A Strong Hedge - Prayer Part 1

"Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land." --Job 1:10

I have been working my way through the book of Job these last few weeks (heavy duty reading). I have also been called to an intense time of intercessory prayer for family, friends, and others (heavy duty praying).

The whole idea of God and Satan having a conversation over a righteous man (Job) will have to wait for a different post. What I want to address is the reality of evil, Satan and spiritual warfare and how we arm ourselves against it.

If we are walking with the Lord and growing in our faith we should expect to gain the attention of the enemy. The simple truth is at some point in your life, you or someone you know will need to know how to respond to spiritual warfare.

In Job 1:10, Satan asks God a question about Job, "Have you not put a hedge around him...?" A hedge, as in, a hedge of protection. When I read those words an immediate question came to mind,

Q: How does Satan know there is a hedge around Job?

A: Because he has already walked the fence line.

He has literally prowled the perimeter of Job's world.

Job is not the exception. Satan does the same for all of us.

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." -- 1 Peter 5:8

He looks for an opening in our hedge and uses it to his advantage. Our weaknesses become his opportunities...to exploit, distract, derail...anything to keep us from focusing on and giving praise to our God.

This past weekend, I volunteered at a concert for a well-known Christian artist. Through God's design, I ended up as one of the chauffeurs for the artist and the band. I had two jobs, really. My physical act of service was to drive the group from the airport to the church and then back again. My spiritual act of service was to pray for the artist.

For the past week or so, my prayers had been divided between the artist and a group of friends who were preparing for a mission trip to Costa Rica. The concert was scheduled for the same day that the mission team was heading to CR. So, when I wasn't praying for one, I was praying for the other.

While praying, something very unusual happened. The kind of thing that people don't talk about. The kind of thing that many people don't believe in. The kind of thing that makes people look at you sideways once you share.

I have been praying for discernment ever since the experience. I have thought a lot about this before writing a single word. And, I have asked for spiritual counsel before posting it. After all of that, I still believe God wants me to share...to testify and to equip you for the future.

Here goes:
I was standing outside the conference room where the band had just finished eating dinner. Two volunteers were inside the room, cleaning up. I was out in the hallway, by myself, leaning against the wall in prayer.

Out of nowhere, I felt the physical weight of two hands on my shoulders shoving me downward. The sheer force of the blow took my breath away. I blinked my eyes and concentrated on breathing in an effort to keep from blacking out. As my knees buckled, I slid down the wall and crumpled in a heap on the floor. Had I not been leaning against the wall, I am convinced I would have been knocked over, violently.

I was completely caught off guard. I struggled to catch my breath. My mind raced trying to analyze and rationalize what had just happened. Dehydrated? no... Low blood sugar? no... Anxiety? (I took my pulse - it was unusually slow) no...

I was seized by an overwhelming need to pray. I didn't know if the need was for the artist or my friends who had just arrived in Costa Rica. I only knew it was critical to pray as if lives depended on it.

I must pray. I need my Bible.

My backpack was only 6 feet away but I couldn't stand up to walk over to it. I ended up crawling on my hands and knees and pulling it open. My heart sank as I realized my Bible was in the car. Don't ask me why, but I pulled out my journal and, with great difficulty, wrote down these words,

"7:12 p.m. Heavy hand shoving me to the floor.
Standing outside --'s band conference room/eating dinner.
Faint - heart beating very slowly.
Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus."

I prayed in the hall until I could stand up (five-ten minutes?). On shaky legs, I slowly made my way to a chair in the conference room where the volunteers were working. One of the woman, took one look at me, and alarmed by what she saw in my eyes, asked if I was okay. I'm not sure how coherent I was but I shared what had happened in the hallway, that I was interceding for the artist and my friends in Costa Rica, and I needed help praying...now. I asked them to join me.

They stopped what they were doing and, immediately, took a seat on either side of me. We joined hands and prayed. Afterwards, they returned to cleaning up. I could not stop shaking in the aftermath and was so grateful to be in the comforting presence of women of faith. I stayed in the room; on my knees in continued prayer.

To say I was rattled is an understatement. One minute I was fine. The next minute I was being assaulted? What the heck had happened? There is really only one explanation that fits:

I think Satan was ticked off because of the wall of prayer surrounding the artist and my friends in Costa Rica.
I think he was ticked off because he couldn't sabotage the concert or the mission trip (although he certainly gave it his best effort).
I think he was ticked off because I was a part of that wall that he couldn't penetrate.
I think he had already prowled my hedge and couldn't find an opening.
And, I think he shoved me in frustration when he saw that he was defeated -- the equivalent of a dog throwing itself against a fence, one last time, in futility.

So what do we do when the enemy throws himself against our fence line and rattles the boundaries that keep us under God's protection?

God's Word provides the answers:

1 Peter 5:9 says, "Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings."

How do we resist him? By putting on our armor before going into battle. Ephesians 6:10-18 talks about putting on the full armor of God in order to stand up to the devil and his schemes...to pray without ceasing.

And, finally Revelation 12:11 reminds us that we have already overcome Satan by:
1. the blood of the Lamb (Jesus)
2. by the word of our testimony

Over the years, I have found that when a spiritual moment intensifies my prayers tend to do just the opposite. They simplify. My journal entry attests to this:

"Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus."

"Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father."
-- Philippians 2:10-11

The name of Jesus will never fail you.

Jesus...

is always enough.

Jesus, thank You for being enough. In your perfect name, Amen.