We must learn to hear the voice of the Lord in order that we can take our marching orders and understand the schemes of the enemy. God wants us to cause the enemy to flee from us rather than our fleeing from him. What are the conditions for his fleeing from you?

“Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:7-8)

The devil always flees when we yield to our God, obey Him and draw near to Him. Then we learn to speak the Word of God to Satan. “For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword….” (Hebrews 4:12) We saw how Satan fled from Jesus every time the Lord said,

“It is written….” We, too, must learn to say, “Satan, it is written.” The growing of our faith is the weapon necessary to defeat the wicked one. How do we acquire faith? “So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

Let’s look at what Hebrews says about the power of the faith of the “Patriarchs.” Hebrews 11:24-35 states,

“By faith Moses, when be became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land; whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned. By faith the wall of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace. And what more shall I say?

For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again….”

Look at what the scripture said about “out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.” Now this is exciting. God wants you to become a “Warrior.” God wants you “to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy.” But you must rise up in the spirit and become strong; you must be willing to fight the devil in the spirit.

I would like to share with you a testimony concerning my close friend, Trudy. I came to know Trudy in 1996. She worked for the business Alvis and I owned. Alvis’ general partner was running the business, as Alvis was too ill to offer much support. Six weeks after Alvis passed away, I received a call from his partner informing me that he had accepted a position with the bank, his former employer. He indicated that Trudy was capable of managing the business; however, in panic, I immediately went to the office to see if this woman could indeed handle this responsibility. God had a plan I was unaware of. One day as Trudy and I were talking, I asked her about her and her husband’s walk with the Lord. Trudy has a beautiful and sweet spirit, but I noticed a look of surprise and uncertainty as to how to respond to me. She indicated she knew the Lord, but behind that sweet smile and endearing personality, I saw no joy. I discerned in my spirit there were problems and that she didn’t have the closeness with the Lord that she needed in order to overcome her circumstances. It wasn’t too long before we became steadfast friends.

She grew rapidly in her walk, and I knew her desire for her Lord was sweet and precious, but Trudy didn’t have any idea how to fight the fight of faith on behalf of her husband. She had become discouraged and beaten down by the enemy of her soul, as Satan tormented her with hopelessness and despair, bringing havoc to her twenty-four-year marriage. Her husband Bob was a Christian, but like many Christians, he was walking in defeat. Because of hurts and life’s circumstances, Bob was not overcoming. He had succumbed to alcohol, and Satan had a hook he was using to destroy Bob and his marriage.

The Bible is very clear on what happens if we give in to temptation. Sin gives the enemy a “foothold” in our lives. “And do not give the devil a foothold.” (Ephesians 4:27)  It is the soul (or the mind, emotions and will) of man where Satan seeks to enter and gain control over different areas of our lives. When we repeatedly sin in a particular area, we allow Satan to gain a bigger foothold or larger hook in that area, which then increases his control in that area. Then with ever so slight a tug on the hook that has been planted, we lose all control and yield to the demons of alcohol, lust, depression, fear, anger, etc. A good analogy is a small hook won’t hold a big fish, but increase the size of the hook and you have the fish. “The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast.” (Proverbs 5:22)

In time, Trudy revealed Bob’s problem to me. In so many words and with anger in my spirit, I said, “We will fight this fight, Trudy. We will take back your treasure the enemy has stolen.” God has put anger in my spirit toward the evil workings of the enemy and his destructive work against God’s people. The Lord has taught me to fight. Now I was ready to teach Trudy how to go to war against the evil one. She learned how to speak the Word of God to the devil, to bind him, to call forth God’s wall of fire around Bob and to loose God’s warring angels to Bob’s aid. She learned how to “stand in the gap and make up the hedge” in the spirit to see her husband freed from the claws of the devil.