Standing Guard
Yesterday, we began sharing somewhat on how to pray for protection. We will continue with this theme today. One of the meanings of the Hebrew word for "intercession," paga, is "boundary" or "border,” the point at which two territories meet or connect, the extent to which a boundary reaches. In Joshua 19, paga is used repeatedly in this way. When used in the context of intercessory prayer, paga is the establishing of boundaries or walls of protection; the marking of a territory as one’s own.(1) Through prayer, we can build walls of protection around individuals.
Isaiah 26:1 and 60:18 speak of God's protection as “walls”: "In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: 'We have a strong city; He sets up walls and ramparts for security." "Violence will not be heard again in your land, nor devastation or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise."
In his book Prayer That Moves Mountains, Gordon Lindsay tells a remarkable story about building walls of protection through prayer:
Unknown to a Christian Armenian, bandits followed his caravan as he transported merchandise across the desert to a town in Turkish Armenia. The bandits waited until after dark to attack, but upon approaching the caravan, they were astonished to see high walls surrounding it. The same scenario happened on the following day, with high walls again protecting the caravan at night. On the third night, however, the walls were broken in places, allowing the bandits access to the merchant. Frightened by the mystery of the walls, the leader of the bandits offered to spare the merchant and his caravan if he would just share the secret of the walls with him. Having no knowledge of the walls, the merchant replied that all he knew was that each evening he prayed, committing himself and those with him to God, but that on this particular evening, he had not prayed as usual, due to his tiredness, and that probably accounted for the breaks in the wall. This testimony so amazed the bandits that they gave their lives to Christ.(2)
Many would find this story unbelievable. Yet why should it surprise us? God simply allowed the bandits to see what existed in the spirit realm: walls of protection. They naturally assumed the walls were literal. Zechariah 2:5 speaks of protective walls of fire: "For I,' declares the Lord, 'will be a wall of fire around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.'"
Supernatural protections, as illustrated by these stories, occur through consistent prayer, but also at strategic times as intercessors are sensitive to the promptings of Holy Spirit. As they are, He alerts them to pray for others in critical times of need. These alerts from the Holy Spirit can come through a sense of foreboding, an uneasiness concerning someone, or simply by hearing Him tell them to pray for someone.
Set in the context of spiritual warfare, the Holy Spirit speaks of these alerts in Ephesians 6:18: "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints." Most readers assume this is telling us to pray all the time. However, it is not. The word "times" is the Greek word kairos, which means "strategic or opportune time."(3) God is saying that, in light of the spiritual warfare we're engaged in, we must be alert for satan's attacks against others; and, when warned of these kairos, strategically timed attacks, pray!
If we are alert, the Holy Spirit will warn us. If we pray, He’ll intervene. Hebrews 4:16 also uses this word, kairos. “Let us come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time [kairos] of need.” Of course, we are welcome at God’s throne of grace all the time, but this verse is actually referencing strategic times of need. The Amplified Translation says: “an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment.”
The Hebrew counterpart to the Greek word kairos is eth, also a word for "strategic time." Used in Psalm 9:9, God tells us He is "a stronghold in times [eths] of trouble."(4) These verses tell us we can pray in specific - kairos/eth - times of trouble or attacks and receive the immediate help we need.
Oral Roberts experienced this type of the Holy Spirit’s intervention during a kairos timed attack against his family:
After ministering at a conference over a thousand miles away from home, Oral had gone to bed in his hotel when he was suddenly awakened and heard these words, "Your wife and children in Tulsa are in serious danger. Pray." He spent time in deep intercession for his family until he finally felt the burden lift. When he returned home to Tulsa, his wife, Evelyn, told him that one night, after the children and she had gone to bed, she heard someone trying to break into their home. Paralyzed with fright, she had been unable to do anything other than to pray for God's help and for Oral to be alerted to pray for them.
Thankfully, the intruder had left without ever entering the house. As they compared their experiences, the Robertses realized that Oral had been awakened and alerted to pray at the exact time that Evelyn had heard the intruder.(5)
That is a kairos attack - and a kairos answer - to a paga prayer! Walls or boundaries of protection were established through intercession, and God's promise of protection was fulfilled. Never assume that a warning such as this is just your imagination. Engage your faith in God’s protection and pray!
Ephesians 6:18, the verse that tells us to pray at all kairos times, urges us to be “watching” for one another. This word (agrupneo) means literally to “stay awake.”(6) Just as “praying always” obviously does not mean we have to pray 24/7, this word doesn’t mean we should never sleep! It is a parabolic way of saying we must remain alert, just as an awake sentry or night watchman would do. We have all heard the phrase “don’t go to sleep on the job,” which means the same thing. This passage in Ephesians is telling us we must be alert, watching for one another. As we do so, Holy Spirit will faithfully do as He said: alert us to the kairos attacks of the enemy.
Pray with me:
Father, You told us to “fear NO evil.” Your word tells us if we are alert, Holy Spirit will warn us of attacks and strategic times when we need to pray prayers of protection. Of course, we can live in the secret place of protection daily (Psalm 91), but we can also be alerted to these specific attacks for those we are in relationships with. We ask for high levels of discernment and sensitivity, an ability to pick up these alerts for our families, friends, leaders, and others in our lives.
We refuse to live in fear, regardless of what happens around us. We have our spiritual armor for protection, including the shield of faith and the weapon of prayer (Ephesians 6). We will pray during these times, building walls - boundaries of protection - around ourselves and others. We declare that as we do, no weapon formed against us will prosper, and every tongue that rises against us in judgment, we will condemn in the name of the Lord. This is our heritage as family members of the Most High God (Isaiah 54:17).
And we continue to declare that the prince of Persia will be defeated in the Middle East; his centuries-old stronghold will be demolished. His hold on the hearts and minds of people there will be broken. He will not stop the great spiritual harvest coming to that area of the earth, nor will he succeed in generating a World War III. The great spiritual awakening has begun - there, here in America, and throughout the earth. It will not be stopped. We release the power of Holy Spirit to hover over that region, producing dreams, visions, signs and wonders, and a tremendous harvest. We release the same here in our nation; it will not be stopped. All of this we ask and release in the name of Jesus.
Our decree:
We decree that we will live in the secret place of the Most High God, protected from all evil.
Click on the link below to watch the full video.
Today’s post was taken from my book, The Essential Guide to Prayer, published by Baker Books.
James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 6293.
Gordon Lindsay, Prayer That Moves Mountains (Dallas, TX: Christ For The Nations, revised 1994), p. 39.
James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 2540.
Ibid, ref. no. 853.
Oral Roberts, A Prayer Cover Over Your Life (Tulsa, OK: Oral Roberts, 1990), pp. 10-11.
James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 69.