It is Time to Break Free From Your Prison

How many of us feel that we have been stuck in a prison for our whole lives? Everything you try fails, and for example, even though you deserve a promotion, you are skipped time after time after time.

Look at David, and you see a man enjoying an ordinary life as a shepherd boy. He would have grown up and perhaps not enjoyed the best life, but he would have lived, and no one would have known anything about him. So, why would God choose this nobody? Because he was a man who would not stop pursuing the Lord. Despite all his mistakes, the wealth he had acquired, and all the power he had, he never stopped pursuing the Lord. Compare him to Solomon. We must pay a price for a heart that belongs to the Lord. What separates every faith hero is not their skills, but the price they paid in deliberately pursuing the Lord.

I know some are now saying, It is by grace through faith, and it is.  But the Word tells us to draw nigh unto Him. In fact, there are many statements Christ Himself made, showing that we must pay a price. Are you willing to separate from the crowd and seek the Lord?

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Matthew 7: 24, 14

Please note that even the gate or entrance is narrow and unappealing. But the other road which will lead to destruction is wide. The majority go by the wide road, but the few who dare to enter and press through the narrow road, find life. 

“A Maschil (contemplation) of David A prayer when he was in the cave. I cry out to the Lord with my voice; with my voice to the Lord I make my supplication. I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare before Him my trouble.”

Psalm 142: 1, 2

We are given access to David’s heart and mind, and when he is in the midst of a severe trial, we can see what he did first on the inside. Remember that after David received the call, his life became hell. It was a constant fight.

We all want times of peace, but we should always walk as if we were in a time of war because we are in one. What is one of the most paralyzing things that can cause you to derail or lose the victory?

Well, when a trial comes, our emotions respond. We find deep areas of the heart violated, and often, trust is lost. We want a sense of justice. What we are going through is not fair, and in our minds, we need to talk to others to gain support. Why?

Well, David said…

“Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low; deliver me from my prosecutors, for they are stronger that I.”

Psalm 142: 6

We face an enemy or situation that is stronger and greater than us. As a result, we fear the consequences and the damage that they can bring. So, if I get people on my side, then I will feel stronger. We often don’t know what to do or how to respond and get justice.

Go back to David. How did David walk as a man after God’s heart? He cried out to the Lord and brought the situation before the Lord. He poured out his complaint. The first person we must learn to run to is the Lord and pour out before Him. Then let Him speak into your life. He may say things you don’t want to hear, but His Words are life.

“Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Your Name; The righteous shall surround, for You shall deal bountifully with me.”

Psalm 142: 7

When we are under attack, we pull back and want to hide. We want to protect ourselves, so we fall back into our little world. We focus on ourselves to defend ourselves. But the Lord wants us to entrust ourselves to Him and begin focusing on others. As I said, people may say, “Peace, peace!” But we are to always be at war. Until Jesus comes, we are at war. Now, you may go through different seasons and intensities of war, but we are always at war.

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”

Matthew 5: 44

We all want the easy way, but we are called to go the narrow road. When it comes to praying for these people who have hurt and injured you, this is not a five-minute prayer. This is power-packed intercession. It is to be motivated by love. If you truly forgive them, then they are perfect targets for you to storm Heaven on their behalf. Give the devil a heart attack by praying with deep intercession for these people who have treated you wrong. This will help break that cycle of hurt and feeling irrelevant. It doesn’t matter how powerful a voice you have on the earth; it is the power and impact of your voice in Heaven.

But what if a believer hurt you?

“We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, ‘The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.”

Romans 15: 1-3

The Greek word for “scruples” is “asthenema,” meaning infirmities or errors arising from the weakness of the mind. Paul, as usual, points us to the example found in Christ. He bore the reproaches of those who reproached Him. I was praying the other day and the Lord said, “You have not prayed for someone who persecuted you until you are broken for them. You pray must be out of love and as such love demands that you are broken for those who persecute you.”

Jesus was persecuted, tortured, and humiliated, and despite it all being unjust, He was interceding in brokenness for these very people. The deaths we die produce life. The narrow demands such deaths, because we no longer live to please ourselves but others.