Are you contending before the Lord for great things during this 21-day season of fasting and prayer? I hope so; this is the season in which you have the opportunity AND the spiritual firepower to call unto the Lord, and He will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you do not know.

As His Word says in Jeremiah 33:3:

“‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know'” (Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV).

This means both miracles and inside information, and I hope and pray that you are pushing into God right now with massive, concentrated prayer time.

However, during any period of fasting and prayer, you should be aware of this:

You can expect spiritual warfare at an intensity that you had not anticipated.

The bigger the things for which you’re contending, in general and in my experience, the stronger the spiritual warfare will be. You may be tempted to spend a lot of time being depressed or feeling sorry for yourself, or even being heartbroken for righteous reasons.

However, here’s what I encourage you to do instead:

Use the warfare as an inspiration to draw even closer to God and spend even more time in prayer.

Why? Because not only will you receive more answers to prayer the more you pray, but you will also find more stability and strength in the Lord the more time you spend with Him.

Related: How to Get Your Prayers Answered 100% of the Time

Look at the huge promises of immunity, safety, STABILITY, and blessing that God promises us in Psalm 91:

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.

Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.

You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

‘Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation‘” (Psalm 91:1-16 NKJV).

Friend, I know that spiritual warfare is hard.

I myself spent hours crying yesterday, both for righteous reasons (out of compassion for people in need) and for unrighteous ones (being attacked spiritually and wanting to quit the ministry and feeling sorry for myself and all that sort of thing).

But, the Lord helped me, and I asked my friends and board of directors to pray for me, which helped a lot I am sure; and then I went before the Lord and prayed, read my Bible, prayed some more, and hashed things out with Him; and all of that helped. Nevertheless, the warfare over my mind, my faith, and this ministry was intense.

When horrible warfare comes against you also, I encourage you to do similar things:

• Ask your closest friends to pray for you.
• Recognize that this is warfare, not necessarily real trouble to the extent that our emotions tell us it is. (For example, yesterday I was acknowledging to the Lord His many blessings and thanking Him for them, but I was still simultaneously feeling so sad and discouraged. The trouble wasn’t nearly as real as the blessings were, but my emotions didn’t reflect that.)
• Fill up on the Word of God for as long as it takes to receive comfort. Jesus said in John 6:63 that the words that He speaks are spirit, and they are life.
• Pour out your heart to the Lord in prayer for hours at a time if you have to, asking Him for everything you need and want, and claiming His promises from the Bible that tell you you can have those things.

Remember that the key to peace is found in Philippians 4:

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV).

And also remember that we have to ask in order to receive:

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8 NKJV).

And that we have not because we ask not. And also, always remember that new life, hope, and strength are found in the Word of God:

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63 NKJV).

And when we fill up on Jesus’ words, He fills us with new life on the inside.

Beloved, this time of fasting and prayer can change your life.

And it will, if you will persevere. It will, if you are actually praying and seeking God as well as fasting. (I say that because sometimes people think that merely going without some sort of food is enough, but no; we must actually dedicate ourselves to prayer along with the fasting in order to see victory come.)

Related: 12 Keys to Fasting and Prayer

But it’s just the truth that spiritual warfare tends to come along with this effort you are making to pray and fast and seek God. Even the warfare that accompanies delay can be incredible; the answers we are expecting sometimes take longer than we wish to show up, and that delay can be incredibly discouraging.

Nevertheless, beloved, this time of consecration to God and seeking His face is worth it.

I encourage you to pray, and persevere in praying, and don’t let the enemy discourage you or get you down–or, worse yet, get you to abandon the effort of your fasting and praying–even when the spiritual warfare is off the charts.

God is in control, and God’s got you. He is hearing your prayers and bringing you miracles right now.

Hang in there and keep fasting and praying!

Did you need to hear this word today? If so, leave a comment below!