FAST- Day 2

Day 2 – Deliver us from evil
Read Ezra 4:1-5; Nehemiah 2:19-20; Matt. 2:1-18

“My prayer is not that you would take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” John 17:15

Jesus is to be “a joy to all people” however; the enemy of our soul does not want us to live in that joy. It is the enemy’s pattern to overshadow a time of great hope and promised deliverance with dark oppression. When the wise men from the east came searching for our Savior, they asked direction from the wrong person: Herod. Although he gave pretense to wanting to seek the child as they did, his heart was black with a desire to annihilate anything that threatened his control. After realizing the wise men were not going to return, Herod reacted violently in a rage ordering the death of all Bethlehem’s baby boys. He caused devastating grief but he was unable to destroy the One who delivers us from grief. Are there Herods in your life seeking to rob you of the joy of your salvation?

When the people of God went to rebuild the temple, their enemies offered to help saying, “like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.” And when Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of protection around Jerusalem, his enemies were disturbed that anyone would promote the welfare of God’s people (Nehemiah 2:10, 19). Because these pretenders did not get their way, they attacked God’s people with a vengeance mocking, ridiculing, and accusing them of rebellion. The enemies set out to discourage them and to make them afraid; they hired counselors to work against them and frustrate their plans. They were even successful in stopping the work by force for a time, BUT GOD can do all good things and his plans cannot be thwarted (Job 42:2). God’s people finished the work in spite of the opposition. It should come as no great surprise that the enemy of our soul uses the same tactics on us as we seek to participate in building the Kingdom of God in the lives of others and our own heart. What has he been using on you? Take heart, “a righteous man may have many trials but the Lord delivers him out of them all (Psalm 34:19).”

This past year, the enemy has sought to wear down Vapor’s laborers with one health issue after another. It has been a life and death struggle for some. Yet in Christ Jesus, we saw the victory over our enemy and Jesus has proved Himself faithful over and over again this past year snatching some from the jaws of death while escorting others to their eternal home.

Prayer: Thank you Father for transporting me out of darkness into the kingdom of your dear Son. We know You have the authority to overcome all the power of the enemy including sickness, anger, grief, fear, discouragement, frustration and the enemy’s counselors(Luke 10:18). We ask that You overcome these tools of the enemy and by Your power protect and advance Your Kingdom around the world and those associated with this Kingdom entity.

Father, grant me and those in Vapor Ministries keen judgment to see the enemy’s pretenders for what they are and to correctly recognize and discern those genuinely committed to You. Let us not be misled by mere appearances. I pray that you would encourage all of us through Your word and grant us endurance and the grace to persevere in trusting you through the enemy’s attacks. Let us overflow with Your Hope by the power of the Holy Spirit; fill us with all joy and peace as we trust in You (Romans 15:13) in Jesus’ name, amen!