Galatians 6:2; Ephesians 6 - "Hold Me Jesus"

5AM..."Daughter, pray against the principalities of darkness these two are fighting against."
My response: "Lord, can't You just take away the temptation?"
His response: "Yes, I could but that is not where they will find eternal life. They must have the desire in their heart to fight. Neither of them have that fight."

As I prayed for these two and their addiction, I thought about how their families are being torn apart because of their weakness in their spirit. I prayed for them to have strength to stand up against the enemy. I also prayed for them to have strength to accept the Lord into their life. One has never done that. The other one knows the Lord and several times was willing to lay down the bottle for the Lord. I prayed for the Lord to encourage them and He stopped me. I prayed for Him to give them strength and He told me they had to want His strength. I prayed for the Lord to get them to the point where they hit bottom, so to speak. He told me that will be where they have to be in order to realize their addiction is greater than human man. I went back to the words He told me to "pray against the principalities of darkness..." That made me think of Ephesians 6 and the armor of God. As I started to pray the armor of God over these two the Lord reminded me they don't have that available to them until they accept Him as their Savior. It seemed like every which way I prayed there was a roadblock. He told me the enemy was standing between them and Him. It is not an impossible situation but I can't pray them to have peace until they know His peace. I can't make them get to the end of themselves. That is something only they can do.

In the past I would have prayed for the Lord's will and been done. I still pray for His will in every situation but He impressed upon me that I can't quit praying for either of these men. I must put on the full armor of God and be in battle for them until they get into the place where they understand the importance of it. I must put on the Belt of Truth; Breastplate of Righteousness; Helmet of Salvation; Shield of Faith; Sword of the Spirit; Feet of Peace; and last but not least be in Prayer for these two.

I looked up the meaning of principalities and this is what I found in the American Heritage Dictionary...

1. A territory ruled by a prince or from which a prince derives his title.

2. The position, authority, or jurisdiction of a prince; sovereignty. 

The enemy is living within these two. The Lord revealed to me these two are under attack by the enemy and I am to be their intercessor. He reminded me of the book of Daniel where Daniel fasted and prayed for twenty-one days because of a battle between the Lord and evil. He told me that I need to pray for them not to continue to give into the darkness but instead to allow Him to be their Light. 

Prayer and fasting are my weapons for this battle. I pray for strength in my physical body as I go through this time for these two lost souls. I also pray for strength in my spiritual body during this time. The Lord reminded me He is 'King of my Glory and my Prince of Peace.' It is because of my relationship with Him that I have been given this task. It is not my responsibility to save them. Only the Lord can do that. But my responsibility has been set before me to be their intercessor. He will empower me to stand against the enemy for them until they get to the point of realizing the need to allow Him to be their Savior. The enemy will deceive them yet the Lord will encourage them. They are blind to the ways the enemy gets them but unfortunately they are also blind to what the Lord can do for them.

God's will is not addiction. God's will is not torn apart families. God's will is for people to lean upon His strength. God's will is for everyone to get to the point of allowing Him to be 'King of My Glory and Prince of Peace.' God could speak it and the addiction in these two would be gone. But if it was just handed to them they would be more apt to go right back to it. They must find His strength. 

Dear Jesus,
What can I say other than, 'Wow!' You blow me away with some of the things You put before me to do. Lord, I feel inadequate at times to do as You ask. But I have on Your full armor and am ready for this battle for these two souls. I ask for Your strength to be my strength. I ask for more of You and less of me in order for me to stand up in this battle. Lord, fill me to overflowing with more of You. Father, bless the families of these two men. I pray Your peace will be their peace. I pray for Your protection to upon them. I pray for Your grace to be their grace. Lord, I am reminded of the words to "Hold Me Jesus" this morning. I pray for these two men to fall down upon their knees to You. I pray they will get to the end of themselves. Make the alcohol taste awful...make them so sick from the drinking that they don't ever want to see another bottle. Most importantly I pray they will know You are there for them and love them. Put people in their path today who will say or do something that will make them realize Your strength is available to them. Thank You Jesus for being 'King of My Glory and My Prince of Peace.' Amen.