In Mark 4, Jesus likens the Word of God to seed sown in the ground. When you plant seed, it produces a crop. You do not plant corn, expecting to grow apples or bananas. When corn is planted, corn will grow. So it is with the Word of God.
When you plant the Word in your heart, it will grow and produce.
Your life-like soil will produce what is sown in it. Plant seeds of doubt, fear, unbelief and failure and you can expect to produce a crop of doubt, fear, unbelief and failure in your life. You cannot plant seeds of doubt expecting to produce faith. It simply will not work.
"The Word is sharper than a two-edged sword piercing and dividing asunder the soul and the spirit, the joints and the marrow" (Heb. 4:12). The Word goes beyond your intellect. It enters the spirit realm.
Protect the Word until it has time to take root and grow. Rule over your thought life by casting down imaginations that exalt themselves against the Word. To be carnally minded or sense-ruled is death (Romans 8:6). It will kill you. To be spirit-
ually minded is life and peace. Keep your thoughts on the Word. It is the answer to your problem.
God has provided a strong arsenal for spiritual warfare. The Word is not your only weapon against Satan.
Every believer has the privilege of using the Name of Jesus in prayer. When you pray in Jesus' Name, you immediately get the ear of God. At the same time, you get Satan's attention.
The Name of Jesus carries ultimate authority in the spirit world. Philippians 2:9-10 says, "...God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth."
In Jesus' Name, the believer has authority to "...tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy" (Luke 10:19). Satan knows the power vested in that Name and he will retreat when it is spoken in faith (James 4:7).
Just as a wife has power of attorney to her husband's name, we have been given Jesus' Name to use in combat against Satan. We have authority to speak His Name in His stead.
Most believers know that it is the Name of Jesus that caused them to be saved. The Bible says, "...Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved." He is rich unto those that call upon his name (Rom. 10:12-13).
When you call upon someone's name, you are placing a demand on their ability. For instance, when a policeman says, "Halt in the name of the law!" he is being backed by the power of that particular city. It is as if the entire corporate structure of that city is speaking. He is carrying out the power behind the name of the law.
We have a commandment to believe on the Name of the Son of God. To believe on His name is to put demand upon His ability. Jesus said, "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you" (John 16:23).
The mighty, powerful Name of Jesus is available to you. Become aware of your right and privilege to use it. Ask the Holy Spirit to engrave the reality of it in your heart. His ministry is to lead you into all truth (John 16:13).
The Name of Jesus is the key to heaven's storehouse. It can do anything that Jesus can do. Speaking His Name is standing in His stead. According to Philippians 2:9-11, the entire spectrum of existence - heaven, earth, under the earth - will bow its knee and confess with its mouth that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Don't Forget About the Holy Spirit
Another essential aspect of our spiritual warfare is the Holy Spirit. Before He went to the cross, Jesus promised to send Him. We have armor and weapons, but it is the Holy Spirit Who empowers us to utilize them.
The Holy Spirit is the power of God. The effectiveness of your prayer life depends on the degree of confidence you place in the Holy Spirit. He is the power behind your prayers that enables you to live and walk as God intends - free from sin, sickness, sorrow and death.
He dwells within you. You may not be aware of His presence, but He is there.
The Holy Spirit fills a vital role in your prayer life. Pray to the Father in Jesus' Name, not to the Holy Spirit. He is in you - creating, energizing, working - to perform the will of God in your life.
By operating on the Word of God, you will see the work of the Holy Spirit. He will do exceeding abundantly beyond what we can even ask or think according to the power that is at work within us (Eph. 3:20). The Holy Spirit is that power.
He is your helper, sent to bear you up. He has come to your aid to give you might in your inner man. He is in you, instantly ready to do the bidding of God and to uphold the Name of Jesus.
The operation of the Holy Spirit should be a reality to you. When you invite Him into your life, you receive more than just an experience. The Holy Spirit of God came to abide with you forever. He is residing inside you constantly. He is real and He wants to help you in your prayer life.
The name of Jesus and the Holy Spirit...two powerful offensive weapons that will bring victory every time.
"Father, I ask You now to fill me with Your precious Holy Spirit. As He gives me utterance, I will speak with new tongues in my own personal prayer language. I will practice praying in tongues, praying in the Spirit, daily. I will do my part to exercise my new language and depend on the Holy Spirit to lead and guide me as I grow in You.
"Thank You, Father, for filling me with the Holy Spirit. I'm grateful He is living within me. I'll never be the same because of the Holy Spirit dwelling in me. In Jesus' Name, Amen."
Eagle Mountain International Church, Inc.
aka: Kenneth Copeland Ministries
For the last 50 years Kenneth and Gloria Copeland have been passionately teaching Christians all over the world how to apply the principles of faith found in God’s WORD to their lives.
