“lest Satan should take advantage of us;
for we are not ignorant of his devices”
(2 Cor 2:10b-11, NKJV)
There is one activity that all Christians are universally guilty of participating in, in a greater or lesser degree. An activity that takes up much time and can completely take over people’s lives. In the long run it causes much damage to some, without them even knowing it. Books are written about it, sermons preached, Bible studies centered on it, workshops presented around it, conferences dedicated to it – it is at the core of multiple counseling efforts, and the full-time focus of various ministries. We commonly refer to it as spiritual warfare.
In the heyday of the Baptist movement the devil was identified as public enemy No 1, and was bound left right and center. You’re familiar with the mantra – Satan, I bind you in the Name of Jesus. We declare that you have no power… and how it then continues. But just like Houdini, Satan and his crew seem to be able to time and again wriggle themselves loose from the million of Christians worldwide trying to bind them.
Although I too have religiously continued this tradition, I always wondered how Satan manages to free himself from our binds so quickly. Even though it hadn’t worked previous times, we nonetheless immediately, the moment we suspected he had a finger somewhere in the pie, forcefully reckoned with him. Or so we thought.
In the same way people sometimes spend months, years, and some cases decades, praying for certain areas, undertaking faith walks to drive Evil from these areas (with Joshua 1:3 prayerfully on our lips – “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you”). We host all-night prayer wakes and continual prophetic actions, build altars and call out our victory over the demonic forces and the strongholds of the area. We deal with the strong men (Matt 12:29); we finish off every last territorial spirit.
Yet little changes in the areas which we so diligently soak with our prayers. There are still loan sharks, prostitution, theft, idolatry, child abuse.
The mythology surrounding Satan gets undeserved mileage in the creative imagination of exceptionally zealous believers. They also anoint their homes – the front gate, doors, ceilings and roof, windows shining brightly from liters and liters of olive oil (aptly pressed in Israel). And they anoint their cars and adorn it with Protected by Ps 91-stickers. And yet criminals smoothly slide into the anointed car and drive away, sticker intact. And our brothers still gasp, looking at pornography on their shiny anointed computer screens. A while back I read that Greta Wiid had even anointed her husband’s underwear! Imagine!
In this morning’s newspaper a Christian writes to tell others of how Satan has an agreement with the Chinese, to manufacture Superhero-clothes and then ship it out to South Africa, and when our children wear it, he demands their souls. A while back a reader of the Electronic Manna e-mailed me to ask why I use question marks, as it looks like topsy-turvy witches’ hooves? Am I perhaps from the other kingdom???
We are threatened. And clearly completely unaware of Satan’s plans.
- Sela: Gather Biblical references for the activities listed in the teaching. (Warning: It might take a
while.)
- Read: 2 Sam 1-3
- Examine how this has been fulfilled: 2 Sam 3:10 (Tip: Amos 9:11; Acts 15:15-17).
