Clouds swirl. Blackness enfolds. The storm commences, carries on. Does. Not. Cease. Insensitivity slips in. Apathy settles. Battle weary, we lay down, subdue ourselves, justify rest. In reality, it is a giving up, a silent sign of defeat, deference, decision. Apathy. Indifference. Disregard. Nonchalance. God is calling His people: “Rise up! Grab your shields. Take hold of your swords. Pray! Praise! Proclaim! The battle is MINE not yours. You fight not against flesh and blood, but spirits. Religious and political factions come to divide and polarize. You win thru worship and surrender - violent worship, sloppy worship, noisy, uncontained worship, all encompassing, gripping worship. Rise up. Rise Up. Rise UP!” This revelation hit me during Sunday service yesterday. God is calling us to pray. Yes, again. To shake off any apathy, or indifference, any ineffectualism we may feel, and take a stand. We are to contend and oppose opposite of what we see on TV and the internet. We confront in a closet of intimacy and affection. We accost and encounter our enemy through the most powerful being ever in existence. He fights for us. The war rages, uncertainty surrounds, YET, God is on the move and things are shifting, changing, adjusting in His favor. God will win. It is no longer a time of individualism and individuality - it is a time of unity, of cohesiveness. A time to put down pet peeves, areas of difference and division and rise to common ground. The ground of worship. Worship of the one, true and only King. King Jesus. I pray: Add to your remnant Lord - strip away dividing factions and issues so we can see each other through love and brotherhood. Show us where we are under the influence of the swirling, whirling, incessant spirits warring against our souls so we can call them out, send them away and draw closer to you. Arm us, fill us with the words and worship to defeat our enemy. Protect the righteous, expose the enemy, his plans and purposes. No weapon shall prosper. No plan shall prevail. Show us YOUR ways, reveal YOUR plans. Bring about YOUR purposes. We are surrendered to you, for you are good, always good, forever good. We worship you in spirit and in truth now and always. Amen.
Good article on the difference between the religious and political spirit and how they operate: http://www.phildrysdale.com/2013/06/the-difference-between-the-religious-spirit-and-the-political-spirit-2/.