Episode 72 ~ Standing in Prayer & Romans 16:20

In this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show we will take a look at what God has promised to us from Romans 16:20 & will also discuss how to apply this verse to our prayer lives.

 

Sadly, I recorded this episode immediately following the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in August of 2021. As a military family, this has touched a nerve.

As a follower of Jesus, this has wrenched my heart.

 

Our fellow Christians are dealing with things the likes of which I have never seen. So today, I just want to read Romans 16:20 from the AMP & just lean into the Lord and by faith believe the promise in this verse for myself, for each one of you, for my entire family and of course for those who follow Jesus in Afghanistan and in particular Kabul right now. 

 

Romans 16:20 says this:

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. 

 

What a profound verse! 

 

Now just for context I am going to read a few verses prior from chapter 16 of Romans (using the Amplified)  Verse 17 - I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep your eyes on those who cause dissensions and create obstacles or introduce temptations (for others) to commit sin, (acting in ways) contrary to the doctrine which you have learned. Turn away from them.

 

So that sort of sets the tone for the verse we are looking at today. A stern warning from the Apostle Paul about who to keep your eyes on and who to turn away from. We honestly don’t do this all that much in our modern era! When is the last time you really turned away from someone who was causing this kind of trouble within the church? Yeah, for those outside the church, it is easier to step back from their sinfulness, and not get drawn into all the stuff… and to also still be loving and share about Jesus and pray for them. Yet within the body of Christ, there simply is not the call to holiness that the NT teaches. Just sayin’! This means exactly what it says - it doesn’t mean anything more but it surely does not mean anything less. So I want to encourage you, and myself, to apply this broadly - and not to ignore this wise counsel and instruction when it comes to those sitting in the pews with us on Sunday mornings. Holiness unto the Lord is truly important enough that we at times speak hard Biblical truths in order that people might get a better idea of how they are living does or does not align with God’s Word. That seems clear as mud - I hope it makes some sort of sense! 

 

Let’s read verses 18 and 19 -

 

For such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites and base desires. By smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting (the innocent and the naive). 

For the report of your obedience has reached everyone, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.

 

So there is it. There’s that. Look, if I were to tell you that Romans is a book that does not bring heavy teaching every time I open it, I would be flat out lying to you. It’s intense. Because the author, led by the Holy Spirit, intended it to be intense.

 

And in these days in which we live, closer and closer to Jesus’ return, we need that intensity. It’s like medicine for our souls. It keeps us healthy and prevents us from falling ill. 

 

If someone is serving their own appetites and base desires, they are not serving Jesus. That’s what Paul says and that is the unarguable truth of the matter. It’s a litmus test that works well. Watch out for smooth and flattering speech. Flattery is very different from a complement. Pray for a heart that is shored up and guarded and that won’t be deceived, and pray not to remain so naive that you don’t see deception for what it is until it has done some roughing up nasty work on you.

 

Let the report of your obedience reach others. Let it! Be so obedient to God and to His Word that it actually reaches people - reaches out and touches them, makes an impact. They should notice your obedience. And ask the Holy Spirit to make you wise in what is good and also innocent in what is evil.

And after all of that, we land on our verse for today, our promise for us straight from the Bible, Romans 16:20.

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. 

He is the God of peace. And peace can be ours right in the middle of stressful situations. Peace can be ours, ought to be ours, during health problems and disorder on the other side of the globe and changes in our jobs and every single thing. He is the God of peace. Allow Him to totally be the God of peace in your life, in all of it, in every little and every big thing in your world. 

He promises that He will (oh that amazing word WILL!) will soon (another amazing word - soon!) crush Satan under your feet.

 

What a tremendous promise!

The God of peace will soon crush Satan (how awesome is that promise!) Under whose feet? Yours and mine. Wow. You’ll see this, my friend, and not from afar but up close and personal. And you will be a part of this promised crushing of Satan. 

 

And the second part of verse 19 says - The (wonderful) grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. 

 

The grace of Jesus truly is wonderful, too wonderful for words in fact.

 

And may it be with each one of us as we stand in prayer, for ourselves and our situations and our families and our nation but also for our brothers and sisters in Christ in Afghanistan today. 

 

We can and we should pray with boldness for God to keep His amazing promise and give all of His children peace because He is the God of peace. Appeal to Him on His own terms - He said it, and He wants us to stand in faith and believe that He really does mean exactly what He says. The God of peace is going to soon crush Satan under our feet. May it be so, Lord Jesus, even this very day! Bless your people with Your supernatural peace - move us forward to advance Your kingdom and to show You to a hurting world - do the miraculous on behalf of those in harms way in Afghanistan - hide them, provide Damascus road experiences to members of the Taliban who are bent on evil but need to meet Jesus personally - send your angels to be a hedge of protection around those who are being hunted down just as You promise in Psalm 91 - never stop moving and showing us who You truly are and how You long to answer our faith filled, bold prayers that are based on the promises found in Your Word - do the impossible and then do it again - crush Satan under the feet of Your followers today, right now, and all the praise and all the glory and all the thankfulness we can muster up from the depths of our hearts is Yours Lord. Thank You for teaching us how to pray and for giving us promises that we can believe You for. Never stop moving. Never stop working. Never stop touching hearts and changing lives. Never stop crushing Satan under our feet. All of our hope is in You. And it is not a misplaced hope. It is hope that is certain and will yield amazing results. Keep us in a state of undying belief. And Lord, save and rescue and restore and heal and do what only You can do in Afghanistan. We ask this all in the mighty name of Jesus! Amen

Please keep praying for believers around the world, for Afghani's to come to know Jesus personally, and for military men & women serving in Afghanistan.

 

I hope to see you back here next time for episode #73 - in the mean time, you can find me on instagram @janlburt and at my website JanLBurt.com and grab a copy of my book "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" on Amazon.

 

Lord bless you richly as you stand on His good promises to you!

~ Jan