By Francis Frangipane
A number of years ago, during a time of spiritual weariness and uphill battle, the Holy Spirit gave me a unique anointing to wage warfare. This special endowment of grace came through a dream, which began with me lying down in a house, resting. Suddenly, members of our church entered the home and told me that our enemies were returning and I was needed to engage this demonic horde in battle. I remember lamenting, "Why am I always picked to do battle?" Tired and weary, I stepped outside. On top of a distant ridge, sitting on horses, I could see rows of enemy warriors. Someone near handed me a bow and arrows, but my aim wavered and, due to the distance, my arrows all fell short. The depression upon me deepened as I could hear the mockery of the enemy warriors, scorning my attempt to hurt them.
Then, suddenly, the heavens opened and an outstretched arm handed me a shining, gold colored bow. Immediately, as I grasped it, the word of the Lord, as it might have come to David himself, rose within me and I proclaimed, "By my God I can bend a bow of bronze!" (Psalms 18:34 NAS). Instantly, divine energy flooded my arms, while confidence and courage filled my spirit. I was as radiant and strong as my weapon. I nocked an arrow onto the bowstring, aimed and fired toward the enemy. This time my arrows had distance, penetration and accuracy, and the enemy was routed.
That was the dream. But the Holy Spirit was set on confirming His word to me. Early the next morning, Saturday, I drove to the church to do some work. At that time, our mail came to a post office box and we rarely received personal letters at the church building. However, a letter was waiting in the mailbox. It was sent by a visitor who, after attending our evening service the previous week, felt compelled to send a prophetic witness. After a few words of greetings and encouragement, she wrote that the Lord gave her the following Scripture for me:
"For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God, the God who girds me with strength, and makes my way blameless? He makes my feet like hinds' feet, and sets me upon my high places. He trains my hands for battle, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze" (Ps 18:31-34).
Again, but this time fully awake, I felt the anointing of God's strength pour, like oil, upon my head and down through my body. There were other confirming witnesses as well, such as the preacher who visited our church that night. Quoting Elisha's word to King Joash, he spoke on "the Lord's arrow of victory" (2 Ki 13:17).
It was one of those God weekends that launched a new level of spiritual warfare. From that time on, the Holy Spirit began to reveal the works of the Jezebel spirit and the accuser of the brethren. I could discern many other spirits as well, as the Holy Spirit gave me grace. I don't mean to say that I never failed again. No, I had failings. However, I gained an anointing in revelation discernment. I also found a new confidence in spiritual authority over the demonic realm. But the key was, the Holy Spirit anointed me for battle. He "trained my hands" and gave me supernatural weapons with which to wage war. Beforehand, I could give you a fairly accurate theological explanation to define spiritual warfare; afterward, I had an anointing to wage warfare.
Within the next 24 months I wrote my second book, The Three Battlegrounds, which was a compilation of truths the Lord revealed about warfare and discernment.
He Trains Our Hands
In the above verse from Psalm 18, David reveals stages of spiritual development concerning war. We must fight in the strength of the Lord; we must also allow God to make our way blameless. We must not run ahead of God; rather, as the rear feet of the deer step into the exact place of the front feet, so we must learn to place our feet in the exact steps of the Lord, especially when He sets us "upon . . . high places." In that context, the Lord trains our hands for battle and gives us supernatural weapons against the enemy.
Indeed, one of the main sources of weariness in the church is that people do not know how to discern and then defeat their enemies. Instead of praying for victory, we settle for temporary relief. We pray that God will make the devil leave us alone, when the Lord is telling us to pursue our enemies and scatter them like dust. I fully believe in prayer and that we should be devoted to prayer, but there are other times when God commands us to turn and, in the name of Jesus Christ, take authority over the devil.
God calls us to be prayer warriors, not prayer worriers. One of the main reasons we began our online school, In Christ's Image Training (ICIT), is to impart this very anointing for warfare to others. Just as the Spirit of God trains, then anoints with power and appropriate spiritual gifts, so ICIT has been raised up, in part, to train the church and empower God's people to stand in the day of battle. Exercising spiritual authority over the enemy (and sickness as well) is part of the arsenal given us by the Almighty. The devil would like to take this world and spin it completely out of orbit, thrusting it into terrible darkness and chaos; we must resist him and use our authority to bind and cancel the demonic advances of the enemy into our world.
