July 7, 2023

Building Walls of Protection

There are different types of prayer: priestly prayer (petitions), kingly prayer (declarations and decrees), the prayer of agreement, travailing prayer, intercessory prayer, and other descriptive terms we could mention. Although in the thinking of many, the word intercession has come to be synonymous with prayer, it is actually just a descriptive term describing one of these various facets. The Hebrew word for intercession, paga, has several shades of meaning, all of which can be accomplished through prayer. One of these meanings is the marking of "boundaries" or "borders,” the point at which two territories meet or connect. Paga is used repeatedly this way in Joshua 19, describing the boundaries of the tribes of Israel.

Placing this definition into the context of prayer, paga is establishing boundaries or walls of protection. It is the posting of “No Trespassing" signs in the spiritual realm, and the placing of that which belongs to us under the protection of the Most High.

I love Psalm 91:1-4 from THE MESSAGE:

“You who sit down in the High God's presence, spend the night in Shaddai's shadow, say this: ‘God, you're my refuge. I trust in you, and I'm safe!’ That's right - He rescues you from hidden traps, shields you from deadly hazards. His huge outstretched arms protect you under them; you're perfectly safe; his arms fend off all harm.”

In their book, Living and Praying in Jesus’ Name, Dick Eastman and Jack Hayford, recount the following story:

“A missionary, determined to take the gospel to an interior region of China, experienced the sovereign protection of God. Ruthless bandits along the road had prevented this area from being reached. However, this young missionary went, preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ. He later returned to the base without having seen any bandits. Shortly thereafter, other missionaries heard a rumor circulating throughout the area: the bandits had not attacked because an entourage of eleven soldiers had traveled with him. As he had actually traveled alone, the missionaries concluded angels must have protected him; but why eleven?

“The missionary wrote about this experience to his home church in the United States. His pastor asked when this had happened. Upon receiving this information, the pastor excitedly communicated his part of the story. The pastor had been prompted by God to call a special prayer meeting for this missionary. When the date of the prayer meeting arrived, the pastor was disappointed at the poor turnout. That changed, however, after he received the missionary's amazing report. The pastor was thrilled to tell him, "You'll be pleased to know that, counting myself, there were exactly eleven of us who were praying for you that very day."(1)

Those 11 faithful intercessors became a wall, a perimeter of protection, around this missionary through their prayers of intercession, causing Psalm 91 and Proverbs 18:10 to become realities. God wants us, also, to believe in the power of the name of Jesus and use it to build walls of protection.

Isaiah 26:1 and 60:18 speak of God's protection as walls:

"In that day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah: ‘We have a strong city; He sets up walls and ramparts for security.’"

"Violence will not be heard again in your land, nor devastation or destruction within your borders; but you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise."

In his book Prayer That Moves Mountains, Gordon Lindsay tells a remarkable story similar to the one about the missionary to China. It is a remarkable picture of building protective walls and boundaries through prayer:

“Unknown to a Christian Armenian, bandits followed his caravan as he transported merchandise across the desert to a town in Turkish Armenia. The bandits waited until after dark to attack, but upon approaching the caravan, they were astonished to see high walls surrounding it. The same scenario happened on the following night, with high walls again protecting the caravan. On the third night, however, the walls were broken in places, allowing the bandits access to the merchant. Frightened by the mystery of the walls, the leader of the bandits offered to spare the merchant and his caravan if he would just share the secret of the walls with him. Having no knowledge of the walls, the merchant replied that all he knew was that each evening he prayed, committing himself and those with him to God, but that on this particular evening, he had not prayed as usual, due to his tiredness, and that probably accounted for the breaks in the wall. This testimony so amazed the bandits that they gave their lives to Christ.”(2)

Many would find this story unbelievable. Yet why should it surprise us? God simply allowed people to see what was actually there in the spirit realm: walls of protection. Zechariah 2:5 calls them walls of fire: "’For I,’ declares the Lord, 'will be a wall of fire around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”

As we paint the boundaries of our states and nation, we are “marking” our territories, staking claims, and posting “No Trespassing” signs in the spirit. We are telling satan and his kingdom: “This land belongs to the Lord. He has given us stewardship of it, and we will not allow you to steal it.”

Even as a shaking comes - to tear down evil authority structures, cleanse our nation and turn it back to God - we will protect it, as instructed. The shaking will neither destroy nor define us. Covenant will define us. “Under God” will define us. The Gospel of Jesus Christ will define us. “Evangelist to the World” will define us.

We confidently declare that righteousness will prevail, mercy will triumph, and destiny will endure.

Pray with me:

Father, we are painting our borders blood red, sealing them with the finest of oils. Though the encroacher, the trespasser and thief, has attempted to steal our inheritance, he shall fail here just as he did in heaven. His defeat is sure, having been accomplished by Christ, whose blood we now apply through prayers of obedience.

Whatever the shaking may be, we know that mercy will endure and triumph over the reaping America experiences. We will emerge stronger, wiser, purer, more humble, and ready for another phase of destiny, another season of harvest. Baal’s hold is weakening, the light of exposure is disinfecting his putrid decay, and revealing to America the folly of our sins. We know You are about to finish what You’ve started.

So we will keep painting, keep sealing. We will keep announcing that truth will prevail, Your plans will succeed, and America shall be saved. We will continue to prepare for harvest, here and around the world. Our appeals will not diminish, our faith will not waver, and our God will not fail. In Yeshua’s name we pray. Amen

Our decree:

We decree that we, the Ekklesia, will serve the purpose of God in our generation. (Acts 13:36)

Portions of today’s post were taken from my book The Essential Guide to Prayer, How to Pray with Power and Effectiveness (published by Baker Books).

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

________________________

1. Dick Eastman and Jack Hayford, Living and Praying in Jesus’ Name (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 1988), pp. 13-14.

2. Gordon Lindsay, Prayer That Moves Mountains (Dallas, TX: Christ For the Nations, revised 1994), p. 39.