Power Of Midnight Prayer

Power Of Midnight Prayer Gabriel Agbo This book ‘Power of Midnight Prayer’ will certainly be one of the most comprehensive and most powerful books written on spiritual warfare. The choice of the title came from a wealth of experience, chilling testimonies and confessions, and a careful study of the word of God. It is indeed a very rich and well-researched work. It has been described as an incredible book. Here, you will learn of the enormous but yet to be fully tapped spiritual power embedded in the prayers done between 11:00pm and 3:00am. Do you know enough about the explosive powers of praise, prayer and fasting? Do you know what roles the angels of God, the Spirit of God and the fire of God play in our war against the kingdom of darkness? This book ‘Power of Midnight Prayer’ will certainly be one of the most comprehensive and most powerful books written on spiritual warfare. The choice of the title came from a wealth of experience, chilling testimonies and confessions, and a careful study of the word of God. It is indeed a very rich and well-researched work. It has been described as an incredible book. Here, you will learn of the enormous but yet to be fully tapped spiritual power embedded in the prayers done between 11:00pm and 3:00am. Do you know enough about the explosive powers of praise, prayer and fasting? Do you know what roles the angels of God, the Spirit of God and the fire of God play in our war against the kingdom of darkness? In this book, you will hear directly from the former grand occult masters of the colossal destructive impact that the name and the blood of Jesus cause in Satan’s kingdom. What happens when Satan and his demons come directly in contact with these two most powerful elements in the universe? Why did Satan fall from his chair in a meeting because the name of Jesus was mentioned? Do you know about the enemy’s war strategies against the church, the Christians and the ministers? How does he bring down and sometimes kill ministers of the gospel? Who are the agents of the dark kingdom in the church? What roles should the prayer warriors play? What is the interest of the kingdom of Satan in human flesh and blood? Why human sacrifices in the occult world? Read various accounts from the former agents of Satan and even the media on sacrificing of humans and other chilling unprintable practices. Why would a woman pluck off the eyes of a crawling baby, slaughter her with all her crying and groaning, and then pound her flesh and eat? What does the occult do with sex? Can evil spirits, covenants and curses be transmitted through sex? Why would a man sleep with a little boy, depositing snake in his stomach just to acquire power, wealth and position? You will also find other explosive topics like wrestling with God, binding and loosing, smashing the gates, open doors, whole armor of God, gates of heaven and gates of hell. The twenty-one power-loaded chapters of this book will surely set you on fire for God. I bet you have never read anything like this before. Gabriel Agbo Power of Midnight Prayer Power of Midnight Prayer Copyright © Gabriel Agbo – 2019 Publisher: Tektime By Gabriel Agbo www.authorsden.com/pastorgabrielnagbo (http://www.authorsden.com/pastorgabrielnagbo) Tel: +234-8037113283 –– Power of Midnight Prayer –– Gabriel Agbo – 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author. Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations in this book are taken from the New Living Translation (NLT) version of the Holy Bible. Printed and Published in the United States by Createspace Dedication I dedicate this book to my beautiful mother Joy Okwuchi Agbo (Nee` Mboma). I thank you so much for the role you played in bringing about the fulfilment of this ministry. When you were told that the child in your womb would be a man of God, a Nazirite, you believed the prophecy, properly documented and obeyed all the divine instructions. Today, that prophecy is coming to pass in my life. I thank you for being such a wonderful, godly, dedicated, hard-working and caring mother. God bless you! Appreciation I thank God for making this book a reality. With the publishing of this work, God has once again demonstrated to me that with Him nothing is impossible. The original manuscripts for this book were ‘lost’. The enemy kept them for five years and in bits. But the Almighty resurrected and put them together again. I just stumbled on them at the beginning on this year while searching for something else. Sure, the enemy didn’t want it published, but God has brought it to pass! I thank my friends and associates for the encouragement them gave me. I also thank my beautiful family for bearing with me through the period of ‘withdrawing’ to put this work together. You are all wonderful. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Gabriel www.authorsden.com/pastorgabrielnagbo (http://www.authorsden.com/pastorgabrielnagbo) Introduction This book ‘Power of Midnight Prayer’ will certainly be one of the most comprehensive and most powerful books written on spiritual warfare. The choice of the title came from a wealth of experience, chilling testimonies and confessions, and a careful study of the word of God. It is indeed a very rich and well-researched work. It has been described as an incredible book. Here, you will learn of the enormous but yet to be fully tapped spiritual power embedded in the prayers done between 11:00pm and 3:00am. Do you know enough about the explosive powers of praise, prayer and fasting? Do you know what roles the angels of God, the Spirit of God and the fire of God play in our war against the kingdom of darkness? In this book, you will hear directly from the former grand occult masters of the colossal destructive impact that the name and the blood of Jesus cause in Satan’s kingdom. What happens when Satan and his demons come directly in contact with these two most powerful elements in the universe? Why did Satan fall from his chair in a meeting because the name of Jesus was mentioned? Do you know about the enemy’s war strategies against the church, the Christians and the ministers? How does he bring down and sometimes kill ministers of the gospel? Who are the agents of the dark kingdom in the church? What roles should the prayer warriors play? What is the interest of the kingdom of Satan in human flesh and blood? Why human sacrifices in the occult world? Read various accounts from the former agents of Satan and even the media on sacrificing of humans and other chilling unprintable practices. Why would a woman pluck off the eyes of a crawling baby, slaughter her with all her crying and groaning, and then pound her flesh and eat? What does the occult do with sex? Can evil spirits, covenants and curses be transmitted through sex? Why would a man sleep with a little boy, depositing snake in his stomach just to acquire power, wealth and position? You will also find other explosive topics like wrestling with God, binding and loosing, smashing the gates, open doors, whole armor of God, gates of heaven and gates of hell. The twenty-one power-loaded chapters of this book will surely set you on fire for God. I bet you have never read anything like this before. God bless you! POWER OF MIDNIGHT PRAYER Chapter One Power of Midnight Prayer One of the most powerful spiritual tools that God has given, but grossly neglected by Christians is the midnight prayer. Midnight prayer (or vigil) is the prayer done through the night. From the bible and through ages, the prayers done around midnight have always brought tremendous and unprecedented results. As a Christian, it is imperative that you live a life of vigil. There are levels you can never attain in the spirit without mastering the act of praying in the midnight. There are levels of revelations that you cannot get without prolonged midnight prayers. And there are also satanic strongholds, entities, thrones and chains that you may never be able to dismantle unless through prolonged midnight battles. The aim of this book is to awaken the church (Christians) to this great spiritual weapon made available to us by God. I believe (and by experience too) that any Christian that masters the act of praying in the midnight will ultimately control what happens in the day. Why pray in the midnight? Midnight (or hours between 11.00pm and 3.00am) is known to be the most spiritual active period of the day. You will notice that dreams, revelations, attacks, visitations from the spirit world (both by angels and demonic powers) often come by this period, especially when you are sleeping. And the reason is simple. Human beings are easily overwhelmed, influenced or controlled while asleep. Naturally, the body is always weak at this time, and this makes it susceptible to any spiritual manipulation. But, for one to be protected and powerful in the spirit world, the person's human spirit must be guided and lead by a higher Spirit; which in the case of a Christian is the Holy Spirit. Let's not go farther with this explanation. All I want to say is that midnight is always a period of intense spiritual activities both by the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan. If you must control the activities around you and dismantle satanic ordinances against your life, then you must learn to wake up in the midnight to fight against the powers of darkness. For example, look at the activities of the witches and wizards. These are agents of darkness possessed by the spirit of witchcraft. This spirit is known to be a very wicked spirit in the kingdom of darkness. It revels in causing harm and sometimes total destruction of human beings. The witches don't have the word mercy in their dictionary. That is why a person; even a relation that is possessed with this wicked spirit can go ahead and destroy the closest person to them. And, this set of agents of darkness mainly operates in the midnight. Their mode of operation is usually to shoot their evil arrows (attacks) while their victim is asleep. And by the time the person wakes up, he/she will see everything going wrong. They can attack businesses, ministries, churches, marriages and relationships, health, etc. Sometimes, destinies of the victims are taken to their Covens (where they meet) and tied. Or the victim is killed out rightly. God knew how terrible these wicked agents of Satan are, consequently, He commanded Israel not to allow them (witches) to stay alive. We will comment more on this in a later chapter. Now, our interest here is that for you to battle and win these agents of darkness that mostly operate in the midnight, you must also be awake at the same time to pray. You must wake up to render their evil arrows, enchantments, curses and incantations against you ineffective. And not just that, you can also at the same time cause serious and perpetual havoc to them. All these can only be possible through powerful and sustained midnight prayers. Not just the witches, we are also aware that the most dangerous satanic sacrifices and ordinances are usually done in the middle of the night. If God opens our eyes to see what goes on in our society or even around us in the night, we will be shocked. So many people you see looking innocent, honourable and decent in the day get involve in some satanic and devilish activities in the night. This does not stop them from coming to church, belonging to other religious groups, donating money to the religious bodies and charity organisations. Some of these people are actually what I would like to call ‘Moving Satanic Altars'. How can the Christian or the church battle against all these? It's only by engaging in very dynamic, prolonged prayers; especially in the middle of the night. Now, the bible does not keep us ignorant of the activities that go on in the night hours. Job said, "Do not long for the cover of night; for that is when people will be destroyed [people are cut off in their place]"     Job 36:20 The Psalmist calls it "the terrors of the night" (Psalms 91:5). Then Jesus said that night is the time when the enemy comes to sow tares (Matthew 13:25). You may not believe it, most of the problems we're going through today, were first shot into our life by demonic forces while we were sleeping. And do you know that almost everything about this life is decided in the spirit realm before they manifest in the physical? This explains why some of us will always see things (blessings or problems) in our dreams or visions before we receive them physically. Does it happen to you? The same is with satanic arrows. They are first shot in the spirit realm before they manifest physically. Nothing happens just like that. There is always a cause in the spirit realm, then the effect in the physical. We must wake up and begin to control our midnights through prayers. This is where we have the battlefield. And our exploits here will determine how great, powerful, prosperous and healthy we will become in the daytime. Please, we'll go into the examples of great men and women (including Jesus) in the bible; who won their midnight battles and consequently controlled the day. I was encouraged the more to put this work together by the responses I received after publishing this message in parts in my newspaper columns with the Guardian Newspapers of Nigeria and the others. I got responses as far as Canada, United States, Europe, and of course, Nigeria. A renowned Canadian writer who read the article on the internet was so thrilled that she sent me a feedback commending the message, and also confessing that it is at this same time of the night that she receives attacks from satanic agents. She said she agreed with all I said in the write-up. Yes, spiritual principles are universal. The mode and methods of operation could vary from place to place, but the principles are basically the same. It is still that old Satan and his mischievous dark host. We know that the battle is between the kingdom of God and that of Satan. The battlefield is man. The struggle is about who will control the activities and destiny of man. Whereas God wants to control man for good, the devil and his agents detest man. They hate and envy him; because they know what God has in stock for him. They know the place of man in God's programme. They are aware of the wonderful and blissful destiny that God is preparing for man, so they battle day and night to see how that plan could be derailed. Remember, they (Satan and rulers of darkness) are fallen angels. They have been with God before they were thrown down to the earth because of their disobedience. So, what we are highlighting here is that midnight is the main arena for this great battle of the kingdoms. Jesus puts it this way, "The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness."     