Publisher's Synopsis
"And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone" Matthew 14:22-23.The battles that define your identity are always personal even in the midst of a corporate attack and they are battles of thoughts and words. That's why is very difficult for you to give a flaky counsel when somebody is in battle.When the Bible says "be strong" it is not talking of muscles. God makes you strong before allowing you to step into certain situations. Battles are part of life. battles stand between us and the next level of our lives, either corporate or personal because in the story as read in Matthew 14:22-23, it was after Jesus Christ said this that he met the mad man of Gedarene and the ministry of Jesus exploded into a wider region but before that explosion, there was a battle waiting for them, both corporate for the apostles and individual for Peter. It is strong men that come out of battles better, weak men come out wounded.Don't allow yourself to be knocked externally; you must develop internal strength from the word of God. Fill yourself with right thoughts and the word of God because the Bible says "My thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are not your ways" Isaiah 55:8.The words of God are expression of the thoughts of God that He put in words. When you fill yourself with it, you are fortifying your mind with the thoughts of God before the battles of life come. In verse 25 says, "And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. Now, what is the fourth watch of the night? The fourth watch is between the hours or 3-5:30 am.When you are in the midst of spiritual warfare, take heed. I did a series on the watches of the night for God's people: the watch 12am to 3am is like the demonic time in the night when the devil hovers around to pick against people. At this junction, I encourage people to engage in warfare prayers at that time (between 6am - 5:30am). This time frame is always a time for communication. Take some upon heaven for your eternal glory, then go to sleep and dream. Sleep is a divine gift; it is not the devil's gift, so you must not struggle in it for any reason. When you are in the season of warfare, don't waste your night for any reason.When the nights are well handled, keys to the kingdom will be given to you for enjoyment. Jesus Christ said in the book of Matthew chapter 16:19, "I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of heaven". The combination of the keys to the kingdom was given to Esther the Jew who was a house maid to her uncle Mordecai. "And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti" Esther 2:17.
