Just Breathe
Proverbs 28:1 The wicked run away when no one is chasing them, but the Godly ARE as bold as lions.
Today's verse describes us as "bold lions." However, there is one who PRETENDS to be just as strong, just as bold, just as mighty...that one is the devil.
In 1 Peter 5:8, we are advised to always stay alert, watching out for our great enemy, the devil. The scripture goes on to say, "He prowls around LIKE a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour."
You see, he prowls around "LIKE" a roaring lion, but he can only overcome us if we lose focus and fall for his tactics. When considering the word devour, I imagine a horrific scene.
However, lions devour their enemies through suffocation. They clamp their jaws around the prey's throat, pressing its windpipe closed so that it cannot draw breath.
When most think of the enemy trying to devour another, they too think of the worst possible occurrences. However, the prowling enemy realizes that all he has to do to devour a believer is to take their BREATH away. He often does this through the distractions of life. That's why 1 Peter warns us to always stay alert.
Genesis 2:7 describes the BREATH of God that is in us, "Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man's nostrils, and the man became a living person."
However, not only did our bodies come alive by the breath of God, it is also the breath of God that awakens our souls and empowers our spirits. Acts 4:31 says, "And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy SPIRIT and continued to speak the word of God with BOLDNESS."
The Greek definition for the word "Spirit" is wind or breath. The Holy Spirit is God's breath inside of us. It is that breath that causes us to have the boldness of a lion.
My challenge to you today is to realize who you are as a believer. Satan may try to act "like" a lion, but you are the one that God has empowered to do great things. Stay alert, and never let the enemy steal the breath of God inside of you by wearing you out with "busyness" and distractions. Fill your lungs with His presence, His power, His ability to overcome anything. Breathe in His Word and exhale prayer and praise to Him.
Dear Lord, Breathe into my life. I need You more than ever. Fill my lungs with Your Spirit. Thank You Holy Spirit for the boldness I have in You.
I thank You, my Jesus, for dying for me. I believe that You are Lord and that God raised You from the grave so that I can have eternal life.
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*If you are physically having lung or breathing issues, I invite you to pray this prayer this morning:
God, You breathed in me to create me. Without Your breath, I would not be alive. I ask You again to fill my lungs with Your divine breath. Holy Spirit, I invite You to work in my life and to live inside of me. Breathe LIFE into my situation.
Now, I want you to take seven deep breaths. Seven is the number of perfection and completion. As you take these breaths, know that we are praying for a complete healing in your body.
As many know, when my son was born, his lungs collapsed. Doctors said it was up to him - a baby - to survive. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that The One Who breathed life into my baby to create Him, breathed in him again to heal him. Even when your medical report says that your situation is hopeless, remember, THE One Who breathed in YOU to create You will sustain You.
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There are two Michaels that I personally know and love who are battling lung issues - one is my beloved uncle and one is a precious pastor and overseer of our church. I know that they are not the only ones with lung challenges. The Lord impressed strongly upon my heart to write this today, and I am believing for divine miracles in their lives as well as others.
