To everything there is a season. A time to gather stones, and a time to sling stones. In this series, we’ve been looking at intercession with this verse from Ecclesiastes as a base. The act of interceding for a person or a matter is a process that involves both gathering and slinging stones like David did when he faced Goliath. The gathering process prepares us for the battle. It is a time when we connect with God’s heart and see from his perspective. Slinging stones happen in the valley after we align with God’s heart. Intercession can only be done from that place. From any other place, we are casting stones of judgment. Judgment never wins a battle, never knocks out a giant, and never silences the lies.
David fought a man, but Christ settled that war on the cross. Paul implores us to be strong in the Lord and his might because we no longer wrestle with flesh and blood. Our fight now is from the victory already achieved in Christ over the ruler of this present darkness (Ephesians 6). That’s why it’s crucial that we intercede connected to, tied to, aligned to, anchored in the heart of God. Friends, if you’re in a battle facing off against anything other than Satan and his lies, you’ve been misdirected to a fake fight. The biggest play in the enemy’s playbook—get them looking at each other, not me. He’s crafty, remember? As the children of God, we are not supposed to be casting stones at each other. We are slinging stones of truth at Satan, the father of lies. As intercessors, our eyes and hearts need to be locked on Jesus.
In the valley we come face to face with lies (giants) that intimidate, mock, and overshadow what the Lord has spoken. We can stand in full confidence against our enemy for a couple of reasons.
- We are fully prepared for this fight because we are connected to the heart of God, and our weapons are approved. (see part three, a time for mountains.)
- The battle has already been won. God’s heart is victorious and future, hope oriented.
- We are co-laboring with God in the battle to see redemption. With one arm, we are fighting lies with the sword of the spirit. With the other arm, we are embracing people and pulling them back to the heart of God—to the very place they were created. David killed Goliath, but in the process he reconnected the army of Israel back to their identity as God’s people and who God is.
As with the fields and mountains (see parts two and three), necessary things occur in each phase of intercession. Here are three things that happen in the valley.
1. Separation from the Crowds
As we stand in confidence with the truth of God’s word and our identities as people of God, there will be a separation. We will find ourselves separating from the crowds, the masses, the popular opinion, the wider roads. Holy, after all, means “set apart.”
But there is a difference between fighting set apart and fighting alone. We are not alone in the battle. We are with God, there is a heavenly host with us, and we should be connected to the body of Christ. David didn’t go into the valley by isolating himself. In addition to being commissioned by God, he had permission from king Saul. It’s in our best interest to have others praying with us. Another popular play in Satan’s playbook—isolation, get them to believe they can do it by themselves.
2. Sling Stones
On the road from the mountain to the valley, we will find the perfect stones for slinging. It’s easy to find stones of truth that knock out the lies when we are aligned with God’s heart. For every lie fabricated by the enemy, there is a truth that can be harvested, picked up from the heart of God to silence it. There isn’t a lie that exists on its own. Satan can’t create. He can only mock, and no lie is greater than the truth. That’s good stuff! Ask the Lord for revelation and the stones of truth that unravel the plot of the enemy.
Let me give one example of what slinging stones may look like practically. Several years ago, I went through a few months of questioning my ability to hear the Lord. There were many factors at play in that situation. Most were my fault. It was close to maddening for me. I knew I had to silence the lie that was telling me, “You can’t hear God.” I made up a declaration based on Scripture—a stone of truth. Every time I heard the lie, and every time my mind began to obsess over it, I declared, “I can hear God. I’m his daughter, and I know his voice.” Sometimes I was in my car, in the grocery store, in the middle of conversations, in worship services, anywhere. At first, I was reminding myself. Then, I got angry about being lied to, and I started slinging that stone at the enemy. Eventually, the lie “you can’t hear God” dissolved. I was able to step back from the situation and see where the confusion entered and how to guard against it happening again.
3. Take the Head Off
Don’t leave the battle undone. Stay in it until victory overtakes the lie. David took no chance that Goliath would regain consciousness and start spewing untruths again. Be wise. Sling stones of truth to knock the enemy out, and then take its head off with continued truth—the word of God. Silence the enemy. In doing so, you release freedom, not only for yourself but others. Your freedom affects the people around you.
RECAP
- We have one enemy, Satan. People are not our enemies.
- Judgment never wins a battle, and it never silences the enemy.
- We are co-laboring with God in the valley. Intercession is connecting people and matters back to the heart of God — period.
- Valleys are set apart, but we never fight alone.
- Lies are perversions of truth. Truth knocks out lies. Gather stones of truth.
- Silence the enemy. Take his head off. Be wise.
End of Series Note: As disciples of Christ, we are called to pray. We are called to be after God’s heart. The act of intercession is standing in the gap between God’s heart and the matter at hand. Every act of prayer should be released with the intention of reconnecting what has been misplaced back to the heart of God. There is a time to gather stones, and there is a time to sling them. Each part of the process is crucial–fields, mountains, and valleys. The only way we can connect others to God’s heart is to be connected ourselves—that’s where we live from, fight from, and where the victory is already ours.
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