- Overcomer Literature Trust
- Swindon
- Wiltshire
THE LORD GOD OMNIPOTENT REIGNS
By Miss M Wanzer.
“The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble; He sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake” (Ps. 99 v1). “For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet” (1 Cor. 15 v25).
“At present we do not see everything subject to Him. But we see JESUS . . . ” (Heb.2 v8-9). He is the focal point of our vision, as we look out upon the world, with its accumulation of apparently impossible situations in almost every land. Let not the children of God yield to the spirit of depression that fills the atmosphere of the world, but let them look up, for their redemption draws near. The Word of God has told us beforehand that all these things must come to pass at the end of the age. God looks down upon the earth that He made and sees more, far more, than our finite vision can grasp of the on-rushing tide of apostacy upon the professing church, the slackness and feeble witness of many who are truly His, and the awful chaos of the nations. He sees Satan’s attempts, where he cannot destroy, to dilute and adulterate the gospel until it is no longer the Gospel. More than that, He sees that still more subtle ruling of Satan in the world of which he has usurped the headship, the exalting of man as man, the glorification of fallen Adam, and the preaching of salvation without God.
But God’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save. His own are in His special care and keeping while He allows Satan’s rule of the earth to run its final course of disaster, that the whole universe may see that God is omnipotent, and does reign. The whole course of the ages is culminating in this manifested failure of the Usurper to rule the world without God. From the first promise of the Seed which should “bruise the Serpent’s head”, God has been reigning in His omnipotence far above the sphere occupied by the “principalities and powers”, the “rulers of the darkness of this world”, and “He shall reign for ever and ever”. “Jehovah is King ... be the earth never so unquiet”.
And, marvellous provision of His grace, God is in this age proving Himself more than a match for the Devil by means of a creation “a little lower than the angels”. Satan is to be humiliated by man, by the Spirit of God in man. God Himself dwelling, by the Spirit of His Son, in the inmost spirit of His redeemed ones, makes them “more than conquerors”, even while they walk in the territory at present occupied by the Usurper Prince.
Prayer warfare simply means holding unceasingly the power of the finished work of Christ over the hosts of evil. The prayer warrior holds up steadfastly the victory of Calvary, the finished victory of Christ over Satan, until the forces of evil retreat and are vanquished.
Shall we not, as an united force to whom God has unveiled something of this mighty victory, wield the Sword of the Spirit against these evil forces, not in a spirit of fear and depression, but in the light of the unbreakable Word of our God given above, asserting before men and angels that assured fact that “the Lord reigns” and that “He must reign” until all His enemies are under His feet. Those who thus stand on the Lord’s side will find themselves on the winning side in that day, though here they may often appear to be on the losing side, as they follow the Lamb in the path He has marked out for them. Did any victory ever look more like defeat than Calvary?
Do not be discouraged if you see no results. Your prayers are binding the powers of darkness in the unseen realm. The Holy Spirit in the church is restraining, holding back, the onrush of evil, until the Holy Spirit and His temple, “and you are that temple” (1 Cor. 3 v17), together are removed from this earth. There is war in the heavens even now, for the casting down of Satan and his hosts, and the prayers of the saints are having effect against the massed hosts of principalities and powers in the heavenlies. Vital work is being done by the prayers of those who pray in union with Christ and by His Spirit, as they stand, in the Victor, against the foe. Days may be coming when we shall see less and less result on earth of our praying, days when all that the church of God can do will be to stand, stand in spirit against the forces of evil, stand for the will of God to be done at all costs.
If it were not for the prayers of the saints on earth, the lawlessness would know no bounds, but while they are on the earth they are the salt of the earth and lights in the world. Therefore as we look over the world and see the convulsions of nature, the chaos of nations and the apostasy of the professing churches, and even the subtle ways in which many true believers are being side-tracked from the simplicity that is in Christ Jesus, let us lift up our heads and shout ‘He is Victor, Satan is a defeated foe.’ Every prayer initiated by the Holy Spirit will be answered, even though it may not appear that they make any material difference. In the unseen realm they are being added to the censer of the prayers of the saints of all ages before the Throne, the Heavenly Intercessor offers them to God in His own all-prevailing Name, and they are aiding in the consummation of the purposes of God for this age.