Defensive petitioning prayer is the believer’s spiritual bullet proof and missile defence power –system against the fiery darts of the wicked and against all sins. The temptation to sin shall come in a time unexpected because the thief will not announce his coming and suddenly shall the enemy shall fire his arrows without warning– not only to wound, but to kill and to destroy. If we are consistent and instant in prayer as the scriptures command (as for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice. Psalms 55:16 – 17) we shall never be caught un-​aware and shall not be surprised by any move of the enemy whenever it happen; we are not ignorance of his devises. Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation was the Lord’s command; but, the strength and power grace and glory to resist the tempter and his temptation victoriously is in the pre-​emptied prayer. “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil” …. temptation comes from our lusts and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. We must pray against us, for in us there is no good thing that God might empower and deliverer us first from ourself-​lusts of the flesh, lusts of the eyes and the pride of life. If we overcome the self which hates the presence and the works of the Spirit of God in our lives, the devil’s problems are over. Self or the flesh is the first enemy to overcome if we are to walk with Christ successfully and his works should be rejected with great personal disapproval and be forcefully abhorred and denounced through vigorous prayer, lest we become like men who turn from God’s ways to walk down dark and evil path and rejoice in doing wrong, for they thoroughly enjoy their sins. Everything, they do is crooked and wrong. If any man will come after me, let him deny self, take up his cross daily, and follow me. Luke 9:23.
You must pray before-​hand in preparation against sin’s temptation and ask for power to overcome the enemy whenever he comes around to introduce or present any before. The devil will always be looking for a convenient time to come and tempt or to attack, when it seems that you are vulnerable; but with a mindful prayerful life (pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17) you will be empowered and rendered invulnerable (immune to attack and impregnable); for then shall the Lord be your strength and rock. Though it is not the will of God, but I can tell you that many spiritual soldiers (born again believers) are wounded in the battle and were made incapacitated by the enemy against the Lord’s former assignments given or committed to their trust and could not fulfil their ministry to make their calling and election sure to the end, even as they have first begun. They are such that will tell you how they were once a prayer warrior, a deliverance and healing minister, great intercessor and anointed and prophesied to the nations with all kinds of old testimonies; but now, it is evidence that their Jesus Christ was only of yesterday, and not of today, neither of tomorrow and forevermore. Some believers are now re-​captured and became prisoner of war to the enemy they once exercised great power and authority against and are now heavily involved in doing those things they once condemned, preached and lived against, either openly or secretly. They prove the point of the old proverbs, “a dog goes back to its own vomit” and “a scrubbed-​up pig heads for the mud.” They had once overcame the flesh, the world and the lusts thereof, but now, because of their negligence and slothful spiritual life, the reverse is their experience. For of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage and corruption, entangled and bonded again with the chains of iniquities. Such are the workers of iniquities that shall be repudiated by the Lord at his coming and appearing with great disappointment, angry rejection and condemnation in their delusional expectation of heroic welcome from the Lord.Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7: 21 – 23. In Psalms 19, verses 12 – 14, (who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer) David prayed against spiritual errors which are sinful –secret faults: he also prayed against the spirit of self will –the presumption sin, (spiritual bewitchment of hardness of heart to tempt God) and finally; he prayed for his mouth and tongue; for in many things we offend all, and if any man offend not in tongue, the same is a perfect man, able also to control his whole body. If we understand the consequences and horror of sin as pictured in the Old Testament, right from the first Garden of Eden to the second Garden of Gethsemane where Christ sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground and his unequalled love and sacrifice to bring us nearer to God by his precious blood which he shed on the cross of Calvary, we should be much affected with the evil of sin, the danger we are in of it and the danger we are in by it, and will not want to crucify the Son of God again the second time, even though we are striving against sin, even to the point of blood. (2) We will not want to trample Christ under our feet by turning deaf hears to his gracious words (if those who ignored earthly warnings didn’t get away with it, what will happen to us if we turn our backs on heavenly warnings?) (3) We will not want to count the unblemished blood of the covenant that sanctified us an unholy thing, but to keep looking diligently lest we fail of the grace of God, and will not want to behave in such a nasty manner or lifestyle to despise the Spirit of grace by deliberative sin that grace may abound; but to earnestly and wholeheartedly seek for spiritual power, grace and strength from the throne of grace to help us in time of need against sins that we might be free indeed and overcome them in the strength of the Lord….I will go in the strength of the Lord God: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. Psalms 71:16. The declaration and decoration of daily early morning war will help the believer, at least, to notify his stand and send a warning signal to the enemy that he is on the Lord’s side, and in the morning shall his prayer prevent the Lord. Midnight prayer is very essential in our relationship with God so that whenever he visits, someone is up to open the door for him and the blessing of the visitation is not missed; and when the thief found us awake, he is obstructed to plant his tares in the garden of our heart. Every good day and walk with the Lord belong to those who wake up early and it is for our daily renewal and empowerment to prevent the dawning of the day that we might meditate in his word and call upon his name in prayer. Psalms 119:147 – 148. Spiritual freshness and daily personal revival are only available for those who will not sleep as do others, but will watch unto prayer each day and night. An early morning prayerful believer can never be drained out of mental, physical, moral and spiritual energy and become ineffective in his walk with and service for the Lord. Constant, current and continual revelations and daily spiritual freshness and renewal shall be flowing unto such in their experiences, and they needed not to wait for any to tell them what to do or to know because the Lord will wake them morning by morning and wakes their ear to hear as the learned. Their heaven shall drop dew and the Lord himself shall make a fresh start with them, and he will burst into bloom like a crocus in the spring. He will put down deep oak tree roots, and become a forest of oaks. He will become splendid and his fragrances like a grove of cedars. Those who live near him will be blessed by him, be blessed and prosper like golden grain and everyone will be talking about them, spreading their fame as the vintage children of God. There is a need for new oil upon the believer’s head, but it’s only obtainable if we are early morning crier. How do we keep our light burning even though the bride delays in his coming when we have not committed ourselves to prevent the Lord with our early morning cry and prayer? Iniquity shall abound as the Lord has said and the love of many shall wax cold more and more, but the brethren that shall gird up the loins of their mind and be sober to sacrifice many nights in a week to seek the Lord early shall have reservoir of oil to add to their lamps whenever the arrival of the bride shall be announced and they shall be able to go in at once with him to the wedding feast.