THE WEAPONS OF THE WORD (Part 2 of Mary's side)

...If you abide in My word[hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them],you are truly My disciples.And you will know the Truth,and the Truth will set you free. John 8:31,32 Here Jesus tells us how we are to win the victory over the lies of Satan.We must get the knowledge of God's truth in us,renew our minds with His Word,then use the weapons of Corinthians 10:4,5 to tear down strongholds and every high and lofty thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. These "weapons" are the Word received through preaching, teaching,books,tapes,seminars and private Bible study. But we must "abide"(continue)in the Word until it becomes revelation given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.Continuing is important.In Mark 4:24 Jesus says,...The measure [of thought and study]you give [to the truth you hear] will be the measure [of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you....I repeat,we must continue using the weapon of the Word. Two other spiritual weapons available to us are praise and prayer.Praise defeats the devil quicker than any other battle plan,but it must be genuine heart praise,not just lip service or a method being tried to see if it works. Also,praise and prayer both involve the Word. We praise God according to His Word and His goodness. Prayer is relationship with the Godhead.It is coming and asking for help or talking to God about something that bothers us. If you want to have an effective prayer life,develop a good personal relationship with the Father.Know that He loves you,that He is full of mercy,that He will help you.Get to know Jesus.He is your Friend.He died for you.Get to know the Holy Spirit.He is with you all the time as your Helper. Let Him help you. Learn to fill your prayers with the Word of God.God's Word and our need is the basis on which we come to Him. So, our weapons are the Word used in various ways.As Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians,our weapons are not carnal (fleshly)weapons; they are spiritual.We need spiriual weapons because we are fighting master spirits,yes,even the devil himself.Even Jesus used the weapon of the Word in the wilderness to defeat the devil.(Luke 4:1-13.) Each time the devil lied to Him,Jesus responded with,"It is written,"and quoted him the Word. As Mary learns to use her weapons, she will begin to tear down the strongholds that have been built in her mind. She will know the truth that will set her free.She will see that not all men are like her earthly father.Some are,but many are not.Her husband,John is not. John loves Mary very much.