John 10:10. And you know that the thief will always want to come in the night, when he will not be seen or challenged. So also is our enemy – Satan. Now, let's get into the main business. And that is to look at the examples of great men and women in the bible who fought and won the greatest battles of their life in the midnight. Let's start with our great master and perfect example Jesus Christ. Jesus He fought and won all His battles while on earth. When He was about to start His earthly ministry, He went into the wilderness to fast for forty days and forty nights. When His critics confronted Him, He used the word of God and word of the prophets. To convert the unbelievers, He did miracles, signs and wonders. Then, to displace the demons, He rebuked and cast them out. But when He eventually came to the point of His ultimate sacrifice for mankind, He again went into midnight battles. And that is what I call the 'Battle of Gethsemane'. The Battle of Gethsemane The battle to save man was fought and won by Jesus in the midnight at the olive grove called Gethsemane. At that point, the reality and weight of what He came to achieve came heavily upon Him. And He had a choice to make – whether to continue with the project or to back out. But He chose to stay awake and slug it out with Satan, sin and self. It was a night that ushered Him into the last 12 hours of His life. It was indeed very crucial to the whole salvation idea. I believe the main battle to save man was actually fought and won here at the ‘Gethsemane front'. What later happened at the cross was just the consummation of the process. Let's go through the account in Matthew 26:34-46 “Peter', Jesus replied, 'the truth is this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times'. No! Peter insisted, 'Not even if I have to die with you! I will never deny you!' And all the other disciples vowed the same. Then Jesus brought them to an olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, 'Sit here while I go on ahead to pray.' He took Peter and Zebedee's two sons, James and John, and he began to be filled with anguish and deep distress. He told them 'my soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me.' "He went on a little farther and fell face down on the ground, 'my father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.' Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, 'couldn't you stay awake and watch with me even one hour? Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak!' Again he left them and prayed, 'my father! If this cup cannot be taken away until I drink it, your will be done.' He returned to them again and found them sleeping, for they just couldn't keep their eyes open. So he went back to pray a third time, saying the same things again. Then he came to the disciples and said, 'Still sleeping? Still resting? Look, the time has come. I, the son of man, am betrayed into the hands of sinners. Up, let's be going. See, my betrayer is here!" I had to run the whole story so that you can understand what I am saying. It was a night when Jesus took His closest followers to an olive grove to do the midnight battle. It was indeed a tough one. He had to decide whether to continue the salvation plan or drop it. What He was to go through between Gethsemane and the Easter Sunday came stirring in His face. He was going to pass through a horrifying experience – the Jews antagonism, the disciples' betrayal, denial and abandonment. He was going to take in the 39 strokes of cane, the crown of thorns, the spear piercing his side, mockery, the sharp nails and ultimately, the grave. The reality of all these came upon Him and He decided to stay awake and battle through the night. He knew that it was going to be a midnight show, and immediately He was through, He quickly told His disciples, "Up, let's be going." He knew he had won the battle in the spirit, and as a result, was fully prepared to face the physical challenges. This is exactly what happens to a midnight prayer warrior. He/she is always fearless and ready to face any situation in the daytime. You will always be bold and confident that every circumstance will ultimately work in your favour. To understand this message better, I suggest you watch the film (that is, if you have not) ‘The passion of The Christ' by Mel Gibson. There, you will graphically see what transpired between Jesus and the devil at Gethsemane. Satan almost prevailed on Jesus to drop the idea of going to the cross. But Jesus resisted him and consequently won the battle that night. The battle is indeed at the midnight. Start today. Israel Now, let's see the role midnight played in the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt. Because of Pharaoh's obstinacy in releasing the children of God to proceed to the Promised Land, God decided to visit that land with different plagues. Moses and Aaron performed signs and wonders, released plagues upon the land of Egypt, but still, Pharaoh refused to let them go. There were plagues of frogs, turning Nile into blood, flies, lice, cattle murrain, boils, hail, locust, and darkness. But all these could not change Pharaoh's heart. Rather he arrogantly asked Aaron, "Who is that your God that I will obey him. I will not listen to that your God and I also will not let Israel go. And mind you, I don't want to see you people (Moses and Aaron) in my palace again. The day you come here again, I will kill you. Is that understood Moses?" And Moses said, ‘Very well. I will never see you again.” And they left. Now God told Moses that He was going to send just one more disaster on Pharaoh and the land of Egypt and after that, Pharaoh will be begging the children of Israel to leave Egypt. God told Moses that He was going to institute an ordinance called Passover for their sake. And it will be done in the night. He said that after they would have performed the ordinance, He (God) would pass through the land of Egypt killing every firstborn son of man and beast, while executing judgment against all their gods. And that is exactly what God will do for you at midnight. He will judge your enemies and their gods. He is ready to institute a new ‘ordinance’ for your sake, if the need arises. Yes, powerful and deliverance ordinances are best set at midnight altars! Now my interest here is that God brought out his last joker for Pharaoh, to make him allow Israel out of Egypt, and that He also chose to do it in the midnight. He told them specifically to perform the sacrifice in the night and also to be ready to leave that country that same night. And truly, He came at midnight. "And at midnight the LORD killed all the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne to the firstborn son of the captive in the dungeon. Even the firstborn of their livestock were killed. Pharaoh and his officials and all the people of Egypt woke up during the night and loud wailing was heard throughout the land of Egypt. There was not a single house where someone had not died."     Exodus 12:29-30 Yes, God struck the pride and strength of Egypt – their first sons in the midnight. You can imagine the commotion throughout the land that night. Both men and beasts wailing! Our God is indeed powerful! Please before we continue with what happened at that night of Passover, there is something I would want us to note here. The plague of killing the firstborn of Egypt unlike others was extraordinary and strange to the Egyptians. They had somehow seen these other nine that came earlier, but the last one (death of all the firstborn) was not known to them before this time. To the Egyptians, plagues are not unusual. They are part of their local colour. The water of the Nile turning into blood and the frogs coming to cover the land were not totally strange. Flies, lice, cattle murrain and boils, hail, locusts and darkness were not new. These things, which the bible described, are still being experienced by the Egyptians. For example, the 'Red Nile '. Deposits from the Abyssinian Lake often colour the floodwaters with dark reddish-brown, especially in the upper Nile. That might well be said to look like 'blood'. At the time of the floods, frogs and also flies sometimes multiply so rapidly that they become regular plagues on the land. Under the heading of lice would come undoubtedly the dog fly. These often attack whole areas in swarms, affect eyes, nose and ears, and can be very painful. Then, Cattle pest is known all over the world. The boils which attack human beings as well as animals may be the so-called ‘Nile heart' or 'Nile-itch'. This is an irritating and stinging rash, which often develops into spreading ulcers. This horrible skin disease is also used as a threat for punishment by Moses in the course of the Journey through the desert. The same could be said about hail storms and darkness. Only the death of the firstborn is a plague for which there is no parallel. It was designed to be the last straw that will break the Carmel's back. And Pharaoh, as expected, immediately caved in. Now back to the Passover night. God told the Israelites that what they were doing that night was going to be an ordinance for the rest of their life. They should observe it every year, and also pass same to their children. That is exactly the way I see midnight prayers. Decrees made while praying at this period are always very strong and they often bring great results. Most times, they bring about generational breakthrough and blessings; which will out-live you. And we must also ensure that we pass this same practice to our subsequent generations. Then, as we have noted earlier, it is also in the midnight that most of the satanic ordinances are set against us, against our families, towns, churches, etc. So, when we pray in the midnight, we destroy such satanic ordinances and set up fresh and favourable ones that will begin to speak for us all the rest of our life. The Passover midnight broke the chains of bondage off the Israelites. It smote their enemies with their gods and also gave them great wealth. In fact, the bible said, "So like a victorious army, they plundered the Egyptians!" This is exactly what happens to you when you engage in midnight prayers. Start today and you will see mighty deliverance coming your way. Jacob “But during the night Jacob got up and sent his two wives, two concubines, and eleven sons across the Jabbok River. After they were on the other side, he sent over all his possessions. This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until dawn. When the man saw that he couldn’t win the match, he struck Jacob’s hip and knocked it out of joint at the socket. Then the man said, ‘Let me go, for it is dawn’. But Jacob panted ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me’. ‘What is your name?’ The man asked. He replied, ‘Jacob.’ ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob’, the man told him. ‘It is now Israel, because you have struggled with both God and man and have won.’ “What is your name?’ Jacob asked him. ‘Why do you ask?’ the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there. Jacob named the place Peniel – 'face of God' – for he said, ‘I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.' The sun rose as he left Peniel. Genesis 32:22-31 Now, we want to see how Jacob utilized his midnight to change his unfavourable situation. You already known that very few people in the bible could be said to have the same level of divine grace as Jacob. God had blessed him to the extent that his children, wives and other possessions were now moving in groups and camps. And by this time, he had left Padan-aram (Laban’s place) to Canaan, according to God’s direction. –– When they came to a place where he named Mahanaim (God’s Camp), he sent messengers to his brother Esau, to inform him of his home coming. But the response Jacob got from his brother was terrifying. The messengers came back to tell him that Esau was coming to meet him with a four hundred-member elite squad. Instantly, Jacob was thrown into confusion. In panic, he thought of what to do. Then he prayed and sent gifts to appease his enraged brother. You remember that Jacob dubiously took Esau’s birthright and blessings. It was now Esau’s opportunity to pay him back. And also after the flight of Jacob, Esau had regarded himself as the sole heir of their father’s possessions. He could have also thought that Jacob was coming back to displace him of their father’s large estate or at least ask for his own share. Jacob knew the above possibility that was why he impressed it on the messengers to tell Esau that he was not coming home to struggle for inheritance, because God had already blessed him with oxen, asses, flocks, men-servants and woman-servants. –– Jacob and his family had now reached the River Jabbok, and as night came on, he sent his family across the ford of the river, while he alone remained behind. He had decided to spend the night in prayer, and he desired to be alone with God. It was in a lonely, solitary and unprotected place. Jacob bowed in deep distress upon the earth. It was at midnight. The