The Holy Spirit is our bow and our prayers are God's arrows. But we must pray with vision, courage and confidence, and with equal confidence take authority when the Lord calls us to stand against the enemy. The sad fact is, many Christians have been so conditioned by defeat they are fearful to exercise spiritual authority. They look at people moving in anointed spiritual authority over the devil as though there were something sinful or doctrinally wrong with Christians moving in Christ's authority.
Having confidence is not a sin.
Exercising your faith is not presumption.
Standing on God's promise when others flee is not foolish.
You might argue, "God hasn't called me to face principalities and powers." Fine, but I'm not talking about challenging world rulers of darkness. How about confronting that little demon of lust that keeps you shamed and condemned? Let's not start attacking the devil himself, just that spirit of fear that keeps whispering unbelieving thoughts into your mind. You see, for God's kingdom to advance, we must not only pray, but move in the authority of the King.
"Your arrows are sharp; the peoples fall under you; your arrows are in the heart of the King's enemies" (Ps 45:5).
God has given us sharp arrows that, under the Spirit's anointing, plunge deep into the heart of the Lord's spiritual enemies. You say, "But I have failed. I've suffered some very serious setbacks." So you lost a round or two. Is the whole fight over? Is that a white flag I see in your hand? Have you conceded?
Another responds, "I don"t feel comfortable confronting evil. I just want to hide in God as His worshiper." No one is saying don't hide. No one is urging you to run into the night and throw hatchets at the moon. But if you are being harassed even after you tried to hide in God, maybe the Lord Himself is bumping you out of the nest to turn and face your spiritual foes.
Sure the Lord can squish the devil, and can do so in a heartbeat. But perhaps it pleases Him more to "crush Satan under your feet" (Rom. 16:20).
I'm not saying, let's all focus on the devil, but let's focus on the anointing God has given us to stand against the schemes of the wicked one. Let's reintegrate divine authority into our prayer and spiritual warfare, taking up the "full armor of God," which includes the most power weapon in the universe: "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph. 6). You see, the weapons of our warfare are mighty to the tearing down of Satan's strongholds!
If you are in need of a fresh anointing, let me present two important coming events. First, our In Christ's Image Training online school begins soon. If you have been considering this, stop procrastinating and get onboard. The foundations we present are unique spiritual realities, each of which the Lord has provided us before we can persevere against the enemy. (Remember: before David picked up his bow of bronze, he secured himself in the Lord. God became his stronghold, his refuge and high tower.) The 44 teaching text messages we present in Level I (plus 39 audio messages) are those principle truths that have enabled me to stand against the demonic storms of life, and even advance and take ground from the enemy. All I can say is the things we present are effective and have come from an anointing from God to help equip His people. At the core of Level I training are four foundational values: pursuit of Christlikeness, humility, prayer and unity.
The second upcoming event is our on-site training which takes place in July at River of Life in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This three-day seminar is restricted to our students. If you are a student of In Christ's Image Training, I am compelled to tell you that the Lord is planning to release a significant level of anointing during these days. These will be significant times of training and release, and I urge you to do all that is within your power to attend or at least purchase the audio series afterward.
No one will be refused registration to either event due to lack of funds. This is not about making money, but equipping God's people to stand in the day of battle.
Let's pray:
Lord, You have not only called us to war for ourselves and our loved ones, but You have given us weapons that are mighty. Father, for everyone who has become spiritually timid or actually intimidated by the enemy, I bring them before You right now. I ask that You stir them from their fears and anoint them for this day of battle. Grant us all grace, blessed King, to bend a bow of bronze. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Please Note: If you are in need of financial assistance for either our Level I training or our July on-site seminar, please contact our school administrator at training@inchristsimage.org.
Visit our website for more information about In Christ's Image Training: www.icitc.org.
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