A Powerful Counter Strike
Scripture Focus: Acts 7:59-60, Acts 9
Think of the person who has caused you the deepest pain, threatened your peace, or opposed your purpose. Our natural, human instinct is to pray for protection or judgment. But Scripture invites us into a deeper, more aggressive form of spiritual warfare; praying for the transformation of your enemy. It is the kind of counter strike no one expects.
In Acts 7, we find Stephen on his knees, rocks striking, fracturing his bones. Scripture notes a chilling detail. Specifically, the killers laid their heavy outer cloaks at the feet of a young Pharisee named Saul (Acts 7:58). Under ancient legal custom, Saul was not just a bystander; by guarding those garments, he was the official legal sponsor and supervisor of the stoning. Saul held the contract on Stephen’s blood. Yet, with his final breath, Stephen threw a legal wrench into Saul’s self-righteous operation. He looked up to the Courtroom of Heaven and cried: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Stephen understood two profound spiritual laws that we must grasp today:
Stephen’s radical forgiveness shattered the spiritual ground Saul was standing on, trailing him all the way to the Damascus Road. The words replaying again in Saul’s mind: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When Jesus finally blindsided Saul in Acts 9, He did not destroy his passion; Jesus redirected it. The exact same intense, stop-at-nothing zeal Saul used to persecute the Church was violently hijacked by the Holy Spirit. The devil lost his fiercest assassin, and God gained His greatest Apostle. Passionate prayerful forgiveness did that!
We cannot expect to see “Pauls” raised up in our lives if we are unwilling to be “Stephens”. Let’s forgive and then earnestly pray for those who are mean and spiteful toward us. Step into the place of prayer (God’s presence), release the debt, and pray that the Chief Judge breaks your enemy’s chain, asking God to turn your fiercest enemy into a fiery brand for God’s ultimate glory.
One last thought: Stephen’s enemy was not a far distance from him; is your enemy close? Let passionate prayers prevail, then watch for God’s powerful counter strike. Amen!!
- Pastor Z
Think of the person who has caused you the deepest pain, threatened your peace, or opposed your purpose. Our natural, human instinct is to pray for protection or judgment. But Scripture invites us into a deeper, more aggressive form of spiritual warfare; praying for the transformation of your enemy. It is the kind of counter strike no one expects.
In Acts 7, we find Stephen on his knees, rocks striking, fracturing his bones. Scripture notes a chilling detail. Specifically, the killers laid their heavy outer cloaks at the feet of a young Pharisee named Saul (Acts 7:58). Under ancient legal custom, Saul was not just a bystander; by guarding those garments, he was the official legal sponsor and supervisor of the stoning. Saul held the contract on Stephen’s blood. Yet, with his final breath, Stephen threw a legal wrench into Saul’s self-righteous operation. He looked up to the Courtroom of Heaven and cried: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Stephen understood two profound spiritual laws that we must grasp today:
- The Weight of the Chain: Our human “enemy” is not the ultimate architect of their malice; they are prisoners. The viciousness of their attack reveals the heaviness of the chains the devil has wrapped around them.
- The Cost of the Bolt Cutter: Forgiveness is a costly spiritual transaction. It costs us our pride and our right to human vengeance. When we choose forgiveness, we cancel the spiritual debt, shattering the devil’s ability to keep the one who wronged us bound.
Stephen’s radical forgiveness shattered the spiritual ground Saul was standing on, trailing him all the way to the Damascus Road. The words replaying again in Saul’s mind: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When Jesus finally blindsided Saul in Acts 9, He did not destroy his passion; Jesus redirected it. The exact same intense, stop-at-nothing zeal Saul used to persecute the Church was violently hijacked by the Holy Spirit. The devil lost his fiercest assassin, and God gained His greatest Apostle. Passionate prayerful forgiveness did that!
We cannot expect to see “Pauls” raised up in our lives if we are unwilling to be “Stephens”. Let’s forgive and then earnestly pray for those who are mean and spiteful toward us. Step into the place of prayer (God’s presence), release the debt, and pray that the Chief Judge breaks your enemy’s chain, asking God to turn your fiercest enemy into a fiery brand for God’s ultimate glory.
One last thought: Stephen’s enemy was not a far distance from him; is your enemy close? Let passionate prayers prevail, then watch for God’s powerful counter strike. Amen!!
- Pastor Z
Recent
Archive
2026
January
February
March
May
2025
Categories
no categories
No Comments