Do not suffer alone! God never intended that soldiers in his army fight the enemy independently. You and your friends are on a mission together, fighting alongside one another.
SHAUNA: This is Shauna on Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope and there is a war going on. Here’s Joni to explain and as always, to give us hope.
JONI: Because our enemy, the devil [I tell you], is pulling out all his weapons of warfare, especially nowadays, to discourage Christians when we are going through pain or tribulation. The adversary has been using the old “divide and conquer” technique since Cain and Abel. But we cannot let Satan separate us. To advance against his wicked tactics, we need the strength that comes from numbers: The kind spoken of in Ecclesiastes 4, “Though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him.”
And it’s why when I go to sleep at night, I always, always ask my husband to please pause by the bedside, pray for me, that I might be able to withstand pain in the night, and not succumb to any fear or anxiety [you know, at nighttime is when the enemy can more easily gain ground, right?]. And I also ask others who struggle with sleep to pray for me; and I pray for them. The enemy hates it when we pray; yes, for each other [because our perseverance in pain makes a mockery of harassing spirits that seek to take us out of the battle]. But Satan also hates our prayers voiced out of pain because they are so effective, so powerful, so earth-shaking and heaven-resounding. The devil knows that the prayers of the afflicted have power with God. So, no matter how fragile, feeble or shallow your prayers might be voiced out of pain, the most fainthearted Christian can send reverberations throughout the cosmos as you pray: glorifying God, releasing angelic help, encouraging saints, tearing down strongholds, and pouring fuel on God’s purposes around the globe and in the heavenlies.
Again, it’s why, when I hurt, I always ask others to pray for me, as I pray for them because we are all under fire. And believe me, Christians flourish where a solitary soul under fire might not. We band together as brothers and sisters in arms, because we have not forgotten that we are in a war. We are not sailing through life oblivious of the devil’s torpedoes. No, we are blood brothers and sisters, because we know wartime bloodshed. And warfare, it seems, breeds a brotherhood; that, well, it doesn’t often happen in peacetime. Proverbs 17 says that a brother is born for—and created in—adversity. The fires of combat meld friends together into brothers and sisters of arms.
God has deployed us against a supernatural enemy—the devil—for higher stakes than any other conflict the world has known. And what are the stakes? That our faith be proved genuine; that our testimony is shown to be true. That the souls we intercede for are saved; that other believers are emboldened and encouraged. That God's purposes around the world are advanced, that Jesus is shown to be supreme, and that our Heavenly Father is glorified. Friend, those stakes are about as high as you can get!
So, if you are in pain today; if sleep does not come easy for you because of discomfort and pain; if you are going through a great trial, do not suffer alone! God never intended that soldiers in his army fight the enemy independently. You have got to find a Christian friend [several friends] who will bear arms alongside you as you defend each other in prayer and Christian fellowship. For you and your friends are on a mission together, fighting alongside one another, each person's struggle becoming a collective struggle.
SHAUNA: Friend, you can find this program at joniradio.org and share it with your friends, and while you’re on our radio page, be sure to leave your prayer request if you need prayer against the enemy. God bless you today, and thanks for listening!
© Joni and Friends