Covering To Pray

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First let us establish who our enemies are. Ephesians 6:12 gives us the answer.

So our enemy is not people, it is no part of creation on this earth. Our battle is with the forces of evil that have possessed this planet taken from Adam and Eve. To be a warrior for the Lord we must have on protection from these evil powers of darkness.

All covering ultimately comes from God. Your armor for instance, that protects you from the dark side of the invisible realm, was prepared through God and is distributed to humanity as they request it. In other words, it's available to all God's family, they can choose to use it or not. In Ephesians 6:11 Paul advises us to put this armor on though, so we can stand against the enemy.

We need the armor covering us to successfully assault the demonic forces of hell through the battle ground of prayer, to teach, preach and promote the Kingdom. We must aggressively hold these forces back for the Kingdom to advance and birth the day of the church triumphant.

God protects and covers the individual families that make up the universal household of God through the husband as head of the home. His authority against the enemy flows through the father allowing him to stand between the powers of darkness and his wife and children. If the family is to do anything of importance to assist in the Lord's work, without this covering all would be exposed and vulnerable to Satanic attack.

Notice, Savior of the body. This is God's appointment of men to accept the responsibility as head of the household to guard and protect the wife from the powers of darkness. If we look back in history to Genesis 6 we will find vulnerable women attacked by angels that rebelliously left heaven with the intent to marry the daughters of man. The covering could not have been there or this event would not have happened and there would have been no need for the flood.

Notice, all they chose. They were not covered. Let us read on in verses five through seven.

Noah, a righteous man, found grace in the eyes of the Lord however and as head of his household, he and his wife, their three sons and their wives, were protected through the destruction. Eight people were saved from one man's obedience. We read nowhere that Noah's wife or his daughters in law were molested by the fallen angels either. They were covered by the head of the family and must have been submissive to his leadership to have been saved through the flood. The rest of humanity perished. What I'm trying to point out is, God guards, protects and leads to safety through the husband and wives must be submissive to this fact to be covered by them. A wife does not want to do things of a supernatural nature independent of her husband.

It is also the responsibility of the father to see to the spiritual condition of his family. He must make sure that they have every opportunity to be all they can be for the Lord, and fight the enemy on their behalf that would try to stop them, through prayer. The individual family roles are intended to be a perfect picture of the church and Christ.

So wives must see and submit to the role God has placed on their husbands thus allowing them to operate according to the word on their behalf.

It is the same situation with the church. God chooses leadership. He does not see gender as in the home. He just uses vessels, male or female does not matter as it is Him, the Father, the greater Husband, through them. Here again, His wife, His Bride, must see Him through these vessels or they will not be protected and covered. Here is a fact. Women uncovered will experience devastation and defeat if the enemy so chooses. This is why God says in the Word that the widows and orphans are to be taken under the wing of the church. They must see it and want this covering however to receive its protection. They will experience much more warfare than if they were under the umbrella of God, especially the covering that comes through the fivefold offices. Exodus chapter fourteen verses thirteen through sixteen is a good example of God working through leadership.

If Israel had been disobedient and ignored Moses as their leader, the outcome of this disastrous situation would have been much different! Another example of God being with His leaders is found in the account of the prophetess Deborah, who ruled Israel for forty years. Let us read

Barak knew God would be with Deborah. She was His chosen leader. Now let us read a little of the victory song sung after the battle.

In closing, Barak was not weak. He was the commander of the armies of Israel. In fact, he is mentioned in Hebrews 11:32 as a man of faith. He had faith in God's leadership.

Next week's blast will discuss the universal covering of God's Fivefold Ministers to guard and protect God's flock from the unseen powers of darkness.