“Praise be to the Lord, Who has given rest to His people Israel just as He promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises He gave through His servant Moses. May the Lord our God be with us as He was with our fathers; may He never leave us nor forsake us. May He turn our hearts to him, to walk in all His ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations He gave our fathers. And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that He may uphold the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel according to each day’s need, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other. But your hearts must be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by His decrees and obey His commands, as at this time.” 1 Kings 8:56-61
Yesterday, as I was running past a neighbor’s pasture, I noticed a sign that read: “Unauthorized Personnel Keep Out”. I have seen this sign many times, but this time I felt a prophetic significance to it as it struck my spirit.
I immediately thought of my mind and I said, “No unauthorized personnel is allowed here.”
We decide what thoughts we entertain. Never forget that. I know I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. The Bible instructs us to hold every thought captive.
Picture it like this: Your mind is that pasture I saw and there is a gate that is chained and locked and upon it is a sign that reads, “Unauthorized Personnel Keep Out”. Up walks a random thought, and it stands outside the gate. You then approach the gate and assess the thought to make a decision about whether it is allowed in or not. “Is this thought from God?”, you ask yourself. If it is not you turn it away, but if it is then you let it in.
If this is true, imagine this next scenario: Your mind is a pasture and there is a gate, but it is not only unlocked but also opened wide. A thought comes to the gate and notices it is open and steps right in and walks around your pasture freely, except this is an enemy thought and it was just allowed to infiltrate your field. Getting it out is much harder than keeping it out in the first place.
Does this make sense to anyone?
We have this power. We are called to take this responsible approach or guarding the “pasture” of our mind.
Prayer Moment: Have you been responsibly guarding your mind? Holding thoughts captive to determine their source or just letting them all have free reign? It’s not too late to lock the gate. It’s always the right time to ask God to remove every thought that’s not from Him. He can do this. He loves to do this. Take some time and be honest with yourself about how you process all the thoughts that come into your mind, and let God partner with you in building a wall of protection between you and the enemy of your mind.
He who has no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls. Proverbs 25:28
365 Days in the Presence 