reality of Esau’s threat to him, his children and wives came stirring in his face. He wept, cried and reminded God of all His promises to him. And all of a sudden, a strong hand was laid upon him. He thought that an enemy was seeking his life, and he endeavoured to wrest himself from the grasp of his assailant. In the darkness, the two struggled. Not a word was spoken but Jacob put forth all his strength, and did not relax his efforts for a moment. He battled for his life. This is exactly what the midnight prayer is all about. It is about the battle for your life and destiny. When you’re faced with life-threatening situations, when you’re faced with destiny- threatening circumstances, the best place to settle them is at the midnight arena. At midnight, you wrestle with God, with man and with spirits. And you know that when one is fighting a life-battle, you don’t really need to beg the person to be courageous. He faces the situation with his last strength. There are problems in your life today that I believe can only be dismantled by midnight prayers. And you must fight it as if it is your last battle. Jacob told the being that wrestled with him that he (Jacob) would not leave him unless he was blessed. And this must be our attitude each time we are going into prayers. We must go into it with a ‘do or die’ mentality. Jacob persisted and prevailed. He refused to give up until he was blessed. Though sometimes, while praying, it will look as if the situation is getting tougher, but you must continue until you see the victory. Always bear in mind that a victorious end is guaranteed. Jacob left that place a changed man. He got an everlasting name – Israel. All his fears were dealt with, and God also went ahead of him to soften Esau’s heart. Overnight, his fears turned into courage. He went on to meet his brother and his death squad. By this time, God had turned them to be his friends. In fact, the bible said that as Jacob was leaving the wrestling place – Peniel, “The sun rose” (32:31). The sun will also rise for you today, in the name of Jesus! There is nothing you cannot achieve through midnight prayers. Start today and testimonies will begin to run after you. GOD OF HANNAH Chapter Two God of Hannah Most people that exploit the potency of midnight prayer are those who desperately need the intervention of God in their situations. They have come to a stage where if God does nothing about their circumstances, then it will be over. I mean at crossroads. Before you will leave the comfort of your bed, depriving yourself of a sound sleep, to be crying and asking God to intervene in your situation, then you would have gotten to a place of despair in your life. Sometimes, God also allows us to come to that stage, so as to make us see our limits, and at the same time appreciate His ultimate ability to deliver and restore. Let’s see the story of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1:6-20, “But Peninnah made fun of Hannah because the LORD had closed her womb. Year after year it was the same – Peninnah would taunt Hannah as they went to the Tabernacle. Hannah would finally be reduced to tears and would not even eat… “Once when they were at Shiloh, Hannah went over to the Tabernacle after supper to pray to the LORD. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance. Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the LORD. And she made this vow: ‘O LORD Almighty, if you will look down upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the LORD, his hair will never be cut’. “As she was praying to the LORD, Eli watched her seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking. ‘Must you come here drunk?’ he demanded. ‘Throw away your wine!’ “Oh no, sir!’ She replied, ‘I’m not drunk! But I am very sad, and I was pouring out my heart to the LORD. Please don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow’. “In that case, Eli said, ‘cheer up! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.’ “Oh, thank you Sir,’ she exclaimed. Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad. “The entire family got up early the next morning and went to worship the LORD once more. Then they returned home to Ramah. When Elkanah slept with Hannah, the LORD remembered her request, and in due time she gave birth to a Son. She named him Samuel, for she said, ‘I asked the LORD for him.” This is a story you know very well. Hannah was married to a wealthy Levite – Elkanah from Mount Ephraim in Israel. The couple lived joyfully and in harmony, but could not produce children. After some years, Elkanah went and married a second wife – Peninnah. Peninnah came in and brought with her strive, jealousy, and acrimony. Elkanah’s home that was once peaceful suddenly turned into a theatre of war. The evil of polygamy. Hannah was at the receiving end. As if it was not enough that she has been sorrowing for not having a baby, Peninnah began to remind her of how unproductive, worthless and unwanted she has become in that home. Peninnah would make fun of her and even go to the extent of taunting her as they went to the church. After going through all these, the bible said that Hannah would cry and cry until she was reduced to tears, and would refuse to eat. I believe Hannah must have been a ghost of herself. Imagine a person that would cry, starve and sorrow always – for years. This was the condition of this woman. In verse seven, the bible made it clear that this was the case of Hannah every year, “year after year it was the same.” It was the same childlessness, the same mockery, the same disappointment, the same fruitless efforts and the same dashed-hopes. I pray that every perennial negative situation in your life would be broken as you read this message, in the name of Jesus! There are people who are going through Hannah-like situations today. They go into a new year hoping to get the best or at least get better. They hope for a better job, a better relationship, comfortable home, blissful marriage, higher spiritual level, etc. But that same year would end without them achieving any of these expectations. Some keep going in that circle of failure year after year. No promotion, no breakthrough. Something that looks like much motion and less movement. Hannah came into that marriage with very high expectations, hoped year after year to realize them, but received disappointment, mockery, taunting and tears instead. Thank God she decided to settle it once and for all, and she chose to do that in the midnight. She knew that midnight is the most appropriate battle arena for desperate people. After supper (in the night) one day at Shiloh, Hannah headed for the Tabernacle. She went there praying to God. She cried unto God to change her condition. God is always aware of what we go through, but most times, He waits to see our seriousness to change the situation. If you’re comfortable with your condition, God will also let you be. But if you will rise and face it squarely, holding unto God to do something about it, definitely, you will see His mighty hand bringing deliverance to you. Hannah was desperate (Verse 15, Good News Translation). And she decided that her condition must be changed that night. Yes, until you’re desperate, you may not get anything phenomenal from God. I mean godly desperation. Hannah went to the Tabernacle at night and prayed; “O LORD Almighty, if you will look down upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a Son.” She was serious and direct to the point. She was specific. “God all I need is a son and you will give it to me this night. Enough is enough!” I believe Hannah told God. I hope you got something from that prayer. She started by reaffirming the almightiness of God. Though she was passing through terrible situation, God was still Almighty. Though, in deep anguish, in pain and crying bitterly, God remained the Almighty. He remains omnipotent, omnipresent and supreme. Our problems should not becloud our view of God’s almightiness, care, love, grace and sovereignty. He remains God and will always be in control. No situation can change Him. Hannah said: “O LORD, you are the Almighty.” Then also, when going into midnight prayer, go with specific prayer points (unless you received some other prayer Rhema along the line). God wants us to be specific and organized. After that night’s encounter with God at the Tabernacle, and the prophetic word from the Priest Eli, Hannah cheered-up and began to eat well again. She needed nobody to tell her that her prayer has been answered. One of the things you will notice after midnight encounter with God is that your burdens will be lifted off you. You’ll go into the next day full of confidence and full of God’s presence. That was why I said earlier that a midnight champion is unconquerable. It builds hope and capacity to wait for God’s promises and timing. Hannah in due time gave birth to a son. Not an ordinary son, but one of the greatest prophets ever lived. God also gave her other sons and daughters. Great expectations are birthed through midnight prayers. God blessed Hannah. And instead of sorrow, pain and mockery, He put a new song on her lips. I see God putting a new song on your lips today as you go into midnight battles. Hannah sang: “My heart rejoices in the LORD! Oh, how the LORD has blessed me! Now I have an answer for my enemies, as I delight in your deliverance. No one is holy like the LORD! There is no one besides you; There is no Rock like our God.” PAUL AND SILAS Chapter Three Paul and Silas Midnight prayer is the surest arena for breaking satanic bondages and limitations. No matter how strong and difficult the yokes, they cannot resist a persistent and prolonged midnight prayer. The devil knows this very well, and that is why he will do everything to discourage you from getting up in the midnight to pray. Midnight is like a spiritual highway, and like I say, most of the things that happen to us are programmed into our life at this period. So, when you also get up and battle at this nocturnal time, you’re invariably taking part in deciding what happens to your life. There are so many people living in satanic bondages today. There are so many individuals, families and groups that are unknowingly struggling with satanic yokes. There are millions of people walking on the streets with their hands and legs bound in the spirit with chains by powerful satanic forces. I know this will sound strange to some people, but it is a fact. It is a spiritual matter. You can only be aware of this if the Spirit of God chooses to show you. Recently, I saw in a revelation a woman I have known for more than 34 years bound with chains – hands and legs. I was shocked. If not that I was sure that the vision came from God and that I have personally passed through the same experience, I would have doubted it. Now, what has been happening in the woman’s life is also a sure confirmation of that revelation. She has not known anything called breakthrough since I knew her. When you experience perennial problems in your life or in your family; year after year, you face the same kind of problems, or you feel you are hindered from crossing certain limits in life, then it becomes advisable to go into prayers and ask God to show you the source of your troubles. Most times, it is the work of Satan and the agents of his dark kingdom. In Africa and also in some other parts of the world, it is not strange to hear that agents of darkness chain destinies, fruitfulness, progress, or even health of people in the spirit realm. Victims of such satanic manipulation will struggle throughout their life. They will do every thing humanly possible to have breakthrough in life, but will never succeed. Some will even be programmed not to get married, not have babies or have a successful carrier. All these happen. We not only see them in the lives of unbelievers, but unfortunately, amongst believers also. And I believe this became possible because the church of today is not living in the fullness of the power of God. We go to church and have mechanized services without His anointing. Remember that the word of God said that the anointing (the presence of God) will always break every yoke. But does the church of today have the anointing? Today, the church is unfortunately fast asleep, and remember that Jesus said that the enemy comes to sow tares while you sleep. Midnight prayer is one of the ways that God will use to return the power and the anointing to the church and also to individual Christians. And when this power comes, it shall break every yoke, every chain and every satanic stronghold. Let’s see in the bible where and how the chains of the enemy were broken through this. “They were severely beaten, and they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. So he took no chances but put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a great earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors flew open and the chains of every prisoner fall off!”     