Demons Traffic in Dry Places

When skies are overcast, the clouds have no power to separate you from the Lord.

Even on a clear day when the sky is bright blue, a casual glance tells you there is nothing between you and space. When Jesus told Nathaniel, “You shall see heaven open,” He referred to a heaven that is not rooted in the natural realm. He talked about the heaven that can harden and thicken through widespread disobedience. When Jesus told Nathanael that he would see heaven open, He was saying Nathanael would be an eyewitness to His victorious life of obedience. Even under hopelessly thickened clouds of brass, Nathanael would see the fruit of total obedience.

Obedience Opens the Heavens

The fruit of obedience is the privilege of seeing the heavens open. Obedience to God always produces a supernatural flow of His anointing and ensures His will is done on earth as in Heaven.

Nathanael walked, talked, and shared meals and ministry with Jesus for over three years. With his own eyes, he watched the Master put the devil to flight. He saw fear banished, blind eyes opened, and the lame walk. He saw lifelong captives freed from demon possession, physical affliction, and spiritual oppression.

Today, we have the living Spirit of God dwelling within us. We have the wealth of God’s Word, as well as the ability to read the Scriptures ourselves. We have the name of Jesus and the authority of His shed blood in our arsenal of spiritual weapons.

We cannot get religious and stick these things into some “nice Bible story” category. God will come through every time you obey Him, just like He did for Jesus Christ. That is the point of the Lord’s promise to Nathanael. If you walk like Jesus walked—and remember, He did it all as a man who did not pull from any resource other than those available to man—you too will see heaven open over your life! No matter how thick the heavens over your city or region might be, this is true. Jesus never meant for the miraculous life to be limited only to Him- self. He ordained that you and I should walk in the miraculous too! He was the prototype of many to come after Him, the firstborn of many sons.

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover (Mark 16:17-18).

Satan Traffics in Dry Places

Disobedience does more than cause the skies to thicken over our heads. According to God’s warning in the Book of Deuteronomy, disobedience also causes the earth under our feet to become iron (see Deuteronomy 28:23). Iron equates to dryness, drought, and famine. It is in the arid land that the devil begins to roam.

When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none (Matthew 12:43).

The evil one traffics in dry places because he cannot co-exist with the manifest presence of the river of God. Any area of our lives that lacks the life-giving flow of God’s Spirit is ripe for occupation by our most spiteful enemy.

The sin of disobedience steals our health and robs us of the ability to prosper. It brings pain to our path and bruises our feet with cruel, cold hardness. It produces thick darkness and cuts off our productivity, prosperity, and means of survival. It breeds guilt and causes us to be difficult to live with because it separates us from God and puts a wedge between other believers and us.

Think about the times you have disobeyed God. I am sure that no one had to tell you when the heavens over your head were hardening. You knew that something had come between you and the Lord! If you do not repent and remove the sin that separates you from God, the heavens become brass, and you eventually suffer. Your family suffers, your friends suffer, and even your church suffers. Long before the clouds begin to gather over your head, the Spirit within gives you a clear sense that things are not right. You know it, your wife knows it, your children know it, and even the unsaved people around you know it. But the truth is that none of them can do anything about it. Repentance is a job that only you can do.

God said through the psalmist that the one who keeps His Word “shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper” (Psalm 1:3). This means that even if a drought strikes where you live, you will prosper because you are planted by the river of God!

The devil is powerless when you walk in unbroken fellowship with the Lord. He may have the ability, but he does not have the authority to do evil unless you give it to him. If you are obedient to the call of Christ Jesus, the minions of hell will recognize you! Keep yourself strong in the Spirit by feeding on God’s Word, meditating on His precepts, and by testing the conditions of the heavens over your head. True, the devil will continue to try and harass, buffet, and hinder you in your attempt to draw near to God. However, he cannot harm you if the heavens are clear and open between you and God! Prayer, coupled with obedience, is the only way you can keep the heavens clear.

The Smallest Piece of the Pie

If you diagram the time spent in worship services each week in a typical congregation, prayer is the smallest piece of the pie. Announcements are given more time. Auxiliary activities are given more time. The receiving of tithes and offerings is given more time. Music is given more time. Preaching is given more time. The smallest slice of the pie is always given to prayer.

This is true not only for worship services but also for the church’s activities. For example, a crowd will attend if you call a meeting for almost anything other than prayer. On the other hand, a prayer meeting will attract only a handful of people.

How sad! We must refocus our hearts and redirect our energies. Jesus said:

My house shall be called a house of prayer (Matthew 21:13).

We have most certainly forgotten this. Our erroneous, manmade priorities have misled us. If we come into God’s house and pursue His desires, much more time will be spent in prayer. As we do warfare, press in, and punch holes through heavens of brass, Satan will hold no power over our lives and churches. We suffer the effects of his presence until then, and the heavens over our heads become brass.