“I call on the Lord in my distress, and He answers me….

‘For too long I lived among them that hate peace. I am a man of peace! But when I speak, they are for war” (Ps 120)

Psalm 120 is the first out of fifteen Psalms called as ‘Songs of ascents’.  The word ‘ascent’ in Hebrew means a set of stairs, the beginning of a journey. This is the story of climbing the mountain of blessings. We shall take the first step to a higher ground at the sound of heavenly music. It will be a good climb. On the mount of Transfiguration Peter said: ‘Lord, it is good for us here…’ May it be good for you there! We shall go to a higher level of worshipping God in Spirit and in Truth. We declare that, by the grace of God, we shall defeat all the enemies and we shall demolish all the hindrances in our way. Jehovah God leads the way and we shall follow!

In any journey, the first step is the most difficult. The valley bellow has been our home for so long that we have forgotten the glory revealed on top of the mountain. The attack here is against prayer and peace! In Jesus name we shall defeat and prevail! Our prayer- life and our peace – life shall be established!

The first thing that we shall do is to pray. Prayer is the oxygen of the spirit. The higher we go, the easier will be to pray. Take this as a sign that you are making progress. The word distress means to be in a tight and crowded place, pushed to the wall by a female enemy. Spiritually speaking, this trouble is the effect of the oppression of demons, in particular the seducing spirit of jezebel. Like Elijah, we shall run towards the mountain of God where we shall surely find a fresh word of wisdom in time of need and new anointing for the coming days (1Kg 19).

The enemy attacks the faith in prayer. We remind ourselves that no matter how old we are as believers, prayer is still the way to communicate with God. We need faith that God answers our prayers. The enemy in the valley shall attack with arrows of doubts and fears. These are all lies and fake deceptions. Please remember this: with the exception of the holy fear of God, all other fears are lies; they are the seeds of deceptions and failure. You should resist and reject all so called prophetic utterances that aim to intimidate and confuse you to draw back. Often, these lies come as slander and accusing words. They are designed to bring inferiority complex in you. They tell you that you are not good enough for God to answer your prayers. They force you to accept doubt as a way of escape from trouble.

Nobody likes trouble but I will not doubt His Word and promises just to stop the attack of slander on my testimony. I will not fear death climbing on the mountain of peace! I will not go back! Even if the stones of lies are falling on my head, like Steven’s own, I will still not draw back! I will not fear death!  I will continue my climbing!  Like Steven, at last, I will rejoice seeing Jesus!

This is my testimony: ‘I prayed and God answered!’ let the whole world go to pieces, with anger and jealousy; I will not lie and deny my God!  I will not sell my birthright and my testimony as a child of God who prays!

As I prepare to take my first step up the mountain, I just realize that I stayed far too long in the valley of depression and deception. Like Lot in Sodom and like Noah, I preach righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. But the world in the valley does not accept my Gospel of Hope.

See the damage the valley has done to me…For so long I was rejected and mocked that I stared doubting my identity and my calling as a servant of the Most High God. Little by little, doubt crept in my spirit and I became tired of doing good deeds. I prayed less, I preached less…I started making business with the enemy, yoking myself with unbelievers, thinking that things will never change…

The devil attacks me again with his lies. He tells me that I will always be sick, weak, poor, depressed, barren, lonely and afraid. The enemy calls my sickness ‘incurable’. For a moment I believe the lie…but the taste of lies is like gravel in my mouth…I spit it out…and stretch my hand for the cup filled with the fresh water of life…

I dwelled too long in the valley of Meshech and Kedar. I started to believe the deception of those wicked fellows below.

The word Meshech means sowing seeds. The word Kedar is another word for Kidron Valley, in between the Mount of Olives and the Golden gate of Jerusalem. It is in this valley that they dumped the trash and corpses of men and animals. The fire and the smoke bellow always rises to remind people of hell. The word in Hebrew means mourning, ashes and hopelessness.

The enemy mocks me that all my seeds, all my ministry have been rejected, that I have no salvation and no reward at the end of my journey on earth. The accuser of the brethren tells me that Kidron valley and hell is my destination. I can see now that this is an arrow of lies.

This evening, I just reminded myself that I am a man of prayer and peace! Shalom is my God! Peace is stronger than war!

The word ‘peace’ in Hebrew is one of the most powerful names of God: Jehovah Shalom. It means the best God has for you: His peace and joy, His happiness, wealth and health; His safety and favor with men.

I declare that the blessings found in the name Shalom are mine forever! The overflow will be deposited in my children!

This evening, by faith in the living God who can never lie, trusting Him unto my last breath, I forsake the valley of death and I take my first step on the Shalom Mountain…my ears, tired from all the lies, are revived also…they hungrily receive the new sound of grateful singing…this is the hour of my deliverance and my victory.

My enemy who hates peace is now below, under my feet. I stop his arrows with the shield of faith. The same arrows shall go back and pierce his heart. My enemy will taste from the grief has caused me for all these years.

This is my hour! This is my moment! It is time for me to climb up the mountain! May the angels rejoice! May the people of God rejoice with me!

This time I shall not disappoint You, Lord! My right foot has touched the higher ground! This is my first step! But not the last! I shall follow You until I can see Your glory revealed on the mountain! This is my promise! This is my song! This is my pledge!

In Jesus name,

Amen!