OVERPOWER TERROR with PRAYER

TERROR STRIKES AGAIN! This headline is all too familiar in our world today, where “high alerts”, terrorist attacks, or mass murders seem, sadly, eerily, too regular. Yet no matter how frequent these terrors have become, we still have a hard time accepting such atrocities. The generations below me don’t know a world without this type of carnage and their responses either numbs them to violence or “dumbs them” to ignorance.  Please allow this tweet to explain what I mean when I say “dumbs them”:  “Please don’t pray for Paris. Think for Paris. Love for Paris. Laugh for Paris. Have sex for Paris.  We’ve had enough religion for one night.” Based on that comment alone, it is clear how terror and evil produces shock, confusion, ignorance, and of course, the main objective: FEAR. When people operate in fear, they operate out of a (F)alse (E)xperience (A)gainst (R)eality. Again, I know how the presence of hell in this world is hard to accept. HOWEVER, I think we do ourselves, and the victims, a great injustice if we fail to accept the evil for what it is. You see,  failure to accept the evil in this world is failing to act against the evil in this world. I propose that it’s time to accept the wicked ways of this world, because accepting that fact allows us to target the right enemy. And if we know whom we are fighting against, then we can begin our counter attack, waging the right war.  The Bible says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6). It then instructs us to take up the armor of God that we may withstand in the evil day, followed by the charge to go on the offensive with prayer (verse 18).  But when I say prayer, I’m talking about biblical prayer in the Spirit, centered on the character of Christ. This does not mean we pray for peace in the world as a whole. That’s, not only not probable, but that’s not biblical. We, however, are called to pray for peace in the soul; for it is only the peace of God in the soul that can make one whole. It is not enough to just color our profile picture with the French flag or post pictures about "peace" for Paris. Such support goes no farther than the screen that contains them. Essentially, there is no peace except Jesus-peace. But I’m not here to argue the origin or meaning behind somebody’s choice of Facebook support. But I am here to make one thing clear! And that’s how any attempt at peace outside of Jesus is called pseudo-peace. False peace! The Bible says in Jeremiah, “'Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace.” Rather than looking for peace in a symbol, may we all turn our eyes to the only true source of peace—the Prince of Peace.Yesterday, I challenged the world around me to “Pray for 7 minutes at 7PM.” I don’t know exactly how many people responded to this “call to arms”, but I justified my math by working these numbers out:  “To some, 7 minutes may seem long, to others it may seem short; However, 7 minutes "shared" collectively will reach heaven exponentially.” There is no other way to fight this war against Terror. You can’t defeat an enemy that has no value in their natural life. Ironically, the moment they detonate themselves with “Allah Akbar” in mind, they find out there is no Allah or promise of virgins. Frankly, their suicide mission doesn’t end; it actually just begins as they feel the suffocation of death for eternity.  They are deceived. Nevertheless, we CAN defeat this enemy in the spiritual. Think about it! The first true martyr, Stephen, wasn’t defeated by terror, but he was elevated by it. His death was an upgrade as he passed into the arms of Jesus. And even before he was stoned, he had peace in his soul as he prayed, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin” (Acts 7:60). So like Stephen, we must accept evils existence and begin to pray for the men and women gripped by evils presence. There is no greater good in this world than to show the enemy your love by praying for them.