John Vaughn, a professor at Southwestern Baptist University, was on a flight from Detroit to Boston.  He had not paid much attention to the man in the next seat but noticed after a while that the man beside him bowed his head and prayed.  When he finished, Vaughn said, “Are you a Christian?”  The man seemed shocked.  “Oh, no,” he said.  “You have me wrong.  I am not a Christian.  I am a Satanist.”  Curious, Vaughn asked “What were you praying for?”  The man said, “Do you really want to know?”  Vaughn said yes.  “My primary attention is directed toward the fall of Christian pastors and their families living in New England.”  He paused.  “And why are YOU going to Boston?” he asked Vaughn.  “I’m going to Boston to speak at a pastor’s seminar.”                  Excerpt from Dr. Karl I. Payne’s book, Spiritual Warfare

If that had been you sitting next to the Satanist, what would you have done?  The thought may be horrifying.  Would you have asked to be moved to another seat? Perhaps you’d have been seized with fear and counted the minutes until the flight was over.  Oh, we can do more than that.  

Today, we begin the next section of Personalized Prayer Mapping.  Spiritual Authority.  Let me say that the only reason we would fear sitting next to a Satanist is that we’re not entirely convinced that we have nothing to fear and that we can be proactive to exert spiritual authority during the flight.  The Gospel has power when it’s shared, and the Word of God acts as a sword without us doing anything but speaking it.

Earth was placed under man’s domain.   In Genesis, Adam was told to rule and subdue the earth.  The mandate hasn’t changed.  We are ambassadors here, representing our home country, God’s kingdom.  We are to bring the laws of the place where we are citizens (heaven), to bear on the place where we are only temporarily sojourners (earth).  

The heavens are the heavens of the Lord; but the earth He has given to the sons of men.  Psalm 115:16

Satan’s primary mission is to hinder the work of God and gain a foothold. He looks for where the kingdom of God is advancing and then does all he can to identify the weaknesses of the people; then, he customizes temptations that will weaken that person, his relationships, and the organization or ministry in which he serves.  

When I teach this in live settings, I have a slide that shows a church board meeting in session.  Looming large over the room is a dark spirit, watching, seeing if there is an opening to work to his advantage. We must know our personal Achilles’ heel and the inherent spiritual weaknesses of our ministries because blind spots are Satan’s perfect entry points.  

May we not be ignorant of the devil’s wiles. If we are alert, prayerful, and spiritually street-smart, we are on the victory side. To that end, our series continues.