Acts 16: 23 – 26 You know the above story. At Philippi, Paul and Silas conducted a deliverance ministration that landed them in trouble. They were beaten, bound with chains and put into the inner dungeon of the prison. Dungeon is an underground prison cell. This is what was mostly used in those days. The Jailer also particularly instructed them to make sure that these men of God did not escape. This is exactly what Satan and his agents do to people in their captivity. They mess their victims up and also keep them as hostages. Like I said earlier, a lot of people are bound with satanic chains today. Millions all over the world! These people move around like normal human beings, but when you see them in the spirit they are bound with fetters. This is usually done through witchcraft and other demonic manipulations. The victims of this kind of satanic influence will live all their life without any meaningful success, unless those fetters are broken. Some, their destinies would be locked up by these enemies. They will have nice dreams, work hard, but will never achieve them. Others, their businesses, their wombs or marriages would be held. We have also seen cases where projects (like buildings) were stopped through this kind of manipulations. They will simply cripple the person’s source of income or inflict him/her with an incurable sickness and that will be the end of the project. There are others that have been used for money rituals, sacrifices, etc. Though they are alive, but they will live as imbeciles all the days of their life. Others are also manipulated into sinful habits like drinking, stealing, prostitution, gambling, etc, and will be ultimately destroyed. We also see people who are held in bondages by demonic spirits e.g., marine spirits, ancestral spirit, territorial spirits, violent spirits, etc. We saw some in the bible. Some of these things may sound strange, but they are very true! There is no limit to the operations and wickedness of the kingdom of darkness. And every environment has its own peculiar situations. We have seen a case where a lady in Africa, at her late 30s was married to a very powerful demonic entity that visits her all the way from India. I ministered to this lady personally. This demonic personality comes with an invisible aircraft that only the lady will be seeing and dodging. Immediately the aircraft lands, a white man would alight from it and come to stay with her. After which it goes back to where it came from. It made it impossible for this very pretty and tall lady to get married in the physical or even go to school. Imagine, at that age she could not learn basic arithmetic or grammar. She would always have loss of memory. This was her situation until that yoke was broken. We see this type of cases regularly in deliverance sessions. The operations of the kingdom of darkness are so vast and terrible that you would sometimes meet cases that you will find very difficult to comprehend. Some have been chained by Satan and demons assigned to watch over them like the Jailer was instructed to watch over Paul and Silas. Any demonic entity assigned to watch over you will be blinded from today, in Jesus’ name! One can also be in the church and still be a victim of satanic fetters. When you live in sin, you go into satanic bondage. Ancestral links or evil arrows can also lead to this. (See my book ‘Breaking Generational Curses: Claiming Your Freedom’) Whichever is your case, God has promised to break the chains and set you free. In Isaiah 61:1, He says, “… that captives will be released and the prisoners will be freed.” He also said in the same Isaiah 49:24, “Who can snatch the plunder of war from the hands of a warrior? Who can demand that a tyrant [Satan] let his captives go? But the LORD says, ‘The captives of warriors will be released, and the plunder of tyrants will be retrieved.” Praise God! If those conditions describe your situation, then, this is the time for you to wake up in the midnight and fight for your destiny. It is sure a very serious business. You must go it violently. And you must not stop until the chains of the enemy are broken and all your blessings retrieved. Do it now! Paul and Silas got up in the midnight prayed and sang unto God and what was the result? There was an earthquake in the place and the chains on their hands and legs were shattered. They all fell off! I have not seen any greater power than that of praise and prayer in the midnight. No chain of the enemy can withstand them. This is true. The prison doors were forced open. You can try it. Praise God for hours every midnight and see what your life will turn into. You will become a supernatural being instantly. I have made enough comments on these ‘twin spiritual dynamos’ in this book and in others. You will soon read many shocking revelation on their effects in the spirit realm by former grand occult masters. It is not only individuals that can be in satanic chains. Families, villages, cities, countries, even churches go into bondages. The primary aim of the dark kingdom doing this is to keep the people from the light of the gospel, to deny them God’s blessings and to permanently have control over them. We have also said earlier that the devil does not want man to have a close relationship with God. And that he knows the benefit of this type of relationship because he has once enjoyed it. He is envious of the position of man in God’s programme. He hates man and consequently, will do everything possible to keep him in perpetual bondage. On the family level, there are many that live in terrible bondage. Some are in bondage of sickness, failure, and poverty. Others live in sinful habits. Some are suffering because of the attacks or evil arrows shot into their families by agents of the dark kingdom. I know a family that has three insane people. Then other families by their own practices have brought satanic yokes upon themselves through worship and sacrifice to demonic spirits. Some even have altars for these false gods right there in their homes. Some parents also dedicated or introduced their children into this worship of demons. All these attract the chains and bondage. If your parents or forefathers served idols, demons or practiced any form of occultism, then there is an urgent need for you to undergo a deliverance process, so as to break the satanic chains off your life. You cannot serve Satan without being hooked by his fetters. Now, know that through persistent midnight prayers such satanic yokes and covenants in the family can be broken. Then, there are cities, villages, towns and countries that are also bound with satanic chains and are kept in the enemy’s prisons. You know this by the way the people live, what they worship or by the things that happen in that environment. There are places you go and you can immediately discern the demon spirits that are in operation. Others worship different kinds of demonic territorial spirits and principalities. I know of a village in the eastern part of Nigeria that serves a demon that lives in a lake. When it is time to sacrifice to this demon, the chief priest will take a live goat to the lake. There, the man will take the animal close to the bank of the lake, while holding the rope tied to its neck. Then he will make some incantations and immediately a fish-like creature will come out of the water and start moving towards the goat. Once it gets to it, it will swiftly chop off the head of the goat and swim back into the water with it. Then the worshippers will begin to rejoice that the deity has accepted their sacrifice. They will return home to feast with the remaining meat; which they will cook and eat. Others worship deities that live in the forests, on the trees, on mountains, etc. I know some villages that still worship snakes, monkeys, crocodiles and pythons. These reptiles would come into their rooms and stay. They are always treated as special guests. They can lie on your bed or even hang there, stirring at you in your kitchen. They must not be hurt, rebuked or killed. Go to Idenmili area of Anambra State and see this. There are also territorial spirits that live in human beings, especially mad people. All these are spirits holding these places in bondage. They keep these areas in chains, and until they are challenged and driven away, the inhabitants of these places would be struggling with the yoke of the enemy. (We saw this type in Mark Chapter Five). Some of these spirits hinder development, progress and even the gospel. The solution is engaging these demonic forces in midnight battles. Sometimes they will resist and even threaten you. In some cases, it will take many nights. But if you stand your ground and persist, they will ultimately bow and be forced to leave. But you must be prepared and well-determined. The bible said in Ephesians 6:10-12 “…Be strong with the Lord’s mighty power, put on all of God’s armour so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil.’ “ For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.” I hope that message is very clear? The enemies we are battling with are a formidable and highly organized force. So you must know your stand in God and the dynamics of the war before you go into it. We will comment more on how to prepare for these battles later. Churches and ministries can also be in Satanic Chains. This might sound strange, but it is true. Demonic forces can hold down a church that is not moving in the fullness of the power and the spirit of God. And it is very easy to detect such churches. The symptoms are: lack of holiness, lack of development (physical and spiritual), and rapid decrease in membership, stagnation, constant quarrelling and hatred among the members, and even among the ministers. We see all these happening in some of our churches today. All these are caused by powers of darkness; to make sure that the affected churches do not fulfil God’s programme for them. The devil knows very well that a united church is the avenue through which God wants to spread His will, save lost souls, display His Power and ultimately humiliate the enemy. So he will do everything to see that the church does not expand and that it is also kept in permanent confusion. I once served in a church in the oil-rich city of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. This church had existed for 13 years before we came. Up till the time we came, the not-too-large building was yet to be completed. There were no doors, no windows and no ceiling in the church. The membership was going down rapidly. Only a few friends from the same tribe kept coming to the place. The power of God was not there and very few people were making what looked like progress at the place. And not just that, the members and ministers lived in immorality and practiced witchcraft, even inside the church. –– I remember once our prayer team was holding vigil and I suddenly announced that somebody (a young man) in our midst was practicing occultism, bringing charms into the place and still coming to pray with us. And immediately, the senior pastor interrupted me and reminded me that he was still in-charge. He was living the same life as the young man – in immorality and witchcraft. Months later, the same man was accused of various immoral acts and the worse; he planned to poison me for exposing their diabolical and immoral activities in the so-called house of God. But God’s power, presence and grace were heavily upon me. These kept them off. In fact, he acquired the poison, but the Spirit of God informed me that he was afraid to use it on me. Yes, He builds a hedge of protection around those that fear him! You needed no prophet to tell you that this was completely a dead church. A church with a beautiful name but was held down by the powers of darkness. When we came there, God led us to form a praying and deliverance team. (It is imperative for every church to have a standing and formidable praying and deliverance team). We started holding prayer meetings every night in that place. Sometimes we would fast in the daytime, and come to the church to pray through the night. I mean real intercessory prayers. We did that consistently for several months. What was the result? The power of God came mightily upon the church. The chains and yokes of Satan were broken off the place. The powers of darkness were chased away, though not without fierce resistance. But God prevailed. Miracles, signs, wonders and powerful deliverances began to take place in the place. Consequently, the membership began to grow rapidly. The once dead church was revived. The building was completed and the members began to prosper tremendously. The members also became more dedicated to God. This is what midnight prayers can do. In fact, we extended such programmes to other churches and also got the same results. The glory, power and blessings of God will come down when the church learns how to exploit the power of midnight prayers. –– Now let’s go back to Paul and Silas. They were terribly beaten and thrown into that dreaded underground cell. The bible said that around midnight they began to pray and sing praises to God. Unusual! People that were severely beaten with wooden rods, instead of nursing their wounds and pains, decided to sing hymns and praises. Now, when we serve God in an unusual way, in unusual environment, He will begin to do unusual things on our behalf. True! Again, I also believe that it will only take a man that is filled with the Holy Spirit and has sold totally to God to sing and praise God in such an excruciating, humiliating, harrowing and extreme situation. What do you do when the enemy strikes? Do you weep and blame everybody, including God? Or do you genuflect and look for a way to escape; even if it means denying your faith? We must ask God to give us the spirit of courage and faith, even in the face of life-threatening situations. The bible said that God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power. Then, why would these men of God wait until midnight before doing what they did? I believe they must have known something about the potency of the midnight prayers. They must have known that great battles of life are best fought at midnight hours and it is also possible they have had the experience in the past. After all, the apostles held so much to what they learnt from their master Jesus. He was also doing it at midnight. They sang and prayed. These are the two main businesses during midnight battles. We will take them one after the other. The first is prayer. PRAYER Chapter Four Prayer Prayer is communicating with God. Making your requests to God and receiving answers from Him. It is a two-way communication between man and God. God variously in the bible encouraged us to commune or pray to Him. In fact, the word of God said that we did not receive because we have not asked. Jesus Himself said that, “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you asked for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks.”     