I praise the Lord for the deliverance He has brought in your life! Galatians 5:1 reminds us to stand fast in the liberty and freedom we have received from Christ as well as exhorting us not to become entangled again unto bondage. Galatians 5:7 continues that thought about how through evil spirits and sin our life can be hindered so that we do not live in obedience. (reflect on what you were in bondage to and take some time to praise God for the freedom He has given you in those areas)
The true focus of deliverance is not just warfare, but relationship with Jesus
You can only become a strong soldier for Jesus by becoming a disciple of Jesus.
Isaiah 55:1-3 gives a powerful call for those who thirst to come unto Jesus. Pray through this passage asking the Lord to show you where your focus is on the carnal and not the eternal.
As you develop your focus on God and learn to follow Him in your path of discipleship, Matthew 13:44-46 shares a poignant look at someone who has found God and discovers how life changing that encounter is. He sells all he has joyfully to go and obtain what life through Christ offers. Pray and ask God to reveal any area of your life you are holding onto possessions or your own valueless methodologies and ask Him to help you experience the wealth of what the Kingdom of Heaven offers.
Luke 11:5-13 is a great parable of how God as our Father promises to reward us for our importunity (or diligence to continue asking through prayer). Jesus says that if God our Father is asked for bread, a fish, or an egg he will not answer by giving a stone, serpents, or scorpions. There’s a lot of imagery through metaphor in this passage I want to unpack, but before I do, read through the passage and reflect on what each of those things mean to you.
- Bread always refers to spiritual food: Luke 4:4, Luke 11:3
- Fish can also be an analogy for spiritual food (think feeding of the 5,000), but I think here refers more to evangelism. (Matt 4:19) Remember that Jesus was teaching the disciples how to pray in our text Luke 11. God promises to reward fish (fruit of sharing the gospel) to those children who ask for it.
- An Egg represents something new that is coming forth; spiritual growth and development that will mature and hatch into use. It can represent the potential of ongoing provision when brought to maturity. An egg only feeds once, but a chicken provides it every day. God’s eggs create ongoing provision in our lives when allowed to come to maturity. (Isaiah 10:14-16 speaks of Israel’s “corrupted” eggs which was trust in their own provision and riches)
- A stone represents judgement, remember that stoning was the main form of capital punishment during this period. John 8:7. God is the only one with the right to “cast stones,” but he promises not to do that to His children.
- Serpents and scorpions are defined one chapter earlier by Jesus as demons. Luke 10:17-20
So, God promises to reward diligent prayer by any child of God who seeks Spiritual food, fruit in evanglistic efforts, and spiritual growth or maturity. He further promises that as a result of our pursuit of His kingdom, He won’t judge you or inflict demonic spirits upon you for not being good enough – He rewards your spiritual pursuit regardless of how successful you have been in the past.