Part II: The Biggest Little Word That Can Change Your Life

The Biggest Little Word, Part II

THE BIGGEST LITTLE WORD THAT CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE

In The Biggest Little Word, part I you learned about our authority as believers in Jesus to do the will of God, the potential for evil influence or hindrance against us and what the biggest little word is: “if.” Now, how do you use your authority, detect the power and influence of Satan, and see the situation through to God’s will and purpose?

For members of Christ’s Body that have the gift of discernment, it may come easily or feel natural to detect or understand when a scenario is being caused or at least affected by demonic influences. For those of us that do not “see” in the spiritual realm, it may seem impossible to discern the presence and activity of Satan, whether in personal circumstances or in ministry scenarios. But alas, it’s not!

Wether you have the gift of discerning of spirits or not, you can rest assured that you can learn to recognize spiritual activity! It’s like our experience of wind, it cannot be seen with the human eye, yet we can recognize it by its activity and the things affected by it; we can even feel it and be directly affected by it ourselves. Similarly, we can learn to recognize the presence and effects of the Evil One by what can be observed.

In general, we can suspect the influence of evil when we observe or sense that: 

• something we know God wills or desires is being hindered or prevented
• there is any form of destruction, oppression, division, or chaos
• something is being withheld, hindered or taken that God has intended for His children to have
  

When you observe or sense any of these, it’s time to pray and test so you can discern if there is any demonic influence. This will allow us to know how to respond in order to ensure the will of God is done. How else can we know if and when evil is involved without testing it? As the Scriptures say, “Test everything. Hold onto what is good and avoid every kind of evil” (1 Thess. 5:21); and, “test the spirits to see if they are from God” (1 John 4:1-6). 

Because we have been given the right to exercise all authority over the evil one in this world, we can therefore speak directly to the situation with commanding language.

Are you ready to learn to detect the unseen things?

With a simple use of the word “IF” along with Christ’s authoritative command we can begin to know what to pursue and to seek the Holy Spirit’s counsel in order to diagnose the root of the problem.

Because we have been given the right to exercise all authority over the evil one in this world (Luke 10:19) we can therefore speak directly to the situation with commanding language. For example, “If this (situation) is from the evil one,” followed by words expressing Christ’s authority and authoritative Word over any evil, will expose and/or thwart the work of Satan. Practically speaking, it’s “game over” or “we win!” because once Satan is exposed and dealt with, he loses his power! Amen? Amen!

This simple intervention beginning with the word “IF” can provide some much needed direction toward resolving matters we often seek to address by praying for others. We don’t need to spend precious time attempting to look for or “drive out” demonic forces when we don’t yet know if the trouble is demonic; it could stem from other sources. We also avoid spending time wishing, hoping, or even trying to convince or motivate God to do these good things (that He already wants to do!). By depending on the Holy Spirit as The Counselor and utilizing the knowledge that the Lord says is ours through Him (John 16:14-15), we can uncover the truth about what is causing the issue at hand and sometimes even discover how to resolve it. You may also discover that Satan is just taking advantage of a person’s past experiences or emotions. Whatever the outcome or source of influence, Jesus wants us to have freedom over any issues that hinder us from freely and fully worshipping and living for Him and for Satan to not be able take advantage of us.

Remember, you’re not looking for a demon; you’re just using your first “diagnostic tool” to test what needs to be treated.

It seems so simple, yet we’ve seen it uncover, resolve, and bring freedom to so many; it works! How often do we see dealings with spiritual warfare become needlessly complicated or even controversial? Let’s keep it simple: find out “IF” we are dealing with demonic forces rather than assuming there are demonic forces involved.

When to use “if”? Utilize this simple means of testing when you or someone you are praying for is feeling oppressed, hopeless, encountering difficulty after difficulty, constant illness, or any other situation that seems to be stealing the peace, help, and victory Jesus wills for His people. This kind of intervention is great to do prior to or during any gathering of Believers where you sense distraction, dissension, confusion, etc. Parents, it’s also a wonderful way to spiritually cover your children or prayerfully address their fears, bad dreams, or other problems they experience. Remember, you’re not looking for a demon; you’re just using your first “diagnostic tool” to test what needs to be treated.

Want to learn to do this yourself? We demonstrate this IF process and what to do with the results from this ‘test’ through Prayer Ministry at our monthly seminars. Our next one is on October 17th at our office in Fresno, California. We’d love for you to attend! 

Come get trained and empowered for dealing with the spiritual influences in your life, in ministry, and in relationships. For more information and to register to come, please visit our events calendar. If you’re not local to Fresno, catch us on Facebook Live here! See you then!