heaven's tree book club

October 7, 2012
The Intercessor and Strongholds

 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. -Psalm 18:2
I have seen spiritual strongholds throughout my life. I have battled with depression through most of my life. I can remember early childhood having happy memories in grades prior to middle school. Middle school onward has been really difficult. Now, in this season of new challenges, the spiritual battle has been intensified and the thoughts of ending it sometimes grows with the level of difficulties I face. I don't understand what my pastor says most of the time through his thick accent, but I do appreciate that he often says that "our God is a living God" and that "prayer is powerful" and "you are never useless" cause I have thoughts that says prayer is weak, I am useless, and God seems dead. I am convinced these are lies of satan that are planed into my mind because I am at a difficult place right now facing a joblessness situation, health concerns, singleness, and a lack of direction. I appreciate my pastor and it is pastor appreciation month.There was a really big miracle today. We had six visitors today. This is six more than we usually have. The even bigger miracle was that they were all native to the Philippines. If it was a white church this would not be unusual but it is a Chinese church and the thing is they really liked it here. We haven't had any visitors since I first came half a year ago. Dad and I were the visitors and people were super surprised to see us. God can do miracles. I have been thinking that this church is beyond hope. I really wanted to see some young people and God sent two young adults who are a brother and sister pair.

"In the same way, Satan attacks us with his form of strongholds— deceptive lies that come in through our thoughts and take root in our lives. They seem true because we have believed them most of our lives, but they are like the dirty microscope. They are not showing us the true picture. The warfare that you and I are involved in is not a fleshly war, and neither are our weapons. It is a supernatural war and a spiritual warfare that centers within our thought life.
You might ask, What lies am I believing that have affected my life? What have these lies done to my prayer life? How do I destroy these strongholds and walk in God's truth? Let's open up the arsenal and find the weapons to destroy strongholds in our minds."
I am aware of the lies I often feel. They are lies about God. They are lies about myself. I am fully aware that the warfare I face is not one in the physical realm, but it is spiritual and also in the mind. For most of my life as a teenager and now as a young adult I have felt useless, ugly and worthless. I have felt that no one cares. I have felt at times in my faith that God is powerless to help and that He is a grandfather who was once strong and won many battles but now is weak and powerless. So many lies that leave me with a sense of hopelessness about life and about God and they are placed in my most difficult of circumstances.

"Read these examples of strongholds, and imagine what life would be like for the person who believes one of them:
 • "I will never change."
 • "I'm bad."
 • "Nobody loves me."
 • "I'm stupid."
 • "I'm a failure."
 • "It's all my fault."
 • "Life isn't safe."
 • "My situation is hopeless."
These thoughts become open doors through which the Enemy can defeat us again and again. We are then stuck in a rut. Picture a truck driving down an old worn-out road filled with deep rurs all along its path. It's hard to drive outside the gtooves. The trv^k automatically follows the path of the ruts."
I am amazed that I believe each one of these strongholds during my most discouraging times. My situations right now do seem very hopeless and everyone who was once close seems so far especially now as I rarely have the ability to leave the house. There is a lot of self blame that I have. If I never went to New York I would never had this problem I now have. If I went to Davis instead of Berkeley my life would be better now. I go through a lot of "what if" situations and regret the choices I have made. These are self-defeating thoughts that no one should have because they focus on the past and make life seem really hopeless.


"As you practice paying attention to yout thoughts and looking for false mindsets, you ate able to see them more clearly. Pray, "Lord, make me aware of my thoughts. Show me my strongholds and negative thought patterns in my life. Help me recognize these patterns very quickly. Open my eyes to see the lies I have been believing and the truth of Your Word." •   Be patient and persistent. It took you a lifetime to
reinforce these strongholds, these negative thought patterns. They are like grooves in your life. It takes time and effort to be free of them. We often want a quick fix. The quickest fix is if you determine to deal with them on a daily basis. Don't give up, but face them every time you start feeling down. Paul wrote to the Galatians, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:9). Pray, "Lord, give me endurance and patience to walk free of these negative thought patterns. I know that it is not a quick fix. I accept Your timetable in dealing with these strongholds. I choose to be persistent in dealing with them."
I am a little over a week into this book and I think this has been the least helpful chapter. The subject really applies and I face spiritual strongholds everyday, but the chapter is short on suggestions. I guess right now in my life I don't feel like prayer can change things and this itself is a stronghold and a lie. I have prayed for months for the destruction of these strongholds and I feel more hopeless than ever. I agree there is no quick fix but I feel like in this time of my life God is really silent and God seems to have forgotten me. I guess if I could see that God can help, the suggestion of prayer would help more, but right now, I can't see that God is able to help.


