“So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.” Nehemiah 4:6 (KJV)
Throughout the ages walls have been seen as defense strategies. Protection from the outside forces.
Truthfully, building walls around myself comes very natural to me, though sometimes not that healthy. As an introverted person and more specifically, an INFP personality, according to the popular Keirsy Temperament Sorter; I am very comfortable being alone or in quiet places. Finding those quiet spots can be the hardest part and knowing when it’s time to leave the ”mountain top” and enter back into the “demon-possessed valley” takes courage every day, as Oswald Chambers described in his famous devotional, My Utmost For His Highest. Like I said, in this world of chaos and clammer it’s harder than ever to find a quiet space. It seems like everyone is looking for inner peace nowadays but not many of us are coming across as peaceful!! It’s true! A great number of us are drinking camomile tea, soaking in lavender bath salts, listening to meditation apps and going to yoga class with little to show for it. As with anything that we need help with..Jesus is the one we should go to first. Jesus even needed to pull back for times of solace. Several times it is mentioned in the gospels that Jesus would rise early in the morning to pray before daylight and sometimes prayed all night.
Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Mark 1:35 (NLT)
One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God ALL NIGHT.
Luke 6:12 (NLT)
And, although His plans were not His own but those of His Father and bigger than any of ours…like redeeming the world from sin! Hello? Yet, He was never in a hurry! He could be found meditating and praying before His Father, especially first thing in the morning before light.
I like to wake up before anyone else does too. If I don’t, I usually feel very unproductive. Can you relate? I like to check in with God before I start my day, before people start with their demands for my attention.
So in my opinion our first line of defense:
1. God first. Meditation. Time in His presence. Worship and praise. Thinking of Him and His goodness. Being thankful. This is our first line of defense. Praise and allowing God to fill us with His word and His Spirit. Think of Mary sitting at Jesus’s feet. “Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:42 (CSB)
It takes discipline and a lot of self-control to set a while and just bask in His beauty. We are living in a super fast paced world now. Anyone who lives their lives calmly and assuredly will stand out. We will be noticed. Some will want what we have. Some will take offense and chalk it up as laziness. Never mind. Just keep living your life in freedom, walking with Christ.
2. Our second key to building a fortified wall is: Prayer. A devoted prayer life. No one can take that away from you. It blows me away that The Creator invites us to communicate with Him at any given time!
Good communication is a must in any relationship. My husband has said it a few times behind the pulpit, that “it’s impossible to have a healthy relationship if you don’t communicate. Think of having a boyfriend or girlfriend…If you don’t make them a priority by calling or visiting them, that would not be a healthy relationship.” How can we expect to have a relationship with God if we never talk to Him or never reflect on His goodness in our lives? If we say we have a relationship with God then that should mean we have developed a healthy prayer life. In the popular classic, The Practice Of The Presence Of God, Brother Lawrence was determined to invite God into every moment of his day as a monk in a Paris monastery in the 17th century. Brother Lawrence served his fellow monks at the monastery, doing such menial tasks as the dishes and mending sandals, and he was thought to be the happiest person alive by those living in the monastery with him. Why? He was being satisfied by The Savior. He had a strong prayer life and it was well noted by the monks. It is one of the most quoted books by Christian authors. Here’s an excerpt:
“He does not ask much of us, merely a thought of Him from time to time, a little act of adoration, sometimes to ask for His grace, sometimes to offer Him your sufferings, at other times to thank Him for the graces, past and present, He has bestowed on you, in the midst of your troubles to take solace in Him as often as you can. Lift up your heart to Him during your meals and in company; the least little remembrance will always be the most pleasing to Him. One need not cry out very loudly; He is nearer to us than we think.”
I believe the late great revivalist, Leonard Ravenhill knew the importance of a strong prayer life. I first came to know about him a couple years ago when reading one of Ann Voscamp’s writings and then his name got my attention again when a mentor had quoted him on his Facebook post. Ravenhill urged his listeners to make prayer a lifeline. He would often say in his sermons that, “No man is greater than his prayer life.”
Ravenhill urged serious Christians to make more time for prayer like those men who had a reputation for great prayer lives during the great revivals in our country: John Wesley, George Whitefield, Charles Finney and William Booth.
Lawyer, Methodist pastor, and Civil War chaplain, E.M. Bounds wrote eleven books, nine on prayer, and said,
“What the Church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use, men of prayer, men mighty in prayer.”
Prayer is as important as our next breath.
3. The third defense is to know The Word. There are so many benefits to knowing what God has said. Remember Eve knew but the serpent caused her to second guess what God said. His Word never changes. His promises are still true. It gives encouragement in times of doubt and fear. It brings us solace and help when we are grieving and in dire need, it can rebuke and guide when we have strayed off course. It’s also called, “the sword of the Spirit.” It can divide truth from false, bone from marrow. (Hebrews 4:12) It cannot fail when used rightly and in the hands of God’s precious child. But, remember, your adversary knows what God’s Word says as well. (Genesis 3:4, Matthew 4) I found out that the more I read the Bible the more I want to read it. You grow a hunger for The Word of God. You will find that the more you feast upon it the more will be revealed into your own spirit. This is because God’s Word is alive!
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
Hebrews 4:12
The Word of God is Jesus! Jesus is alive!
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:1&2, 14(NIV)
4. Fellowship among the believers would be a major line of defense as well. As much as I hate to admit it, I cannot fulfill God’s calling on my life without others. I tend to want to do things on my own as I described before. I’m always thinking that I might be bothering someone if I ask for help. Maybe if you ask another introvert!! Lol! Seriously though, most people are waiting for connection and Jesus commands us to go and make disciples! It’s not up for debate. We are to make disciples and love our neighbors. A strong body of believers can change the world!
These four strategies should help to build a strong fortified wall of defense against the enemy. It’s important to note that we cannot do anything apart from Jesus Christ living His life through us and He gives us the tools we need to live a disciplined life for The Kingdom of God. In my next post I will share with you some of the tactics of the enemy and how we might better be on guard against them.
Small Beginnings Blog 