All-out war
Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
Who shall stand in his holy place? Psalm 24:3
Read Luke 11:14—23
These words of Jesus must strip me of all pretence. This is open warfare. It is Jesus versus the demons. It is Jesus versus evil. In my own life — how has it gone? — this warfare can translate into Jesus versus little cover-ups, feeble excuses, compromises I thought I’d get away with without too much damage. Here Jesus Christ is Lord, dealing with my soul ruthlessly. And all that because I never do get away with little cover-ups, feeble excuses and compromises without damage. They do damage me. They enfeeble me. They rob me of the joy for which I am made. They do not sit well with Christ’s possession of me. They are designed not to.
Lord of power and truth and grace, you are long-suffering. You understand my weakness. I know you are patient with me, else I would not be returning to you this night in prayer. But I see, and I recognise, as I read of your all-out encounter with evil, that you also have a fierce jealousy for me. Therefore I name before you my cover-ups … I confess before you my feeble excuses … I do not hide from you my compromises … And, that done, I pray for the fulness of your Spirit. I pray to be gifted, even flooded by your Spirit, that my satisfaction be in you. I pray for the Spirit to empower me to renounce these things I have needed to name, that they be rejected from my life. That I may live in the joy of the presence of the Lord.