As a child and throughout my adult life the spirit of fear had a tight grip on me. I remember a co-worker making a sly comment about how many times I would say I was afraid of this or that. For those of you that don’t know my story, I come from a long line of Jezebels (please see The Jezebel Spirit). It took a number of years for me to be completely delivered from this destructive spirit and all it’s familiar spirits, fear being one of them.

I truly believe most if not all prophets enter into a lifelong battle with spirits of fear and discouragement. Depression is another one. The prophetic is a lonely mantle, and depression is always lurking. Fear, however, seems to be the spirit with which we have to be on constant guard.

Lets look at a few biblical examples. Elijah was gripped with fear after Queen Jezebel’s threats. Mind you, he had just won a major victory against this witch, yet ran in terror at her death threat. John the Baptist sat in jail and was plagued with doubt over Jesus being the Messiah-after having witnessed the revelation directly from YHVH Himself! Why? Fear had wrapped it’s ice cold tentacles around his heart after the evil Herodias, another Jezebel, had manipulated her husband, King Herod, first to put John in jail, then to have the prophet’s head lopped off. Even the Apostle Paul had bouts of depression laced with fear and doubt but I believe that unlike past prophets Paul had the advantage of the spirit filled, praying church in constant intercession for him; more importantly, Paul had the Comforter Himself, the Holy Spirit.

The spirit of fear is very real and has many faces. Fear will steal your joy and rob you of your peace (Job 3:25). It will trick you into doubting God and disobeying His orders, which will only result in disastrous consequences (Genesis 19:29-38, Matthew 25:24-30). Perhaps this is why throughout the bible the Lord admonishes us to “fear not”. Brethren, we have an arsenal of weapons made available to us. Read the word daily, spend time in prayer, fast from food and worldly entertainment. Don’t let fear bully you; push back, Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. The enemy may be the prince of this world, but you are co heirs with Christ. I pray this blesses you.