Luke 11:9-10 And this is exactly what we do in midnight prayers. It is a time to commune, relate, and communicate with God. It is a time to ask, seek, knock and make our request known to Him. If fact, I see the midnight prayer more as a time to knock vehemently and violent on the doors of heaven. And you heard what Jesus said, that it is when you knock that the door will be opened for you. So, if you have been asking and seeking and have not had your breakthrough, now you must begin to knock. Through prayers we birth the will of God on earth. Through prayers we break the yokes, chains and bondage in our life and around us. Through prayer we stand in the gap for others. And through prayer, we draw souls into the kingdom of God. We must go into midnight prayers with all these in mind. Praying is like admitting that as humans, we are limited, but God remains infinite and omnipotent. He can do all things. Abraham Lincoln, the former American President understood this very well when he said, “I am oftentimes driven to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I have nowhere else to go.” True! He knew that it was only from God that he could find help at the time of need. Thank God for such men. America is blessed to have had such godly men as leaders. These are the people that laid the solid foundation for that most prosperous and most powerful nation on earth today. I pray they retain this foundation. (Read my recent article In God We Trust? on www.ezinearticles.com/gabrielagbo). There are numerous great men and women in the bible who knew, sought and received God’s deliverance at their time of need through prayers. Look at the accounts of Samuel, Jehoshaphat, Esther, David, Moses, Joshua, Elijah and Daniel. Let’s take a look at a few of the very powerful ones. See the account of Samuel in 1Samuel 12:16-18, Samuel “Now stand here and see the great thing the LORD is about to do. You know that it does not rain at this time of the year during the wheat harvest. I will ask the LORD to send thunder and rain today… So Samuel called the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain. And all the people were terrified of the LORD and of Samuel.” Jehoshaphat and Judah in danger “After this, the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites declared war on Jehoshaphat. Messengers came and told Jehoshaphat ‘A vast army from Edom is marching against you from beyond the Dead Sea. They are already at Hazazon-tamar.’ (This was another name for En-gedi.) Jehoshaphat was alarmed by the news and sought the LORD for guidance. He also gave orders that everyone throughout Judah should observe a fast. So people from all the towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the LORD.” 2 Chronicles 20:1-4 Esther “Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I am willing to die.” Esther 4:15-16 Joshua “On the day the LORD gave the Israelites victory over Amorites, Joshua prayed to the LORD in front of all the people of Israel. He said. ‘Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Aijalon.’ So the sun and moon stood still until the Israelites had defeated their enemies. .. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky, and it did not set as on a normal day. The LORD fought for Israel that day. Never before or since has there been a day like that one, when the LORD answered such a request from a human being.” Joshua 10:12-14 All these people have something in common. They knew the power of prayer, sought it at the time of extreme difficulty and God answered them. They changed the course of nature, stopped the Sun and the moon, drew down rain in dry seasons, shut the mouths of lions, dislodged their enemies, and cheated death through prayers. People like Enoch and Elijah virtually refused to die. My God! Truly, there is nothing impossible for a man that prays. Prayer is also acknowledging that God is your source at all time. He should be consulted in the minor as well as on the major issues. He wants to commune, relate and partner with us in all issues. Another thing we want to bring in here is faith. You cannot achieve anything in prayer, especially midnight prayer without faith. You must believe that God exists. You must believe that He can do all things. You must believe that He loves you and is willing to answer your prayers. You must have faith in His promises and His words. And the bible comes in to say that this faith comes by hearing the word of God. And this takes us to the role of the word of God in making an effective prayer. Word of God For our prayers to be effective, we must pray God’s words. Praying God’s word is knowing what the word and promises of God are, then offering them back to God. To do this, we must read, meditate and appropriate His word to our life and needs. The power and glory of God comes when we appreciate and personalize His words. The word of God is the will and mind of God. And He does nothing outside His will. “We can be confident that he will listen to us whenever we ask him for anything in line with His will.”     1 John 5:14 –– Now, how can we know His will? That is through His written word – the bible and through His revealed word – Rhema (this includes prophetic words, visions and dream). Let’s see in the bible few examples of those that prayed the word of God and achieved maximum results. Jehoshaphat Prayed the Word When Judah was faced with the danger of imminent attack by a group of enemy nations, King Jehoshaphat prayed the word of God. He prayed the promises of God to their forefathers and God came swiftly to their rescue. “Jehoshaphat stood before the people of Judah and Jerusalem in front of the new courtyard at the temple of the LORD. He prayed ‘O LORD, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you! O our God, did you not drive out those who lived in this land when your people arrived? And did you not give this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham? Your people settled here and built this Temple for you. They said, ‘whenever we are faced with any calamity such as war, disease, or famine, we can come to stand in your presence before this Temple where your name is honoured. We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us and rescue us.” 2 Chronicles 20:5-9 –– Great! Jehoshaphat knew the word of God and simply threw it back to Him. It is not that God forgot His words and promises. But He will always want us to affirm our faith in His words and walk in His will. Jehoshaphat was reminding God of His promises to Abraham and also to King Solomon during the dedication of the Temple. Let’s see them: Promises to Abraham “As the sun went down and it became dark, Abram saw a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses. So the LORD made a covenant with Abram that day and said, ‘I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River – the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.” Genesis 15:17-21. Promises to Solomon “So, Solomon finished building the Temple of the LORD, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do. Then one night the LORD appeared to Solomon and said, “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this temple as the place for making sacrifices. At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or I might command locusts to devour your crops, or I might send plagues amongst you. Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land. I will listen to every prayer made in this place, for I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be my home forever. My eyes and my heart will always be here.” 2 Chronicles 7:11-16, 1 Kings 9:3 Jehoshaphat knew all these promises and promptly threw them back to God at the time of need. And because God cannot deny His words, He immediately responded and saved Judah from the imminent danger. He took over the battle, the three nations killed themselves and Israel had victory. Praise God! Daniel Prayed the Word Another good example is Daniel. He knew and prayed the word of God for the deliverance of the children of Israel from Babylonian captivity, and he received the attention of heaven swiftly: “It was the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede, the Son of Ahasuerus, who became king of the Babylonians. During the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, was studying the writings of the prophets. I learned from the word of the LORD, as recorded by Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years. So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with Him in prayer and fasting. I wore rough sackcloth and sprinkled myself with ashes.” Daniel 9:1-3. Now, Daniel and the children of Israel were taken into captivity in Babylon. There, Daniel read from the writing of Jeremiah and understood that it was time for Israel’s captivity to end. It was meant to last just for seventy years. Then, he began to pray on that divine promise and consequently got favourable results. –– Let’s see the promises that Daniel prayed: “The truth is that you will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised and I will bring upon you home again. For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. I will be found by you,’ says the LORD. ‘I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you again to your own land.” Jeremiah 29:10-14 These were the promises Daniel prayed on. If you don’t know the word and promises of God for your life, you will overstay in captivity. You must strive to know what the word of God says concerning you, your family, your country and the church. You must know what the word of God says concerning your health, your finances, your children, and your marriage and then pray on them, if you must get the desired results. Jesus prayed and acted the Word Jesus also understood this principle that was why He said that He does nothing except what He is directed to do from above. He would always seek for the will of His father to be done. In fact, at a stage He said that He was going (acting) according to how it was written of Him. That means that everything about him has been written down in heaven. His was just to follow the divine script. No wonder, He always got the maximum result of His prayers. When we know and pray God’s word, all things will become possible to us. Let’s also briefly see what some of the veterans of prayer movement have to say on this: R.A. Torrey in his work ‘How to pray’ wrote that, “Mere intellectual study of the word of God is not enough; there must be meditation upon it. The word of God must be revolved over and over in the mind with a constant looking to God and His Spirit to make that word a living thing in the heart. The prayer that is born of meditation on the word of God is the prayer, which soars upward to God’s listening ear. “The word of God is the instrument through which the Holy Spirit works. It is the Sword of the Spirit in more senses than one. The person who wants to know the work of the Holy Spirit in any direction must feed upon the word. The person who desires to pray in the Spirit must meditate on the Word, so that the Holy Spirit may have something through which He can work. The Holy Spirit works His prayers in us through the word. Neglect of the word makes praying in the Holy Spirit impossibility. If we seek to feed the fire of our prayers with the fuel of God’s words, all our difficulties in prayer will disappear.” Then, E.M. Bounds also elaborated on this theme in his book, ‘The Necessity of Prayer’: “Prayer draws its very life from the bible. It places its security on the firm ground of scripture. Its very existence and character depend on revelation made by God to man in His holy word. Prayer, in turn, exalts this same revelation and turns men toward that word. The nature, necessity, and all – comprehending character of prayer is based on the word of God.” Well said by these spiritual generals. Now, we can also know the will of God and pray it through the messages we receive from dreams, visions, discernment, word of knowledge and word of wisdom (prophetic words). God through these revelation gifts can make known His will for an individual, for the church or for the people. And when you sense that the message is coming from God and pray it, it receives answers. I can testify to this. I receive most of my revelations from God through dream and visions. Though, God also speaks to me through other means, but dreams and visions have become predominant. When I dream, it comes out exactly the same. Some nights, I do have as much as three to four dreams, all carrying different revelations. So, I don’t joke with my dreams at all. Consequently, when I am praying, the things I receive in the dream form a substantial part of my prayer points. In fact, most times, as the dreams come, the vibrations will instantly wake me into midnight prayer (which is mostly intercessory). Each of us should know and master the surest way that God speaks to us. Jesus said that His sheep would hear His voice. And if you are truly a son, you will always recognise the voice of your father. Since prayer is communication, you and God must have a common ‘medium’ of interaction. This is very important. So, when praying in the midnight with my team, we don’t lack prayer topics. We receive these points from the word of God (bible), revelations and other prophetic gifts. Through all these we can discern what the will of God is in any given situation and pray accordingly. By God’s grace we always have the results to show for this. I wish to also comment on the imperativeness of having a prayer and deliverance team in every church. With all humility, I believe that a church without a prayer team is just like a city without walls. Prayer team serves as watchtower, shield and hedges, guide and spiritual lifeline of any