hope. Patient in affliction. Faithful in prayer. There it is again. Faithful in prayer. Pray without ceasing. Prayer is your weapon. When you don't know what to do, you pray. And if you don't know how to pray, you say, Holy Spirit, help me to pray for this person. And you pray in your prayer language. And if you haven't received the gift of speaking in tongues and you want that and you're ready for that, ask God to give you that gift, to impart you with that knowledge. And just believe you received it, just like you received salvation through faith. and the Holy Spirit came upon you, is in you, believe that you received that gift and just open your mouth and start praying, start speaking the words that's coming to you, that you're sensing in your spirit, way down deep in your spirit, man. Let it erupt out of your mouth like a volcano of truth, guiding you, strengthening you. Let it erupt like a fire, from your belly. Let it erupt. Don't stifle it. Don't worry about what others think. Start praying in tongues in the secret place and do it under your breath. The important thing is that you're in constant communication with the source of all power. the creator of all things, Abba Father, that you're plugged into the source of truth, the power source, using his authority to defeat every battle. You're ensured victory, no matter what you face, no matter what you face, victory is yours in Christ Jesus, in Christ Jesus. in christ jesus victory is yours in christ jesus oh oh holy spirit thank you i just feel his presence so strongly oh thank you holy spirit thank you holy spirit oh just sit in his presence right now he's so thick just sit in that and let it guide you into all truth let it erase the lies of the enemy so that you can start fresh and new, no longer being deceived, but brought into the light of the truth with the light of the world as your guide. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Wow. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Thank you. Next, we're going to go to Isaiah forty eight. Isaiah forty-eight. In Isaiah forty-eight, we see where they're praying for open ears to hear what God is saying. Let's look at how much of Isaiah forty-eight. Here we go. Let's start with six. You have heard these things. Look at them all. Will you not admit them? From now on, I will tell you of new things, of hidden things unknown to you. They are created now and not long ago. You have not heard of them before today, so you cannot say, yes, I knew of them. You have neither heard nor understood from of old. Your ear has not been opened. well, do I know how treacherous you are? So pray for your ears to be open to hear the word of God, your spiritual ears and your spiritual eyes to see. Pray for that and pray for others, your family members that are struggling. Pray for their spiritual eyes and ears to be open to see and hear the word of God, the truth, and that they be set free. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Let their ears be able to digest the word of God as it comes in. Let it not fall by the wayside, but be in an environment where it can flourish. Take root and become a tree of life within that person. Within that person. Never stop praying for your family members. Always keep interceding for them and for your lost loved ones, knowing that God will, will, will, will hear you. He does hear you. And even if the ninety-nine are safe, he goes after the one. Many times I have been sent to on assignment for the Lord. And I get there and I meet a praying grandma. And I just knock on a door of a home and say, was someone here praying? Yes. Do you need food? Yes. And I showed up with what the Lord told me to send to them. Prayer works. He hears our prayers and he acts on our behalf. He acts on our behalf. He's a good father. He'll never leave you nor forsake you. Know, know that he's with you. Know that he's with you. And now let's go to Proverbs three. Further benefits of wisdom. And when we look at Proverbs three, We need to pray for wisdom, understanding, and discernment. Guard your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge me and I will direct your paths. That's the scripture that is so important. Now, let's see. Oh, yes, yes, yes. You know what? I'm just going to read this. My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart. For they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart. Remember to guard your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your path straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring help to your body and nourishment to your bones. And when we skip over to, uh, thirteen. Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding. For she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies. Nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand and her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her. Those who lay hold of her will be blessed. By wisdom, the Lord hath laid the earth's foundations. By understanding, he set the heavens in place. By his knowledge, the deeps were divided and the clouds let drop the dew. My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment. Do not let them out of your sight. They will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety and your foot will not stumble. Pray for wisdom. Pray for understanding. Pray for divine protection. Like Psalm ninety one says, read it out loud. Pray for discernment. Pray for discernment. Ask God for all these things and say, oh, Lord, give me discernment without judgment. I say that. Help me to discern, but not judge. Help me to discern the spirits and to discern what is the truth. Help me, Father. Help me. Help me, help me, help me. Wow. Wow. And now we're going to skip to the complete Jewish Bible. So we're going to go to the complete Jewish Bible. And he wants me to read out of a little bit out of Nehemiah, out of Nehemiah. So when we look at Nehemiah, It's