The Battlefield of the Mind: Give the Holy Spirit Authority
May 06, 2014
The last two weeks I’ve talked about the battlefield of the mind with part one, Feasting on God’s Word and and part two, Claiming and Praying God’s Promises. My hope and prayer for you is that you are starting to see more and more of the promises in God’s Word and that as you read them you are turning them into prayers. You will probably find yourself doing this more and more as you read your Bible. And as we become more “interactive” with God’s Word, our minds are transformed (Romans 12:2) and lies are replaced with truth.
The third part of this series is about giving the Holy Spirit authority in our lives. Romans 8:6 says the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. This is part of our submission to Jesus and allows Him to truly transform us as He has promised to do. Give the Holy Spirit authority over your mind, your heart, your will, your spirit, your soul and your body. And especially over your thoughts, your emotions and you feelings. I pray something like this almost every day:
Holy Spirit, today I give you complete authority over my mind, my heart, my body, my spirit, my soul, my will, my thoughts, my emotions and my feelings. Do whatever You need to replace all lies, inappropriate thoughts, and false emotions and feelings with God's truth.
Along with this, I claim the promises I have from Abba about my mind. That I have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16) and that I have a spirit of power, love and a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7 NKJV).
As you go about your day, take notice of thoughts or feelings not based in God's truth. If you’ve been studying your Bible, a verse will come to mind to counter. Or ask the Holy Spirit what the truth is to counter the lie.
For example, you're in your kitchen washing dishes and feel like you haven't done a great job with your kids that day. You begin tearing yourself up over what you didn't do and you feel like a failure. Maybe you’re thinking of a friend and her kids who all seem to be so much “better” at this than you are (that’s comparison and it’s deadly! Don’t go down this road!), or you thought you tried but maybe not hard enough since you didn’t meet your own expectations (could be perfectionism—are your expectations realistic and God-motivated?)
What are God's truths?
The is no condemnation in Christ. —Romans 8:1
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. —Phil 4:13
Because of the Lord ’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. —Lamentations 3:22-23
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. —Romans 8:38
As these Scriptures come to you, pray them, converse with God and speak them out loud:
Lord, that isn't You condemning me because Your Word says there is no condemnation in You. Therefore, I am not condemned. Thank you, Lord, that I am not consumed because Your compassion is greater and never fails. Every moment is a new opportunity to trust You more, because You are faithful to me. I can be the mom you are calling me to be through You, Jesus. You are my strength. I am never alone because You are always with me and nothing will separate me from Your love.
Do you see how this transformation process grows and builds? This is how our minds and emotions go from death to life, by the daily transformation of God's truths and promises found in His Word. If you are struggling in an area, find Scriptures that tell you the truth and read and pray them over and over again. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you remember them and soon the lies will be firmly replaced with God's truth that is constant and unchanging, unlike the world’s. You don’t eve have to know every word of 1 Cor. 2:16 to counter a negative thought with, “No, I have the mind of Christ.”
Whatever the truths that come to mind or that you find in God’s Word, speak them out loud to affirm yourself and to fight the enemy away. This is exactly what Jesus did in the wilderness against the enemy and what Paul calls the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17).
This is part of the role of the Holy Spirit as our Counselor, the one Jesus promised to give us . Then believe that He is at work in you to give you the desire and the power to do what pleases God. (Phil 2:13). Let that revelation sink in most of all—the Holy Spirit, part of the Trinity, is in you and He is working.
So…give Him authority to work!
Love you dearly!
Dineen