STRIKE THE GROUND

Have you ever prayed over a situation that looks outwardly impossible, and no matter how much you pray it continues to visibly remain seemingly immovable? It appears that all hope is fading away and nothing is happening. 

God calls us to have a type of faith that defiantly resists impossibilities. A type of bold, offensive faith that stares down the laws of what physically may appear immovable and believe it can bow to His name.  

This is kind of faith that pleases God. Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

Look at some of the heroes of faith.

·     Abraham needed faith to seize the impossible promise of his child in his old age.

·     Noah needed faith to build the ark despite the ongoing echoes of mockery from those all around him.

·     David needed faith to take down the giant when all the rest of Israel were too afraid to confront him.

·     Daniel needed faith to continue worshiping God despite the threat of being thrown in the lions’ den.

·     Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego needed faith to trust God as they refused to bow down to the idol—their faith carried them into, and through, and even out of the fire.

Unfortunately, all too many give up in this process called “striking the ground.”

This is process of persistent, defiant prayer when all seems hopeless, impossible, and immovable.

Think with me for a moment … the term “battering ram” comes to mind. 

A quick Google search revealed its definition in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary: “a military siege engine consisting of a large wooden beam with a head of iron used in ancient times to beat down the walls of a besieged place.”

A BATTERING RAM 

If you’ve ever watched a war movie of any kind. It’s a large beam-like structure with a pointed head, generally made of iron, hinged upon a pendulum device and it is used by an invading army to break down a wall or door.  

The invading army will align their battering ram with the entrance of the fortified structure that they want to break into, and they will begin pulling back the beam which will swing forward with force into the target. They will repeat this until finally, the fortified door breaks down. 

It is amazing that the head of the battering ram is generally made out of iron.  

In Psalm 2:9 it speaks of Jesus wielding a rod of iron saying, “And you will shepherd them with unlimited authority, crushing their rebellion as an iron rod smashes jars of clay!” 

Did you catch that?

Iron biblically represents your authority in Christ. Jesus is the battering ram who breaks through the enemy’s rebellion.  

In Genesis 22:13, Abraham discovered a ram caught in the thicket and used the ram as a sacrifice in place of his son. The ram prophetically points to Jesus, the battering ram stuck in the thicket on our behalf. He has gone before you and made a way for you into your promised land.

You can know with confidence today that you are not stuck, for He was stuck for you. His blood has become that iron head of a weapon that will break down any obstacle and breach that stands between you and your promise.

The blood of Jesus has not lost any power today, but we must appropriate that power in His name and by His Blood!

The battering ram was modeled after a male sheep, a ram that is fighting his opponent for territory. The ram will hit his opponent repetitively until his contender either backs down or dies.  

You and I need to have that same resilience and steadfastness as the battering ram—to look at the door of impossibility and smash it over and over with Word of God.  

I believe we are the generation that was prophesied about in Psalm 24:6: “Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.” (ESV)

We are the generation that will see a mighty outpouring sweep across the earth, not because we are lying on our backs passively but because we are the likeness of Jesus, the battering ram of heaven, who does not back down.

We are the generation that refuses to give up and we are taking back territory that has long been in the enemy’s clutches.

An outpouring of His glory will come by way of our contending, not by our works but by our fevered passion to see our King glorified.

We need to look at the impossibilities that we face all around us and hold up our siege engine of promise and decree what He has spoken, striking it again and again until we see the Word smashes the impossibilities like a jar of clay.

KEEP STRIKING THE GROUND!

Rick J Lairsey

National Evangelist, Church of God (Cleveland, TN)

Founder, Flashpoint Ministries, Inc.