just, it's just powerful. It's, you know, Nehemiah was moved with compassion for others, prayed fervently, interceded for others, sought wisdom. Remember, we talked about seeking wisdom and victory from God who has all the power and authority to change any situation you face. So let Nehemiah be our example. And I just, I'm just going to start reading here in three. They answered me, the remnant of the exile left there in the province are in great distress and are held in contempt. The wall of Jerusalem is in ruins and its gates have been completely burned up. On hearing this answer, I sat down and wept. I mourned for several days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven. Fasting and praying before the God of heaven. I said, please, Adonai, God of heaven, you great and fearsome God who keeps his covenant and extends grace to those who love him and observe his commandments. Let your ear now be attentive and your eyes be open so that you will listen to the prayer of your servant, which I am praying before you these days, day and night. For the people of Israel, your servants, even as I confess the sins of the people of Israel that we have committed against you. Yes, I and my father's house have sinned. We have deeply offended you. We haven't observed the commands, the laws or rulings you ordered your servant Moses. Remember, please, the word you said. Remember, please, the word you gave through your servant Moses. If you break faith, I will scatter you among the peoples. But if you return to me, observe my commandments and obey them, then even if your scattered ones are in the most distant part of heaven, nevertheless, I will collect them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen for bearing my name. Now these are your servants, your people whom you have redeemed by your great power and strong hand. Adonai, please let your ear now be attended to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants for who take joy in fearing your name. Please let your servants succeed today and win this man's compassion for I was the king's personal attendant. So Nehemiah is pleading, interceding to God. On behalf of the people. He felt their infirmary. He felt their pain. Like Jesus felt ours. Prayer is your weapon. A fervent prayer availeth much. Prayer is your weapon. Pray without ceasing. Pray for others. Ask God to intervene. To help. God's will is that none shall perish. His will is that none shall perish. And then what I wanted you to see in Nehemiah two, which I thought was powerful is the, Where he talks, well, let me just read it. In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year, our taxes of the king, it happened that I took the wine and brought it to the king. Prior to then, I had never appeared sad in his presence. The king asked, why do you look so sad? You're not sick. So this must be some deep inner grief. Many of you have had distress. Many of you have had deep inner grief. And I know I've had it. And I have felt the prayers of others lifting me up out of the Merkin mire and strengthening me. Prayer is your weapon. Use it for your brothers and sisters in Christ and use it for yourself. And at this, I became very fearful as I said to the king, may the king live forever. Why shouldn't I look sad when the city, the place where my ancestors' tombs are lies in ruins and its gates are completely burned up? The king asked me, what is it that you want? I prayed to the God of heaven, then said to the king. Okay, so you see this? This is what I want you to see. So Nehemiah, is making intercession with the people. He stepped out boldly to speak to the king who has the power to put him in jail, to kill him, to do whatever. So he was afraid. And he spoke to him. What did he do before he spoke? He sought wisdom from above. You need to stop Practice the pause when you're in a difficult situation, when you don't know what to do. If someone's asking you for something, if you're in a situation, you don't exactly know what to do. Maybe you're facing a mountain, a battle, and you're like, I don't know what to do. I don't know how to respond to this person. I don't know what to do. You stop in that moment like Nehemiah did. And he says, I pray to the God of heaven, then said to the king. So he prayed first, sought wisdom from above. And then he spoke. So what you can do as a believer who's filled with the Holy Spirit is you can say, Holy Spirit, help me. I don't know what to do in this situation. Help me to pray as I ought. Give me the words, help me to pray. And I believe that when I open my mouth, that you're going to speak through me and speak into this situation. And you're going to command this storm to be still. You're going to speak and move this mountain in front of me. Like it says in Mark eleven, twenty two to twenty five. So you believe that when you seek God, when you ask him to help you, when you invite him into your situation, that he's going to come in, he's going to act on your behalf, and he's going to deliver you. Just like he delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt, out of bondage. He's going to deliver you. out of your bondage too. Trust in him. Lean not on your own understanding and always acknowledge him and he'll direct your path. So that's what I wanted you to see. That's what I wanted you to see. Now, when you go on in two, you see how Nehemiah is very strategic. He's strategic in how he approaches situations, whom he lets in on certain things. He holds things to him. And look at his faith that he had. So I reached Jerusalem after I'd been there for three days. I got up during the night and I had a few men with me. I hadn't told anyone that my God had put what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. And I didn't take any animal with me except the animal on which I was writing. So he didn't take anything with him other than the animal, which he was writing. And he just