FAITH CAPSULE: Constant prayer for deliverance is a prevailing avenue for displeasing the enemy.

Acts 12:1-25
 
Are you experiencing a direct or indirect enemy’s celebration over any confronting challenge in your life? Is it pleasing to the enemy when you are experiencing life threatening challenge?
Whatever gives pleasure to the enemy over your life or makes the enemy rejoice concerning your life, is a close call to an untimely death. The only enemy of man is the one and only adversary of man before God. Adversary of man does have many agents that often operate through man to get to man. Despites the devices of the enemy, man is greatly privilege to counter and defeat enemies of life through prayer and ministering of the word of God. Are you spending time in prayer with the brethren, in the morning, afternoon, night time or midnight, rather than having a gossip ministry? Anyone that is lacking in prayer is definitely exposing self to becoming a victim in the hand of his/her enemy.
The case of pleasing enemy: King Herod was an ally of the Jews who were persecuting the early church. They were also enemies of the gospel, and did not have respect for the lives of the Apostles. It is written, “Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread. So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.”(Acts 12:1-4) It pleased the Jews that James was killed by the sword. That same hand that went against James went after Peter with the same agenda. The word points out Peter’s deliverance stating, “Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.” (Acts 12:5)The enemy wanted to rejoice over Peter. Thank God for Peterthat prayer warrior stood in the gap for Peter. Just as the enemies were pleased about James’ death, they also wanted to be pleased about Peter’s death. Persecuting the believers of Jesus was pleasing to the Jews; constant praying for deliverance was the prevailing avenue for displeasing the enemy. Get out of unhealthy gossip and get yourself into a prayer group.

Prayer for today: Ask God that the enemy will have no ground to be pleased concerning your life.