church. They detect the evil plans of the enemy against the church. They protect the church against the arrows and attack of the enemy. And they also draw down the glory and power of God to the church. I can not be in a church without a standing prayer team. I will feel powerless and exposed. We will say more on prayer groups later. But let’s first comment on other things that also aid our prayers. Praying in Tongues For your prayers to be effective, especially during the midnight battles, you must learn how to pray in tongues. It is very difficult if not impossible, to pray effectively for very long hours in the night (which sometimes last for days or months) all with plain languages. You will definitely run out of words. But when you speak or pray in tongues, you pray according to the direction of the Holy Spirit and you will never lack words to express your requests, because the spirit knows exactly what requests to make according to the will of God. If you have been practicing this, you will know what we’re talking about here. You don’t get tired easily and there is always a sense of strength and accomplishment that envelops you after praying in tongues. Look at how 1Cor. 14:4, 28 puts it; “A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally in the Lord.” As he speaks (prays) in tongues, the spirit refills him with more strength. So he can stay on without getting physically tired. Then, also when you pray in tongues, you are talking to God directly through the spirit encoded words. Who can understand God more than the Holy Spirit? The Spirit surely knows what, how and when to make requests to the father. He knows the will and programme of God more than humans do. So, we must begin to pray in tongues, pray in the spirit. In fact, what I understand as praying in the spirit is praying His word and praying in tongues. Or you can tell me more. Please, also permit me to clarify something here. I would like us to know that there are three forms of speaking in tongues that I found in the bible. One is the speaking in tongues as an initial evidence of being baptized with the Holy Spirit. Two is speaking in tongues as a gift of prophecy. This is the one that requires interpretation. And some are also given the gift of interpreting tongues, according to the scriptures. Then, the third is the one we are discussing here; communicating directly and privately with God. This is the one that the bible said that it is only the Holy Spirit that can decode what you are saying; because your spirit is sending an encoded message to Him directly. And this in what we have called praying in tongues, praying in the spirit or groaning in the spirit. Pray Until Something Happens (PUSH) Anyone that is involved in spiritual warfare like the midnight prayer and other forms must have this principle as a banner. Once you know what the will of God is, you must be ready to pray until you see the manifestation or until God tells you clearly that He has answered your prayers. There are so many examples from the bible, but we will just mention two – Daniel and Elijah. Daniel 10:12-13, “Then he said, don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. But for twenty-one days the Spirit Prince of the Kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the Archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the Spirit of the kingdom of Persia.” This biblical record gave us a rare insight into some of the activities that go on in the spiritual ream. Daniel was fasting and praying to God. And immediately he began to pray, on the first day, God sent Gabriel (a high ranking angelic being that stands in His presence) to go and deliver the answers to Daniel’s request. As Gabriel was coming, a powerful demonic principality blocked his way and he could not come through to meet with Daniel. Gabriel was there with the demon until another strong archangel – Michael (the Spirit Prince of Israel) came to his help. Only then could Gabriel go to dispatch the divine message to Daniel. Wow! This is indeed a very rare insight into some of the actions and reactions that go on every day on our behalf in the spirit realm. Now, what if Daniel had prayed for 3 or 4 days, waited for some answer and had given up? Maybe Gabriel would have gone back to heaven and there wouldn’t have been any need for God to send Archangel Michael as reinforcement. Then, Daniel and the people of Israel would have also remained there without any solution to their predicaments. Without knowing the struggle that was going on his behalf in the spiritual ream, Daniel continued praying and fasting for 21 days, and at last the answer came. Thank God that he stayed on. He endured. That is the mark of an intercessor. Sometimes, when we pray, we trigger off fierce struggles in the spiritual realm and this can cause delay in receiving immediate responses to our requests. And because we don’t often see what happens in that realm, we get desperate or fall into despondency. We must learn how to persevere in prayer if we must be champions and veterans of spiritual warfare. We must develop the capacity to endure, recognize, ambush and demolish our enemies. I have earlier said that we must persevere, persist, and then we will prevail. And this must be the attitude of a midnight warrior. Elijah This man wielded so much spiritual power when he was here on earth that he locks and releases the dew and rain at will. Fire, death, and the laws of supernatural multiplication and velocity also obeyed him. But he once demonstrated that an intercessor must be ready to persist until he/she receives the desired results. Look at what happened after that great contest at Mount Carmel. He had locked the rain for several years and now he came back to restore it. But that must not happen before his contest with the 850 satanic priests in Israel. After winning and slaughtering those demonic priests, he immediately informed king Ahab that rain was coming. In fact, Elijah clearly said that he was already hearing the sound of a mighty rainstorm and immediately went into prayer. After the first prayer, he sent out his servant to go and check the rain. His servant went, came back and told him that he saw nothing. Elijah kept sending him until the seventh time. It was at the seventh time that the servant said that he saw a little cloud rising from the sea. And the prophet of God shouted. Then, the rain came. Now, the lesson is that this great man of God had to persist in pray for seven times before he saw the physical actualization of his vision. He did not give up or show any sign of discouragement. Remember, he had already heard and seen the rain in the spirit and needed to birth it in the physical. We must learn how to pray until something happens (PUSH). –– Let us pray for revival. Let us pray for the release of those in captivity. Let us pray to dismantle the dominion of the demonic forces of darkness. Let us pray against the spirits behind the false religions. Let us pray that the glory and power of God will come down in His Church. May God strengthen us in the name of Jesus! Prayer Groups and Meetings in the Bible The early church in Acts of Apostles always met to pray and that was why God released His power and presence upon them. Praying together draws down the ‘Corporate Anointing’ from the throne of God. It also unites the believers. Let us see Act 1:14-15, “They all met together continually for prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus. During this time, on a day when about 120 believers were present, Peter stood up and addressed them as follows.” Again in Act 16:13, 16, we also saw that the early Christians had a particular place where they regularly met for prayers. “On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we supposed that some people met for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had come together.” and “One day as we were going down to a place of prayer,” They had a place for prayers and they met regularly. Now tell me why the glory of God would not come upon them. No wonder today’s church has not been able to witness the same level of anointing, glory, and authority as the early church. The early church had places of prayer and they met regularly! This coming together by the early believers to pray and fellowship precipitated the baptism of the Holy Ghost and ‘explosion’ of the early church. That simply means that, there are things that God will not do for His people unless they come together to pray and fellowship in unity and love. The bible also said that they (the believers) were in one place and in one accord and God said, “Yes, this is the best time to give them that eternal and wonderful promise I made to them.” –– “And when the day of the Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem, Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven… “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized and the same day they were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Acts 2:1-5, 41-42 (KJV). –– The believers prayed together regularly and the promise and power of God came down. As a result three thousand converts were made in one day. If you also read down that story, you will find out that love, joy, favour, signs and wonders also came upon the church. When believers come together to pray in one accord (in agreement and harmony), there is nothing that they would not be able to achieve. The devil knows this very well and that is why he will do everything to bring confusion and disaffection amongst Christians and even amongst the ministers. He knows that a united prayerful church is a great threat to his kingdom and his clandestine operations. The church must come together; we must present a united battlefront against our common enemies – Satan and his agents. We want to see more of interdenominational fellowships, interdenominational prayer groups and meetings. Jesus said, “I will build my church (not my denomination) and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” The more people you have praying in unity, the greater the anointing. God said in Leviticus 26:8, “Five of you will chase a hundred and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand! All your enemies will fall beneath the blows of your weapons.” –– Did you get that? The more the believers, the greater number of the enemies they will pursue. And He also gave the assurance that the enemies will fall for us. Praise God! National Prayer Meetings in the Bible In the bible, national prayer meetings were variously called to seek the face of God or His intervention in the affairs of the people. We will mention just two of them because of limited space: –– When three nations Moabites, Ammonites and the Meunites declared war against Judah, King Jehoshaphat quickly summoned a national prayer meeting at the Temple in Jerusalem. God heard their prayers, fought and defeated their enemies. “Jehoshaphat was alarmed by this news and sought the LORD for guidance. He also gave orders that everyone throughout Judah should observe a fast. So people from all the towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the LORD.” 2 Chronicles 20:3-4. And in the book of Esther, the people of Israel found themselves in a very precarious situation. An irrevocable death decree was hanging on them, not because of any crime, but for the envy of their enemies. Please can we just read the story? It is indeed an interesting one: “Then Haman approached king Xerxes and said, ‘there is a certain race of people scattered through all the provinces of your empire. Their laws are different from those of any other nation, and they refuse to obey even the laws of the king. So it is not in the king’s interest to let them live. If it pleases you your majesty, issue a decree that they be destroyed, and I will give 375 tons of silver to the government administrators, so that they can put it into the royal treasury. –– “The king agreed, confirming his decision by removing his signet ring from his finger and giving it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite – the enemy of the Jews. ‘Keep the money,’ the king told Haman, ‘but go ahead and do as you like with these people.’ “On April 17 Haman called in the king’s secretaries and dictated letters to the princes, the governors of the respective provinces, and the local officials of each province in their own scripts and languages. These letters were signed in the name of king Xerxes, sealed with his ring, and sent by messengers into all the provinces of the empire. The letters decreed that all Jews – young and old, including women and children – must be killed, slaughtered, and annihilated on a single day. This was scheduled to happen nearly a year later on March 7. The property of the Jews would be given to those who killed them. A copy of this decree was to be issued in every province and made known to all the people, so that they would be ready to do their duty on the appointed day. At the king’s command, the decree went out by the swiftest messengers, and it was proclaimed in the fortress of Susa. Then the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa fell into confusion.” Esther 3:8-15 This was the situation of the people of God. They were to be killed – their young and old, women and children. All their properties were also to be confiscated after the planned genocide. What did the Jews do? Mordecai tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes. Other Jews joined him. They fasted, wept and wailed. Now, when Mordecai gathered all the Jews of Susa and prayed for three days, God moved to revoke the death sentence hanging on their necks and also destroyed their enemies. God started the deliverance process by visiting the king Xerxes in the night. The king could not sleep again because fiery petitions of the people of God were bombarding His throne. The decree against the Jews was reversed, their archenemy hanged and his properties were handed over to the Jews. Praise God! When a people, a nation or citizens of a state gather to pray and cry to God, the effects are always penetrating. The condition of your people or your nation can be changed if you would bring them together to seek the face of God today. Individual Prayers in the Bible Prayers done by individuals also have tremendous results. Moses, Jesus, Joshua, Daniel, Nehemiah etc, are some of the people who have changed the course of their people through prayers. As a prayer warrior; especially of the midnight stock, you should not only affect yourself, your family, but you have the capacity to affect the destiny of your people, your nation and even the entire world. Jesus’ prayers and activities still affect the world till today. Moses’ prayers saved the entire nation of Israel. Daniel’s prayer set the stage for the deliverance of the Israelites from Babylon. Let us take the cue from Nehemiah. He stood in the gap for his people. Hear him, “They said to me, ‘Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been burned.’ “When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven. Listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel.”     Nehemiah 1:3-6 You already know the tremendous result of that Nehemiah’s prayer. God intervened. The falling walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt. And the worship of God was restored. God can also do such with you. And remember, there is a reward that will always come after you have prevailed. –– In Joshua 23:10, the bible says that, “Each one of you will put to flight a thousand of the enemy.” One person to chase away a thousand enemies? You can only do this supernaturally through praying. Your prayer can bring tremendous results. Yes, your prayer. And also know that when you prevail, God says you will receive a crown and He will make you a pillar in His house. A pillar and a crown reward from God? That will be wonderful! “All who are victorious will become pillars in the temple of my God” Rev. 3:12. –– Please, let’s move over to praise. PRAISE Chapter Five Praise –– Paul and Silas also sang praises in the dungeon that night. With fresh wounds all over their bodies, chains on their hands and legs and in the usually dark underground prison cell, they sang praises to God. Praise and worship are some of the most powerful tools given to the believers by God. I mean spirit-filled praise and worship. There is great power in praise and worship. They are tremendous weapons of our warfare and the devil knows that. That is why he would do everything possible to stop or at least, corrupt them. When we praise God, we bring down His presence and glory. No wonder the bible says that God inhabits the praises of His people. This simply means that He dwells, lives, occupies or resides in the praises of the believers. When you praise God, you create the atmosphere for Him to comeand occupy. –– Now, you cannot make a success of midnight prayers without praise and worship. Midnight battles must start and end with them. Even, there are times you may not need to make any request, but just praise our great God and you will see your needs melting away on their own. I have tried it severally. I would get up around midnight and start to praise Him. I would do that for hours hoping to pray after, but would be submerged in His presence and consequently forget my file of requests. Then, I would watch those needs sorting out themselves. In fact, I see praise as more powerful than prayer, though both are means of communicating to God. When you make it a habit to praise God at the face of every difficulty or persecution, the devil will begin to think twice before he brings problems to you, because he would have known what your reactions would be. –– Praises usher us into the presence of God. An intercessor and all Christians should always have this in mind. The presence of God has a gate to it and praises and worship are the keys. When you come to do battles in the midnight, the first thing you must do is to open the gate of His presence with the key of praise. Then, you can begin to receive the answers to your requests. The Psalmist knew this very well when he said in Psalm 100:4, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and bless his name.” And you know what will happen when you go into the courts of the LORD through the gates. Definitely, you will not come out the same. Your burdens, needs and requests will be met. Praise and worship will open the gates! There are also other things that a spirit-filled praise will do for us. It will give you the wonderful privilege of joining the heavenly beings in worshiping God and bringing heaven down to the earth. Just look at Rev. 4:2-11, “I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it! The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones-Jasper and Carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow. Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crown on their heads. And from the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven lamp stands with burning flames. They are the seven spirits of God. In front of the throne was a shinny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal. “In the centre and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back. The first of these living beings had the form of a lion; the second looked like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth had the form of an eagle with wings spread out as though in flight. Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night, they keep on saying’ ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty – the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come. “Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever, the twenty four elders fall down and worship the one who lives forever and ever. And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, ‘you are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power.For you created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created.” Majestic! This is the duty of the fearful four living beings and the twenty-four elders in heaven. I ran the whole record so that you can understand exactly what you do when you praise and worship God. I am always conscious of this fact when I am in worship – that I am joining the hosts of heaven and the billions of believers all over the earth to say that our God and King is worthy to be worshiped forever. This is sweet! We also sacrifice when we praise Him. And you know a sacrifice is offering something precious and of great value to somebody. God deserves our best. We must give Him the fruit of our lips – that is praise as sacrifice. Our praises must ascend to Him as a sweet smelling savour. Hebrew 13:15 says, “Let us continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by proclaiming the glory of his name.”     Praise as a Mighty Weapon Praise and worship are also mighty weapons in the hands of the believers. When you praise God, you throw Satan and his dark kingdom into confusion and panic. You disorganize and defeat their plans. Look at the case of Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah again; when those three enemy nations came to attack them. After praying and getting directions from God, the bible said that King Jehoshaphat assembled the singers and marched to the battleground. They did not only defeat their enemies, but went home with more than enough spoils of war. “After consulting the leaders of the people, the king (Jehoshaphat) appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the LORD and praising him for his holy splendour. This is what they sang: ‘Give thanks to the LORD; his faithful, love, endures forever!’ At the moment they began to sing and give praise, the LORD caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had finished off the army of Seir, they turned on each other. –– “So when the army of Judah arrived at the look-out point in the wilderness, they were dead bodies lying on the ground for as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemies escaped. King Jehoshaphat and his men went out to gather the plunder. They found vast amounts of equipment, clothing, and other valuables more than they could carry. There was so much plunder that it took them three days just to collect it all! On the fourth day they gathered in the valley of Blessing, which got its name that day because the people praised and thanked the LORD there. It is still called the valley of blessing today.” 2 Chronicles 20:21-26. God moved ahead of them and dealt with their enemies immediately they began to sing His praises. When you praise God, He goes ahead of you to defeat your enemies. You will only come to the battlefield to pick the spoils of war and celebrate in the valley of blessings. Go into night battles with praise and worship. Make it a duty to praise God always, no matter what is happening around you. This is just my secret. Day and night, not just when I’m praying, I join the heavenly hosts to worship our King, LORD and Saviour. Great Testimonies Now, let’s hear from a one-time very powerful agent of the kingdom of darkness, now a servant of Jesus Christ – Emmanuel Eni. Incidentally, I gave my life to Jesus in one of his crusades in the eastern part of Nigeria in the 80s. We will have many of his testimonies and others in this work. Hear him on the effectiveness of praise: “You must learn to sing praises to God always. There is power in praises. There was this Pastor – Pastor I.K (name withheld) he was the pastor of a church in Ebute Metta, Lagos. He became my target and his offences were that he disturbed our peace by carrying out early morning calls, i.e. preaching in the early hours. He went about with his megaphone and stationed himself at N0. 2 Bus Stop, along Akintola Road, Ebute Metta. There he would preach, he would not stop at that, but would keep binding demons, etc. In his church, he would preach, exposing the works of darkness, after which he would start binding demons. He prayed a lot. He was always singing and praising God. “I sent my messengers to him but they could not kill him, so I decided to carry out the mission myself. On the said day, I saw him walking along the new G.R.A. A thing worth mentioning here about this pastor is: any time we went for him, we would see pillars of cloud by his right and left going along with him, so these hindered us. But this particular day, I saw nothing, so I was doubly sure my mission would be very successful. I commanded rain to fall to enable me to strike him with thunder. The rain started and the thundering began. All the trees in the area started losing their branches but this Pastor was singing joyfully. I still remember the chorus: ‘In Jesus Name, every knee shall bow…!’ “As he continued with this chorus, the rain stopped and the thundering ceased. There appeared immediately two angels, one on each side, with flaming swords. Their eyes and the swords were like flames of fire. Then a strong wind carried me away and I found myself in another town! In fact, I was baffled, but because we were so hardened, what I said was: ‘this man has escaped again!’ The Pastor did not know the spiritual war that was fought on his behalf. So, you can see, the child of God is well secured. When the bible says: ‘Nothing shall by any means hurt you,’ it means what it says!”     (Excerpts from the book: ‘Deliverance from the Powers of Darkness’). Truly, great is Jehovah our God! Did you read that? His presence protects us and if not for this kind of confessions, we may never know the numerous battles that our great God fights for us daily. Just imagine the above story. Please, live a life of praise. I mean sincere praises from your heart. It is always a powerful weapon in hands of a child of God. Let’s move quickly and consider the other weapons we have and of course hear more chilling testimonies. Go over to the Name of Jesus. THE NAME OF JESUS Chapter Six The Name of Jesus “Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11 “I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else in this world or in the world to come… and we are seated with him in the heavenly realms – all because we are one with Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 1:19-21, 2:6 “And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents. And if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Mark 16:17-18 (King James Version). The name of Jesus is a very great weapon in the hands of a Christian, especially the prayer warrior. It is always fatal to Satan and the dark kingdom when mentioned by a believer, and even sometimes, by the unbelievers. The name of Jesus opens the doors of heaven and also brings all the powers in heaven, on earth, under the earth and in the water to subjection. But, why is it so powerful? First of all, Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came from heaven. This is a very simple introduction of Jesus. But if you study the scriptures very well, you will no doubt arrive at the undisputable fact that Jesus is God. He is God, but came in human form. From the Old Testament to the New, everything points to this fact. So, if this man was God in the flesh, why would He (His name) not command absolute authority and influence over His creation? Tell me. Secondly, before you accuse me of not knowing my bible, Jesus also ‘earned’ the highest authority when He successfully paid the price for sin and also rose from death. Hope you read those verses at the beginning of the chapter? They are self-explanatory. And this is why I may not comment much on them. Now, read the following scriptures and make the conclusions by yourself: “For in Christ the fullness of God lives in a human body and you are complete through your union with Christ. He is the Lord over every ruler and authority in the universe” Colossians 2:9-10 “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation. Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things we can see and the things we cannot see – kings, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities. Everything has been created through him and for him. He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together.” Colossians 1:15 –– Great! Now, what do you want me to say again? If Christ has these nature and attributes, how then can a created being (like Satan and dark agents) ever stand before Him? Now these are the things we must understand as Christians. That Our Savoir Jesus Christ is God. That He created and is controlling all things in the whole universe – be it power, principalities, rulers, authorities, thrones, dominions in the air, in the waters, on the earth, on the mountains, in the dark places, in the day and in the night. So, when you mention His name, these created beings hear the name of their creator and they have no choice than to obey, bow and submit to His authority. A creation will always be subject to the creator. Simple! Jesus knew this very well and that was why He ruled over demons, sicknesses, nature and situations while He was still on earth. And even at the point of death, He had to willingly submit Himself, because mortals could not physically arrest not to talk of killing Him. Let’s just see the drama that happened at His arrest: “After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees. Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had gone there many times with His disciples. The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a battalion of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove. “Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him. Stepping forward to meet them, He asked, ‘who are you looking for?” “Jesus of Nazareth,’ they replied. “I am he,’ Jesus said. Judas was standing there with them when Jesus identified himself. And as he said, ‘I am he’, they all fell backward to the ground! Once more he asked them, ‘whom are you searching for?’ “And again they replied, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’ “I told you that I am he’, Jesus said, ‘And since I am the one you want, let these others go.’ He did this to fulfil his own statement, ‘I have not lost a single one of those you gave me.’ “Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s servant. But Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup the father has given me?” John 18:1-11 –– Wow! That was indeed a drama at the point of Jesus’ arrest. Sure, so much to learn from here. We went through this story so that you will be able to appreciate the authority and nature of Jesus while on earth. A battalion of soldiers with all their weapons could not arrest Him. When He told them, ‘I am he’, they all fell to the ground. He later willingly submitted himself to them so that He would be able to fulfil His divine mission of sacrificing His life for mankind. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for men to kill Him. Yes, He was always on top of every situation. This same Jesus is saying that He has given us that authority in His name to cast out devils, withstand Satan, heal the sick, and march upon principalities, powers, and rulers of darkness. The believer, especially the prayer warrior must understand this very well. At the mention of the name Jesus, every power and every situation must bow. Confession of a Former Occult Master Before we continue, let’s see a confession of a one time powerful and high-ranking agent of Satan from Nigeria – Evangelist E. O. Omoobajesu as recorded in his book ‘My Conversion’. This will help us to appreciate the power in the Name of Jesus. Read: “I recall a meeting of the cults held at the Lagos Bar Beach. All the high-ranking occultists in Nigeria were present and among our members were some of the traditional rulers from all over the country. Thus, from every part of the country we came and assembled at the beach, dressed in demonic regalia while our evil powers made us invisible. We were just settling down on the beach to start the meeting when a man came to pray on the beach. Though we were invisible to him, we could all see him clearly. Unknowingly, he started to march on the members seated on the sand. “We were all infuriated, and a person in our assembly was ordered to deal with him. Instantly, he gave the intruder a very heavy slap. The man started to feel dizzy. On realizing this, he cried out aloud. He shouted J-E-S-U-S! The echo of his voice rented the silence of the night. “What happened? Immediately [after] the name of Jesus was called, a ray of light came out of his mouth and disappeared into the heavens. We all sat down looking at what would happen next. After a few moments, the light reappeared out of the sky coming back to the earth. The light again exploded in mid-sky and subdivided into various parts, still coming directly towards us. This light encircled our gathering on the beach and made the whole surrounding very brightly lit. “Looking more closely, we saw accompanying these rays, all forms [kinds] of weapons of war, chariots of fire and winged-beings, all were running furiously, heading towards us. We all had to disperse; everyone ran away, the chariots chasing each of us home. All these [things] happened within the twinkling of an eye.” Powerful! My God is great! This is a true confession of a one-time very powerful and dreaded agent of Satan. It is very possible that that prayer warrior (Christian) who called the name of Jesus did not and may never know what eventually happened that night; the war that heaven declared on his behalf. All he would say is that Jesus delivered him from the attack of the enemy at the Bar Beach. But, the Satanists saw everything clearly. This is exactly what happens each time we mention the name of Jesus in our warfare against the kingdom of darkness. They scamper for safety. They run in confusion and total disarray. All powers, principalities, rulers of darkness bow and genuflect at the mention of the name of Jesus. They obey at the mention of His name because He conquered and disgraced them at the cross. Christians, including the midnight warriors, must begin to appreciate and appropriate the power that is in the Name of Jesus. –– Emmanuel Eni also tells the story of how the Name of Jesus threw Satan down at one of their meetings in the underwater world. Hear him: “One day, a girl named NINA came to me. NINA whose parents were from Anambra State was a very beautiful young girl but lives mostly in the sea, the underwater spirit world. She was an ardent agent to the Queen of the Coast (goddess of the sea) and very wicked. She hated the Christians so much and would go any length to fight Christianity. I first met her during my visit to the sea. NINA came for an errand from the Queen of the coast. “We left immediately and reaching there I learnt of our having a conference with Lucifer. Satan, in this meeting, gave us the following instructions: to fight the believers and not the unbeliever; because the unbelievers were already his. When he said this, one of us asked: ‘why?’ He said the vision was that God drove him out of ‘that place’ (he refused to call the word ‘heaven’ and throughout our meetings with him he never mentioned the word ‘heaven’). Rather he would always use the word ‘that place’, because of pride, and therefore he does not want any Christian to get there. “He also told us that we should not fight the hypocrites. ‘They are like me’ he said. He continued his speech and said that his time was near; therefore we should fight as never before and make sure no one enters ‘that place!’ So, one of us said to him, ‘we heard that God has sent someone to rescue mankind back to God.’ Satan then asked: ‘who is that?’ One member answered ‘Jesus!’ And to our greatest surprise, Lucifer fell from his seat. He shouted at the man and warned him never to mention that name in any of our meetings if he loves his life. It is true that at the name of Jesus every knee must bow (Phil. 2:10), including Satan.” Yes, the word of God is true! Every knee, including Satan, must bow to the name of Jesus. What else do you want to hear? His name also opens the doors of heaven and blessings for us. That was why Jesus said that anything you will ask in His name will be given to you. It is the key to open God’s heart, His mercies and treasures. It locks the gates of hell but opens heaven for us. Let’s see the next – The Blood of Jesus, with more testimonies. THE BLOOD OF JESUS Chapter Seven The Blood of Jesus “And they have defeated him because of the blood of the lamb and because of their testimony.” Rev. 12:11 “…Jesus is the great shepherd of the sheep by an everlasting covenant, signed with his blood.” Hebrews 13:21 Another very powerful weapon that God has given to us is the blood of Jesus Christ. When a believer pleads the blood of Jesus, he/she is automatically protected from the attacks of Satan and his agents. His blood reminds Satan and the demons of their defeat on the cross. The shedding of Christ’s blood on the cross, His death and subsequent resurrection brought us back to God and also sealed the eternal doom of Satan and his fallen angels. Sure, taking Jesus to the cross remains one of the things that the devil will eternally regret. In fact, the bible said that if he (the devil) had known, he wouldn’t have killed the Lord of glory. The shedding of Jesus blood unknowingly to the devil was what was needed to seal the everlasting covenant between God and us. And once you invoke that covenant the devil is disorganised, disarmed and disgraced. That is exactly what the scriptures say. Look at Colossians 2:15, “In this way, God disarmed the evil rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross of Christ.” Did you get that? The sacrifice through the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross disarmed and disgraced the devil. So, when you plead the blood of Jesus, this is exactly what you are doing. You are neutralizing the powers and the activities of Satan. You render him impotent, powerless and also bring shame upon him. If it is so, then tell me why he should not get jittery at the sight or hearing of His blood? Let us again see the testimony of Evangelist E. O. Omoobajesu. This incident happened when he was still serving Satan. He said, “Then, I called the fourth of the superior spirits in the government of Satan, whose name is Belial. (Anywhere you see some people gathering or holding a meeting or dance party and later, they start fighting, using the chairs or benches and whips or perhaps they cut each others body with knives or broke bottles, it is Belial, the demonic spirit who has visited them. That is his function in the satanic order, to cause quarrels, be it in the family, among friends or even in a community). “I commanded him, ‘go forward and work on them to start fighting.’ I said to myself, after all they call themselves revivalists. When they start beating each other with benches, the newspaper will carry it in the headlines the next day that, ‘Revival turns to a free-for-all fight.’ ‘Carry on,’ I commanded the demon. He took a few quick steps and then stopped. ‘What is wrong again?’ I enquired. He asked me to come and see and I moved in to look again. This time, it was no longer fire that I saw, but BLOOD. The whole place looked as if it were an abattoir where millions of animals have been freshly slaughtered. “It was as if all the people were totally immersed in the flowing river of the blood. He told me pointedly ‘That is the BLOOD of the Lamb of God.’ But since I didn’t understand him, I asked him again, mocking, ‘you mean that God has a sheep and that He killed it and the blood of it is now frightening you?’ I, too, have sheep at home. I will kill it for you later, so that you can drink the blood. He said that it is not like that. “He said firmly: ‘that is the BLOOD of the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world!’ He added, ‘nothing in this world or in any department can face that BLOOD in combat.’ So he bluntly refused to go and I chased him off also.” The Blood of Jesus! The above incident happened as the then agent of Satan went to stop a revival meeting being held by a Christian group. He called in the demons to do the job, but they were prevented by the blazing fire of God. He later invoked a more dangerous and very destructive demonic principality – Belial (the spirit of violence, destruction and disobedience), and the blood of Jesus immediately showed-up and submerged the entire venue of the crusade. And the demon could not risk going near, but turned to start lecturing his human boss on the origin, the power and efficacy of the blood of Jesus. Yes, they know! This testimony clearly manifests the power in the blood of Jesus Christ. We must always use it to combat Satan and the agents of darkness. I totally agree with that demon that nothing in this world or in any department can face that BLOOD in combat! I am indeed excited at that. When I repented newly, this was one of the first lessons that God taught me. He made me to know that the blood of Jesus Christ is a shield to believers and that no agent of Satan or demon can withstand it. I was in a trance that particular day and I suddenly saw two agents of darkness come into the room I was staying. And immediately the doors and windows of the room were sealed up. Each of these demonic beings held each of my hands. They said that they were sent from the dark kingdom to arrest me. And immediately, I shouted the blood of Jesus! And do you know what happened? Their hands were forcefully removed from mine and a force began to lift me off the room. Конец ознакомительного фрагмента. Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес». Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию (https://www.litres.ru/pages/biblio_book/?art=57159456&lfrom=688855901) на ЛитРес. Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.