went out on faith. And that's what God wants us to do. Trust in him, obey, surrender, step out in faith, and he'll supply your needs when you get to the point at which you need them. Pray, believing you've received what you're praying for, because it's in line with God's will. Step out in faith and know he's got you. And he'll deliver you out of anything you face. When you put your complete trust in Abba Father, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our precious Lord Jesus, when you put your trust in him, and his power, and his authority, his sovereignty. And you make Lord Jesus king of your life, surrendering, coming under his lordship. Jesus came to show us the will of the Father. You want to see God? You saw Jesus. Jesus showed you God. He came to do the will of the Father, and he was obedient unto death. You must say and pray, Father, Nevertheless, not my will be done, but yours, O God. Not my will be done, but yours, O God. And see what he does in your life. See how he acts on your behalf. The next thing he showed me was Judges twelve, two to three. Judges twelve, two to three. Again, reading out of the complete Jewish Bible. Yiftach answered, when my people and I were in a serious dispute with the people of Ammon, I called you and you didn't rescue me from their power. When I saw that you weren't rescuing me, I put my life in my own hands and went over to attack the people of Ammon and Adonai gave them over into my power. So why have you come up today to fight me? Don't look to man to rescue you because they'll fail you like you see here. You look to God to help you. You pray and communicate with God. And he will never, ever, ever leave you nor forsake you. And you will win your battles. And you will win your battles. And you will win your battles. And then you see in Psalm one twenty four and Psalm one twenty five. When you see Psalm one twenty five, I'm sorry, one twenty four. Remember, look at it like a prayer. Look at Psalm one twenty five as a prayer. Read them out loud. Ask God to reveal his truth, but read these out loud. And the theme of Psalm one twenty four is God delivers us from those who seek to destroy us. God is on the side of those who seek him. If the Lord had not been on our side, let Israel say, if the Lord had not been on our side when men attacked us, when their anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us alive. The flood would have engulfed us. The torrent would have swept over us. The raging waters would have swept us away. Praise be to the Lord who has not let us be torn by their teeth. We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler's snare. The snare has been broken and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. And then look at Psalm one, twenty five. God is our protector. The mountains around Jerusalem symbolize God's protection for his people. Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken, but endures forever as the mountains around Jerusalem. So the Lord surrounds his people both now and forever more. That's a hedge of protection. Remember, like he had around Joe until he lifted. A hedge of protection. He's got a hedge of protection around us as believers. Surrounding us. Angels are all around us. So we don't mean dash our foot against a stone. Remember to pray. Remember to pray. Psalm ninety one and ask God to release your angels. So you don't dash your foot against the stone and hedge you and hedge your family and hedge your homestead in. Protect us, O God, from famine, from drought, from fire, from tornadoes, from hurricanes. You have the power of God working in and through you and whatever you allow on earth. Whatever you allow on earth is allowed in heaven. Whatever you forbid is forbidden. Remember what you allow You become. So don't allow darkness to come to your door. Don't partner up with the lies of the enemy. Don't be distracted. Don't be destroyed. Don't partner up with depression, with sadness, with grief, with sorrow, with sickness, with disease. Speak the word of truth over your life. Forbid those things. Know there's none of that in heaven. And know you're surrounded by angels. You're protected. and lean not on your own understanding, but trust in the word of God. Trust in the word of God. Trust in the word of God. In Psalm one, twenty five, I want to read a little bit of commentary. Have you ever known people who were drawn to every new fatter idea? Such people are inconsistent and therefore unreliable. The secrecy to consistency is to trust or put your faith in God because he never changes. He cannot be shaken by the changes in our world. And he endures forever. The fads and ideas of our world and our world itself will not last forever, basically. But the word of God holds firm and stands true. Now, the next couple of things before I conclude this that the Lord wanted me to show you is when you look at Revelation nineteen fifteen. The power and authority of Christ's spoken word, the word of God, the sword of truth. Psalm, I'm sorry, Revelation nineteen fifteen. From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations, to strike down the nations. And he wanted to show me this. You know, the Lord has led me, the Holy Spirit, to certain books and things. And the Holy Spirit literally will give me pages to read. And when I ask and I seek that wisdom. And what he showed me was this book, Prayers That Route Demons by John Eckert. Prayers That Route Demons by John Eckert. And it says prayers for defeating demons and overthrowing the power of darkness because we already have the victory. We just need to know it. And we need to use our sword of truth. We need to use the word of God like it was spoken about in Revelation. And that's what he says here on page twenty one, releasing the sword of the Lord and where it talks about release the sword out of your mouth against the enemy. Against the enemy. It is written. Remember, Jesus quoted