The Rules of Engagement

YOU—Redefined

They didn’t want to offend the stranger, so they consented. The young men were taken down a stairway, a door was quietly opened, and their guide whispered, “This is our heating plant.” Surprised, the students saw 700 people bowed in prayer, seeking a blessing on the service that was soon to begin in the auditorium above. Softly closing the door, the gentleman then introduced himself. It was none other than Charles Spurgeon. 2 In every dispensation and generation, God has had a man or woman who partnered with Him for the redemption of humanity. These men and women partnered through prayer. Abraham, Moses, Hannah, David, Solomon, Anna, Paul, St. Francis of Assisi, Martin Luther, Brother Lawrence, John Wesley, David Livingston, Oswald Chambers, E. M. Bounds, D. L. Moody, Watchman Nee, Corrie ten Boom, David Yonggi Cho, and the list goes on. These individ uals and many others partnered with God to change the state of the world. Charles G. Finney said, “Effective prayer is prayer that attains what it seeks. It is prayer that moves God, effecting its end.” 3 To this end, I believe that in this dispensation, every church should have a “boiler room,” with a modern day “Spurgeon” as its tour guide . T he W ord S ilences the E nemy When you use the Word of God in prayer, it silences the enemy. This is what happened to Jesus in the wilderness. The voice of the enemy spoke to Him on three occasions. You have to understand that the conversation was not verbal, but mental. Spiritual warfare is the counsel of the human mind and any other spirit (including the human spirit) other than the Spirit of God as the following text describes: Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took Him into the holy city; and he had Him stand on the pinnacle

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