Recently, my sons and I studied Psalm 18 in our weekly Bible study.  Though written thousands of years ago by a man from another
culture, with different life experiences and struggles, the truths of God’s presence in our lives—His deliverance and His desire to empower
us, still hold true.  The Holy Spirit inspired David to write these words for us
today to teach us God’s ways and to encourage us (Rom 15:4). 

Here are some of the many truths penned by David for our instruction and edification: 

•  When we are tired and weak:  God is our strength, and He gives us His strength (vs. 1
    and 32)

•  When life’s circumstance and experiences are continually changing and unpredictable:
    God is our Rock (vs. 2, 31 and 46)

•  When we are under attack from our enemies (both physical and spiritual):  God is our
    Fortress and Stronghold, our Deliverer, our Shield and our Salvation (vs. 2, 18, 32)

•  When we cry out to God in our distress, He hears us (v. 6).

•  When we are overwhelmed and helpless, God reaches down like a loving father, to
    scoop us up in His strong arms.  He rescues us from those more powerful than us, and
    He supports and strengthens us in our day of disaster (v. 16-19).

•  Sometimes we may think God doesn’t want to be bothered by our continual cries to
    Him for help, but this is a lie of Satan.  God delights in His children (v. 19), and He
    wants, even longs, for us to take refuge in Him so He can be our Shield and our Rock.

For the rest of this article, I want to focus on David’s reminder that God not only fights for us and delivers us, He also trains us and
gives us His strength to fight our own battles.  He arms us with His strength and makes us complete (v. 32).  He teaches us to be
surefooted in our walk (v. 33).  He trains us for battle and gives us strength beyond our own abilities (v. 34).  He gives us His shield
of victory, and He sustains us with His powerful right hand (also see Isa 41:10).  Lastly, God not only reaches down to comfort and
protect us (v. 16),  He also stoops down to give us victory (v. 35). 

Paul teaches us the same truths in Eph 6:10-18.  We face adversaries far more powerful than us, spiritual powers and forces of evil
in this dark world.  God trained and strengthened David to achieve victory, and He wants to do the same for us.  He calls us to “be
strong in the Lord and in His mighty power” so we can “stand our ground” and “stand against the devil’s schemes” (vs. 10,11,13). 

One of the most successful schemes employed by demons is to get us to doubt the eternal truths of Scripture, to think the words
printed in our Bibles are just ink on paper, when in reality, they are spirit, they are life, and they can empower and change us to be
like Jesus (John 6:63, Deut 32:47, II Pet 1:4).  This is one of Satan’s greatest lies.  Almost all our battles begin and are fought in our
minds.  Satan knows that if we believe, we have at our disposal the power and authority of heaven, weapons of war that can demolish
his strongholds and overcome his influence in our lives (II Cor 10:3-4).  We can do this by using the truths and promises of Scripture
to demolish the lies and arguments against God’s truth he puts into our thoughts (just as Jesus did when Satan tempted Him in the
wilderness).   

In closing, while many of our battles will probably be fought alone, God has given us each other to share mutual support and
encouragement in these struggles.  We are to pray for each other, encourage each other, and spur one another on toward love and
good deeds.  Following the military word pictures of Psalm 18, involvement in a small group is like being a member of an army unit. 
Alone, we are easy prey to the forces arrayed against us, but together we can protect and support one another, and we can take back
the ground in our lives that the enemy presently holds as together we obey the orders of our Commander and Lord. 

As we face struggles and the counterattacks of the enemy in the battle to build God’s kingdom, let us be united in heart and purpose,
rallying to the cry:   Who is God besides the LORD?  And who is the Rock except our God?   If God is for us, who can be against us?!
Psalm 18:31, Rom  8:31
                                                                                                                                   

A church-wide prayer and fasting week is being planned by the elders for Hope Community Church the week of February 10 – 17. This will be a time of

pressing in together as a congregation for breakthrough (God moving powerfully) in our personal lives, in the life of our church body and in the lives of

the people with whom we want to share Jesus.
   

Prayer and fasting go together like peanut butter and jelly. They belong together. Jesus, our model for Christian living, said it should be this way. Check

out these words from Jesus:

•         “My house will be a house of prayer.”  Matthew 21:13

•         “When you pray...When you fast..and your Father, who sees what you do in secret will reward you.”  Matthew 6:5-15; 16-18.

•         Jesus assumed we would pray and fast. It brings reward.

•         “But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, in those days they will fast.”  Luke 5:35. Fasting connects us intimately

with Jesus. 

•         “But this kind only comes out by prayer and fasting.”  Matthew 17:21 (some manuscripts). Jesus is teaching his disciples that some types of

healing and deliverance ministry require both prayer and fasting for breakthrough to happen.

Jesus, our model for Christ-like living, started his ministry with a 40-day fast.  Jesus “full of the Holy Spirit” was led into the desert where for 40 days

he ate nothing and was tempted by the devil (see Luke 4:1-13). He returned from the desert and his 40-day fast in the “power of the Spirit.” (Luke 4:14) 

There seems to have been a change from being “filled with the Spirit” to being in the “power of the Spirit” after spending time in the desert. Like Jesus,

we at Hope want to be both filled and walking in the power of the Spirit so we can do what Jesus did as he promised we would (John 14:12) – healing

the sick, freeing people from oppression and boldly sharing the love of God.

We learn from the life of Jesus and from our own experiences that combining fasting with prayer:

•         Helps draw us closer to God. It is a posture of seeking God and listening to his voice.

•         It is an expression of humility and surrender before God. It moves us out of the way (because we tend to try to do things in our own strength)

allowing God to move instead.

•         It brings breakthrough (victory) in physical healing and spiritual areas of our life.

•         Fasting removes old thinking, old ways, and old mindsets allowing God to create new life in ourselves, our relationships, our church and our

communities.

It is important to know that fasting is an invitation. Fasting does not earn favor from God; rather it positions us to connect with and receive from God! 

Fasting is being more hungry for God than for food!

Ask the Lord how he is leading you toward fasting.  Here are a few ideas:  

•         A partial fast–giving up certain types of food or drink. The Daniel fast (see Daniel 10:2-3) is an example from scripture that is primarily fruits,

vegetables and nuts.

•         A normal fast–No food, but lots of water for a period of time. You may need to add clear broth and/or juice to maintain strength.

•         A combination of no coffee, desserts, sodas, etc. along with fasting from certain activities like TV or facebook–something that is a sacrifice for

you and allows you more time with God. 

Lastly, there is power in praying together as a church body in agreement to bind strongholds and to release the resources of heaven.  See Matthew 18:18-20.