Are you secure in the Lord’s protection? Do you wonder whether Jesus will always protect you from physical harm or injury? Is this an area of uncertainty in your life?
There are many great and precious promises in the Bible. One of those is what Jesus said to His disciples in Luke 10:19: “Nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Do benefits from such truths come automatically to us? Or are there conditions to receive them?
Some believers tend toward an attitude of entitlement: “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.” In a way, they expect the Lord to just drop the promise into their laps.
Thankfully, God does pour out His gracious promises upon us. As true as that is, we still must take hold of them and walk in them. Sometimes, we even have to fight for them. One promise that is worth fighting for is this one: “Nothing will hurt you.”
A Prophetic Proclamation
A few weeks ago, I had an enjoyable time of fellowship with some visitors to the Charlotte office of Derek Prince Ministries—Tim and Pam from the state of Oregon. At one point in our conversation together, I sensed the need to pray for them. When I offered to do so, Tim and Pam graciously accepted my offer.
As I began my prayer for them, what came clearly into my mind were the words Jesus spoke to His disciples in Luke 10: 19: “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” It was a combination of a prayer and a prophetic proclamation over them. But here was the essence of it: nothing will hurt you.
Afterward, as we were saying goodbye, we talked a little further about this wonderful promise from Jesus. Tim, Pam, and I all agreed: it takes faith to appropriate it.
Fighting for the Promise
Should you and I be surprised that we have to aggressively pursue Jesus’ promise of protection? That it’s not a given, nor is it automatic? That each of us must deliberately take hold of and even fight to receive His promise—that “nothing will hurt you?”
As with most biblical promises of provision, salvation, deliverance, healing, abundance, and many others, appropriating divine protection requires a step of faith. Many of the promises of Scripture involve meeting a condition. (For example, Isaiah 1:19: “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.” There are two conditions in that verse that must be fulfilled to receive what God wants us to have.)
The prayer time and follow-up conversation with Tim and Pam provided a helpful reminder to me. Each of us must walk in bold faith to ensure that nothing will hurt us.
Why Faith Is Essential
Another passage about God’s protection helps us understand one main reason why we have to exercise intentional faith in this area. The promise is Isaiah 54:17: “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD.” In other words, the protection Jesus promised is our God-given right: “nothing will hurt you.”
Why does this protection sometimes break down? We see a hint of the answer two verses prior—Isaiah 54:15 (NAS): “If anyone fiercely attacks you, it will not be from Me.” As much as God intends for us to receive His provision, we have an enemy who is on the attack. His goal is to not only deprive us of every blessing, but to inflict suffering and calamity upon us. This is why we have to fight for this truth: “nothing will hurt you.”
A Miraculous Example
Derek Prince often shared how God protected him while he was serving with the British armed forces in northern Africa during World War 2. Not only was his life spared, but he had other experiences of protection like the following testimony from his time in the Sudan, taken from his message, Learning by Doing.
One evening just about dusk, I was walking around in my barrack room, and I got stung by a hornet on the ankle bone. Now, hornets are bad anyway—but Sudanese hornets are in a class by themselves.
The pain was excruciating. I jumped up and down, and I walked back and forth. Then I thought to myself, “Jesus said you can tread upon serpents and scorpions, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
So, I said, “It’s not going to hurt me.” I went on saying that for about ten minutes and the pain ceased. There was no swelling, but there was a hole in my ankle where the stinger had entered.
The next day, in a casual conversation with my friend Ali, I said, “You know, I got stung by a hornet last night.” He said, “You did? Where?” I showed him the place on my ankle. He said, “It didn’t swell?” I said, “No.” “Why not?” I said, “I prayed in the name of Jesus.”
He then took me outside and showed me a man who was hobbling around the hospital compound with one knee bent up. He said, “You see that man with the bent knee? Do you know what caused that? He was stung by a hornet.”
Well, I saw that this had made a real impact upon Ali. So, we continued with renewed interest in reading the Bible together.
Step into the Ring
What is the ultimate goal of this month’s letter? I believe it is to transform you and me into fighters! To empower us to stand in faith, just as Derek did, on behalf of ourselves and our loved ones for the Lord’s protection. You and I can declare the promise of Jesus— “nothing shall by any means hurt you.” We can do battle against the devil’s attempts to threaten our lives. Are you ready to fight? Let’s pray together now!
Dear Lord, I am stepping by faith into the fight for protection. Today, I stand in the authority of Your name, Jesus, on behalf of the lives and safety of my family and friends—and on my own behalf as Your servant.
This day, I declare over myself and over my loved ones: “Nothing shall by any means hurt you!” By the authority of Jesus Christ, I step into this promise with full faith. In the name of Jesus, I pull down any strongholds that have opened up gaps in that divine protection. I close those openings, replacing them with the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
Putting the Enemy to Flight
You and I have just released great power in the realm of the Spirit through our bold proclamation. In a sense, we have once again declared war upon the enemy of our souls. James exactly describes what we have done in chapter 4, verse 7 of his letter: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Through our declaration, we have put our enemy to flight, and we can expect to see victories in the days ahead.
It is a great joy for all of us here at Derek Prince Ministries to stand shoulder to shoulder with you in this battle. Together, we are all entering the land of God’s promises—and, like the children of Israel as they came into the Promised Land, we have to learn to become a fighting unit. Let’s stand together in these days of battle and victory.
It would be a great affirmation of the steps we have taken today to review the entire teaching, “Learning by Doing,” from which we took Derek’s testimony. Listen to it here. It is an honor to walk with you!
Fighting Back
Let’s conclude this letter by remaining on a war footing. Why? Because we have a mortal enemy who wants to attack and oppose us every step of the way. In fact, his real motivation is to try to take us out completely. Sometimes, he gets in a shot or two.
What is our response to be? We have clear advice in 1 Peter 5:8–9 on how we are to proceed: “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith….”
So, what about those times when we do get hurt—when we get “stung by a hornet” as Derek did? I believe this story told to me by a co-worker applies. It came from a talk she had with a saintly woman at her church who is a grandmother, a former missionary, and the widow of a Baptist minister. From her many tough battles and attacks by the enemy, this is what that dear lady said: “The Lord has given me two words: Fight back.”
When we face the threats that inevitably come from our adversary, our step of faith is to fight back. As we do, the promise from Jesus will be ours: “Nothing will hurt you.”
And remember, Derek's testimony Learning by Doing is available for you to listen to here. It will greatly encourage you as you claim God's promises of protection.
