Dear People Who Keep Company with God,
I believe the Lord has opened a window of heaven over us. In the Bible windows of heaven speak of supernatural blessings and can be permanent or temporary (see Gen. 8:2, 2 Kings 7:19 and Malachi 3:10). I do not know if this particular window is permanent or temporary, but I do know it is an opportunity for us to receive more of the Father’s blessings in this time. One thing I have learned by experience is that God expects us take responsibility with Him when He determines to release supernatural blessings to us otherwise we will not receive the full benefit that is available. This is clearly illustrated in the life of Joash.
When Elisha became sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash the king of Israel came down to him and wept over him and said, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” 15 Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. 16 Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” And he put his hand on it, then Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands. 17 He said, “Open the window toward the east,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” And he shot. And he said, “The LORD’S arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory over Aram; for you will defeat the Arameans at Aphek until you have destroyed them.” 18 Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground,” and he struck it three times and stopped. 19 So the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Aram until you would have destroyed it. But now you shall strike Aram only three times.” 2 Kings 13:14-19
Elisha told Joash to “take a bow and arrows” and then he said, “put your hand on the bow”. In telling Joash to put his hand on the bow which he was already holding, Elisha was telling Joash to not simply hold the presence and power of the Holy Spirit represented by the bow and the personal promises of God represented by the arrows in his hand, but to use what he had been given. Elisha then placed his hand upon Joash’s hand. I believe this speaks of the hand of God coming upon our lives as He sees us taking responsibility for what He has given us. As we take the arrows and allow the Holy Spirit to stretch us, then the personal promises of God over our lives can be released with great power resulting in victory and freedom.
In the Hebrew Aram means high place, one who deceives and curses. Aphek means fortress. So I believe a window is opened for victory over high level strongholds, deception and curses of the enemy in our lives and in the lives of those we love.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses . 5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Paul told Timothy to fight with the prophetic words given to him (1 Tim. 1:18). We must apply the prophetic word or as Elisha said, “strike the ground”, until we completely destroy the enemy’s strongholds and curses. So many times, like Joash, we lack both the diligence and stamina to obtain the full promises of God. We must remember that it is through faith and patience that we inherit the promises of God (Heb. 6:12).
Several years ago I was given a prophetic word that God would heal minds and vision through the ministry He called me into. We have seen some breakthroughs in this area. One evening we prayed for three individuals who were seriously contemplating suicide. By the grace of God, the spirit of suicide was broken off all three of those people and they are alive and serving God today. I am thankful for this and other such testimonies, however I believe the Lord desires to do more. I am contending to see schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, learning disabilities, other mental disorders, brain tumors, lying spirits and demonic curses completely broken off our lives this year.
I pray we all will stir up the gift of God in us this year.
Many Blessings, BW