"This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life. - Deuteronomy 30:19
Every day when we get up, we make a multitude of choices. The most important choice you or I can make in the details of everyday life is whether we will choose life or death. Will I choose to believe God's Wotd or a lie? Will I choose God's way of life — peace, God's thoughts, obedience, and walking in His Spirit — or will I choose death — my own way of living and thinking, my own will, and walking in the flesh? We need to be careful to always walk in God's Spirit and not give in to out own fleshly tendencies. Choosing life makes a big difference in our prayer lives. We read in James 5:16, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." Righteous thinking and living results in a powerful and effective prayer life. It is choosing to go God's way with God's thoughts about us instead of going the way of death and believing the lies of the Enemy. It is holding on to God's Word and obeying Him moment by moment in every detail.
We need God's Spirit to help us choose life, and we need divine power to deal with strongholds in our lives. Emotions won't change overnight; out thoughts can be destructive and pull us down. God wants us to think His thoughts. We must cast out these negative thought patterns and take God's truth into our innermost being fot the rest of our lives. God is truth, and Satan is the fathet of lies. His aim is to defeat us, and he attacks us thtough nagging thoughts, doubts, feats, and reasoning. If the Enemy can conttol out thoughts, he can control our actions."

This is so true and so powerful. My mind in this season of my life has been full of negative thoughts about my life, my God, and my future. I feel so defeated and alone and it leads to self-defeating behavior. It is a really negative and destructive place to be. It takes God’s power to break the stronghold of satan’s lies and power over my mind. Choosing to believe the lies is a horrible way to live and I know I am powerless to change this in my life. I want to choose life but become full of negative emotions and thoughts whenever I think about my current situation.

"Look for a very real encounter with the Lord. What are some verses God has used to speak to you deeply? Spend time in His presence. Pray for God to show you how He thinks about you. Pray, "Lord, You have spoken to me so deeply in this verse [read the verse]. Thank You for Your love for me and for Your truth. Please speak to me." Replace the lies with the truth of His Word. Study God's Word daily, and hide it in your heart. Pray, "Lord, I want You as my stronghold. I never want to believe these lies about myself again. I choose to believe Your truth." Ask the Lord for new emotional responses to the lies of the Enemy. Pray for emotions that correspond with God's truth. Pray, "Lord, I want new emotions. I pray that You exchange my [name negative emotions] with Your peace, Your contentment, and Your joy."
Expect to walk in new godly motivations and reactions. When God becomes your stronghold, Jesus is your source. Your motivations change. Pray, "Lord, I choose to walk in Your Spirit. I choose to react Your way. I choose to lovingly react to others. Change me, and make me like You." Daily decide to choose life. The victory over our thought lives is a daily battle. Pray, "Lord, today I choose life. I choose Your ways. I choose to obey You. I choose not to isten to the Enemy's lies."
"I know that God is in control and I can trust Him.
I would encourage you to go over these truths about breaking strongholds again and again. It takes time to take them deeply into your life and thoroughly apply them, but it makes so much difference. So many believers struggle simply because they believe a childhood lie that has devastated their victory. Know that Jesus wants to give you an abundant life free of negative thinking. We no longer need to listen to the lies of the Enemy. Jesus Christ is our strong tower. Bring your false beliefs to the Cross, and watch Him bring you to a new level of freedom.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. -John 10:10"
Prayer:
Father, I want You as my stronghold. I never want to believe the lies of satan ever again. I want new emotions that correspond to my true identity in Christ. I want to choose life. For far too long I believe I am useless, hopeless, and have no value. For far too long I think prayer is useless and God is dying. I am facing some pretty impossible situations right now related to joblessness, singleness, and health. Father, please help me to see that Your word is truth and that You are still God and still care.