Activating angels. Moving mountains. Shattering strongholds. (Part 1)
My feet were swollen lumps of mincemeat and mono-blisters, and my muscles were so stiff they got rigor mortis if I stopped longer than ten seconds. The pack on my back weighed nearly as much as I did, and the mountain was almost vertical.
We were two days in to the 3-day tramp in the Kaimai Ranges on the Lifeway First Wave Army training, and I was feeling it. I hit a wall and cried out to the Lord for help. I remembered the Bible says, “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV).
I opened my mouth and gave thanks like my life depended on it. The load on my back and the pain in my body faded into obscurity. Then I literally felt a strong hand on my backpack pushing me up the mountain. I thought to myself, “Wow, that guy is amazing! How lucky to have a friend like that behind me! “
Upon reaching the summit, I turned and thanked the guy behind me. “Wow, thank you so much for pushing me up the mountain!”
He replied, “I didn’t.”
Realisation dawned that an angel had surely pushed me up that mountain. The angel was activated because of two things…
I’d put into practice thanking God in “all things” (especially hardship);
I’d opened my mouth and proclaimed the living, active word of God.
In speaking out God’s word, I’d given the angel his marching orders. Psalm 103:20-21 (NKJV) says, “Bless the Lord, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word.”
I am eternally grateful to have sat under the teaching of Jan Yaxley at Lifeway College. She is a woman of the word. One of the papers we did was her ‘Word-Based Prayer’ assignment. She taught us how to write a prayer using the word of God alone.
In those days we didn’t have Bible apps, so we used the old-school hard copy Bible concordance to search out the scriptures relating to a theme or word. I wrote many prayers using only the word of God, personalising it to my situation, because I understood the word of God never returns void – so why waste words? Use the word, and get action!
I was forced to learn the word of God due to severe spiritual attack early in my walk with Jesus, but this turned out to my advantage. I printed out each scripture in very large print, as needed for spiritual warfare – one per A4 – and stuck them on my wall. A white or black board also worked well. My very first one was Luke 10:19,
I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.
Once I’d nailed one, I added another one. Psalm 91 (key for today),
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
I left the old ones there so they didn’t fade in my memory, and they became etched in stone. I was very intentional about learning the word of God. This was amazing in two ways:
When I was in a jam, they were there for me to easily read out loud when my brain was tasered – and they were deadly!
Seeing the scriptures on my wall all the time, I learned them sentence by sentence and they became my spiritual sword – to rip out at the drop of a hat – to proclaim, decree and declare.
“If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you,” (John 15:7). I’ve noticed people so rarely pray and proclaim the word of God these days. Sometimes I wonder if that’s because they don’t have a richness of the word in their hearts to pray it in prayer, so they use mostly their own words.
Bob pawing over her scriptures
A day may come when we don’t have our Bibles anymore, and we will wish we had stored up more in our hearts when we had the chance.
Here’s an example of a word based prayer (of course I don’t speak out the references)…
Father, I come to you in Jesus name. You are the Lord of Lords, and the King of Kings (Rev 19:16). Search my heart, Lord, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psa 139:23-24). Blot out my transgressions, wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin (Psa 51:1-2). I offer my body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to You. Help me, Lord, to no longer conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of my mind, so that I will be able to test and approve what Your will is for my life (Rom 12:1-2). I have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16), and I am more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus (Rom 8:37). Thank you, Father, that no weapon that is formed against me can prosper and every tongue that rises against me in judgment, You shall condemn. This is my heritage as a servant of the Lord (Isa 54:17). Amen
The Lord says, “You will also declare a thing, and it will be established for you,” Job 22:28 (NKJV). This is a massive key to victory in spiritual warfare, and taking and holding new ground. May I say, if you’re not making a habit of it already, now is it’s time to start!
Janet xox
Part 2 of this blog here
Hear my story in podcast with Megan McChesney, Back from the Abyss
Visit janetbalcombe.com to learn more about my books, blogs or to connect with me. To see what else I’m up to, visit: wildsidetrust.org, wildsideministries.com and wildsidedesign.net
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! -2 Corinthians 5:17
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. -Romans 12:2
Put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. -Ephesians 4:22-24