[Please join me in praying for children and our future on Thursdays this year.]
“Come, my children, and listen to me,
and I will teach you to fear the Lord.
Does anyone want to live a life
that is long and prosperous?
Then keep your tongue from speaking evil
and your lips from telling lies!
Turn away from evil and do good.
Search for peace, and work to maintain it.”
(Psalm 34:11-14 NLT)
Change the Atmosphere by Cheryl Sacks
“Every household, workplace, neighborhood, and even nation has a unique spiritual atmosphere or prevalent climate. I am sure you have felt it. You walk into a store or someone’s home and immediately feel something difficult to explain, whether it is peace and joy, or a prevailing darkness and heaviness.
“We may feel powerless to change negative atmospheres and start thinking, ‘that’s just the way things are!’ But that’s simply not true. Storms can be calmed instantly, as we saw when Jesus rebuked a storm at sea (Matthew 8:23-27). It’s true of spiritual climates as well.
“I remember when I was teaching in a large public high school in Texas riddled with drugs, gangs, depression, and sometimes violence. It was a teacher’s nightmare! In one of my classes, the students’ absenteeism was higher than their grade average. The students who were in class would put their heads on their desks and sleep almost the entire class time. I was still new to teaching and didn’t know what to do. My college professors hadn’t mentioned that teaching would be like this, much less told us what to do about it.
“Since I had no other training, my Bible became my manual. I prayer-walked the halls and the four-block perimeter of my school. I took authority over the oppressive atmosphere there and invited Holy Spirit to come in. I anointed the doorway of my classroom and prayed over the desk of every student. Then I gathered the other English teachers who I knew were Christians to pray with me during the lunch break.
“I soon discovered in the back of the English department’s book room a classroom set of the book, The Cross and the Switchblade by Nicky Cruz. Nicky had been the leader of the notorious gang, the Maus Maus, in New York City. The book tells his life story and his conversion to Christ after meeting the preacher, David Wilkerson. Don’t ask me how these Christian books ended up in the book room of a public high school. All I know is that the Lord put them there for me.
“I started teaching the book, ‘as literature,’ of course, and I saw an immediate change in the spiritual atmosphere in my classes. Students were interested and motivated, and there was an evident spiritual hunger. Just before the end of the school year, I had the thought that I should invite Nicky Cruz to come and speak to the students in our high school assembly. When I mentioned the idea to the school principal, he said, ‘NO way! We can’t have a preacher preaching in our high school.’ The school superintendent agreed it was not a good idea and that it was not going to happen. At first, Nicky Cruz himself said he couldn’t come. But we prayed, and God miraculously opened the door.
“I will never forget the day Nicky Cruz stood on stage in our school auditorium and shared his life story with our 2,000 students. When Nicky explained how Jesus Christ died on the Cross for his sins and theirs, the room was filled with the palpable presence of God. As he shared how Jesus had changed his life and could change their lives, too, the student body, without any prompting, jumped to their feet and erupted in exuberant roaring applause. This went on for several minutes. Nicky wasn’t allowed to give an ‘altar call,’ but still, students streamed to the front of the auditorium to talk about God and ask for prayer. Revival broke out that day, and the entire atmosphere of my high school changed.
“Scripture tells us that we live in two realms—a physical realm and an invisible realm. Just because we cannot see the spiritual realm doesn’t mean it is any less real. It has the power to influence our lives —and the atmosphere in our homes, workplaces, and even our nation. A spiritual atmosphere has the power to shape our lives—to confuse or inspire, to affirm or reject, to make sad or happy, to restrict or empower.
“Since Jesus dealt with satan’s authority – the right to use his power and abilities against us (see Colossians 2:15) – then we need to deal with him as a usurper, a rebel, a thief that has no right to steal, kill and destroy, but who will if not stopped. If we have been delivered from satan’s authority and given a higher authority in Christ’s name, then we must exercise our authority over the devil’s works and power. When we do, God’s awesome power will back up our authority.
“Jesus put it this way: ‘Behold I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you’ (Luke 10:19 NKJV). This means that we don’t have to submit to our negative circumstances and environment; we can change our atmosphere by walking in our God-given dominion.”
Victorious God,
Thank You, Lord, that You did not leave us powerless, but, in fact, have given us spiritual weapons and authority to use them in Your powerful name. We thank You, Lord, that the works of darkness have no authority to oppress us or prevail against us. Instead, we and our household can walk in abundant life and victory because of Jesus’ birth, death on the cross, and resurrection from the grave!
And we continue to appeal to You for our youth and the schools of America. You have told us revival is coming to them. We believe this and release our faith and authority by saying what You say. America’s youth shall be saved through a sweeping revival. Scales will fall from their eyes, the veil will be lifted, and the light of the Gospel will be seen (2 Corinthians 4: 3-4). We release power into the schools now, and ask for millions of angels to work with us toward releasing this revival. Send Your presence, send Your power, send Your love.
We ask that the plans of evil leaders who want to turn our children toward darkness will fail. Break the influence of the wicked, take from them their voices, cause their strategies to unravel and fail. Arise, Lord, and scatter Your enemies. Remove from them their funds. Continue to expose evil in our government. You have and are exposing hypocrisy, arrogance, wicked ideologies, pride, lust for power, hatred for America, desires to divide us, and more. Continue to expose the wickedness and give us righteous leaders.
As believers in Jesus Christ and in His name, we decree that satan will not kill, steal, or destroy our children, our health, our schools, workplaces, or nation! We proclaim that we will live and work in an atmosphere of peace, joy, and righteousness in the Holy Spirit!
We pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.
“For the strength of the wicked will be shattered,
but the Lord takes care of the godly.” (Psalm 37:17 NLT)
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10 NKJV)
“Let God arise, Let His enemies be scattered; Let those also who hate Him flee before Him.” (Psalm 68:1 NKJV)
Story and prayer adapted from https://www.givehim15.com/post/march-13-2023