As I was praising the Lord this morning for the testimonies we have received recently of answered prayers, the Lord reminded me of how faith and prayer can overcome the enemy, right in front of us.

Just over 5 years ago, we had arranged a house warming and Christmas celebration party, and I was standing out in our garden, about 1 hour before people were due to arrive.  There was a gentle breeze blowing along the street from left to right, and as I looked to the sky, the clouds were zooming past high above, also from left to right.

As I felt a couple of drops of rain and started to pray against any rain.  After a few minutes the few drops of rain stopped, and the clouds overhead, just kept on moving from left to right at great speed.

Then I was amazed.  As I looked at the sky in front of me, I saw a circular black rain-cloud heading right for me.  It was traveling very fast and at a very low altitude.  I was puzzled, as the wind around me and the clouds at high level, were still from left to right.  But this was coming toward me at almost 90^o  to the high and low level winds!  It made no sense.

My immediate response was that this was demonic, and the enemy wanted to cancel our celebrations.  So I immediately started into spiritual warfare against this black rain-cloud.  As I did, it stopped still in the sky in front of me.  I kept on praying and fighting against it and then a few minutes later, right before my eyes, it started to change shape from circular, to a goat’s head, within a period of about 30 seconds.  I kept praying and it morphed again and again and again, depicting images of many other animals.  But each time it changed shape, it lost some cloud around the edges and so each time it changed shape, it got smaller.

I’d like to tell you all the animals it went through, but other than a goat’s head and a rabbit, I cannot now recall.

This went on for about 15-20 minutes and then the last, small, wispy vestiges of the cloud, vanished.  It was overcome and defeated with the Word of the Lord.  All praise and glory and honor be to The Lord for His Word!

A couple of weeks ago, the Lord gave me some new teachings on this, for those who think that the enemy cannot control the weather.  The Lord gave me a could examples from the Book of Job.

In Job 1:16  we find Satan bringing fire down from heaven, “The fire of God has fallen from the heavens and has burned up the sheep and the servants, and destroyed them.”  Please understand, this is what Job’s servant thought for the incident, but here it was not God, but Satan, who brought down the fire.

Then in Job 1:19 we read, “and, behold, a great wind came from the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead.”  Again Satan’s work.

Yes, Satan was defeated by Christ Jesus on the Cross of Calvary and at Christ’s Resurrection, but the power Satan possessed previously (see Job 1:12) is still mainly undiminished, though certainly restricted by Lord God the Father in these days.  As we read in 2 Thessalonians 2:9   “… is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.”

To me, this is where FAITH comes into prayer and into our lives.  For the word says in Romans 12:6,  “…having gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, if prophecy, according to the proportion of faith.”

It is my testimony that I have witnessed in my life, that when I have FAITH to pray and war and prophesy as I hear and feel led by The Lord, the results are: breakthroughs occur, prayers are answered, and the demonic is overcome!

I urge you, no matter what the circumstances, have Faith to Pray!