scripture. You can see the apostles quoting scripture. And then the next last thing he wanted me to show you was Kenneth E. Hagen's book, The Art of Prayer. And this is part of it's a handbook on how to pray. And it's Kenneth E. Hagen's book. And I wanted to show you or he wanted me to show you. I didn't want to do anything he wanted me to show you was when we look on page forty six and forty seven and forty eight. Your will and love. This agape love, this God kind of love involves the choice of your will. That love is inside your spirit if you're born again. But you are the one who has to will it, will to put it into practice. You choose to let that love loose from within you. We can choose to love all people. Even our enemies, almost anyone can love those who love them. But the Bible tells us to love our enemies. What else does the Bible tell us? We choose to love all people, even the unlovable. We love as God loves. It involves the giving of our lives for the benefit of mankind. This is not merely referred to dying physically. It merely, it mainly refers to our being willing to give up our own will and way and take time to pray and intercede for all men. And that was by right. John, fifteen, thirteen, greater love have no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. God loved us while we were yet sinners and sent Christ to die for us. We are to love the same way we give our lives for mankind. One of the ways we give our lives for mankind is by giving ourselves to prayer. It involves sacrifice. It involves laying down our own desires for the benefit of mankind. There is sacrifice in giving up your own will and time to pray for others. And it talks about compassion. Love is the basis for all Christian activity. Compassion is an ingredient of divine love. Again, right. How do we know this is so? Because God so loved the world that he gave Jesus. And Jesus so loved us that he gave himself for us. And in his earthly ministry, again and again, we see compassion. As we look at that wonderful truth, remember that Jesus said, He that has seen me have seen the father. John fourteen nine. If you want to see God, look at Jesus. Jesus is the will of God in action. Jesus is the love of God in action. And in his earthly ministry, he was moved with compassion. And as I conclude this episode, let's let Matthew nine thirty six to thirty eight concluded. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them because they fainted and were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, the harvest truly is plentous, but the labors are few. Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labors into the harvest. Jesus had compassion on the people. And he showed us that we need to pray that laborers are sent into the field. And so we have to remember to use our weapon. Use our weapons in spiritual warfare. Prayer. Pray without ceasing. Prayer is the greatest thing that we have. And when you're coming up under attack, you just pray and you don't stop praying. And you pray and you pray and you pray. And when you feel that burden, when the Lord puts someone on your heart, or you feel that unease, that heaviness in your spirit, you pray and you pray and you pray until it's lifted. And you intercede on their behalf. We are our brother's keepers. We are watchmen on the wall. Become a general in the faith and pray without ceasing. Communicate with God. Learn from him. Gain wisdom and understanding. And walk in victory this day and every day. This day and every day. This day and every day. And that's all he has for you today in this episode of Reflective Hour. are spiritual warfare tools for battle, and actually Reflective Spaces. I said Reflective Hour out of habit, but it's actually Reflective Spaces Ministries podcast today, although we stream it on Reflective Hour as well. And we recommend that if you're following Reflective Hour with Tammy Toni Butler, you follow Reflective Spaces Ministry. The Holy Spirit decides what I put on where, and I recommend going back and listening to those episodes. So remember, spiritual warfare are tools for battle. Yield your sword. Yield the truth. And the truth shall set you free. And the truth shall set you free. Father, be with them this day. Give them wisdom. Give them strength as they face the storms of life. As it says in Isaiah forty thirty one. Oh, strengthen them, oh God. Protect them like it says in Psalm ninety one, oh God. Remind them of Jeremiah twenty nine eleven, oh God. That you want to give them a future and a hope. A good future. Hope's their portion, love's their portion, peace is their portion, healing is their portion. Remind them, O God. Strengthen them, O God. Break apart anything that's trying to stop them from hearing this word and it penetrating in their heart and forever them being changed. We lift them all up to you, Lord. We lift our brothers and sisters up to you, Lord. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray and declare all things. This day and everything Amen. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Just sit in that peace for a minute as he's healing you of your infirmary. As he's healing your right leg. As he's healing your digestive issue. As he's healing you now. of that painful sorrow from the past. He's healing you now. He's guiding you now. He's strengthening you now. Remember to draw from the wellspring of living water, never to hunger, thirst again. You eat of that bread of life. Find healing, find healing in Lord Jesus. He's healing you now of that abscess in your tooth. He's healing you now. He's bringing down the swelling. He's strengthening you. He's guiding you. He's with you. He's with you. God bless you. May his light shine upon you. And you go out and prosper this day and every day. This day and every day. Thank you for following us. Remember to like, subscribe, and share. I'm Tammy Toney-Butler, Healing Evangelist and host. Glory be to Jesus.