I woke up the other morning from a dream where bullets were flying, and the thing that stopped them was the Word of God. The bullets were actually flat ended like they had hit something that they could not penetrate.

As I was waking up, I felt directed to read James 4. It talks about drawing near to God, submitting yourselves to God, resisting the devil, and he will flee from you. I realized as I become closer to God and read the Word, then the devil has to flee. His weapons have no power and he has no right. The devil tries to come and attack us by throwing every weapon our way, but as we draw near to God, the devil cannot hurt us.

His bullets will be inactive. In Ps 91:3 it says “He (God) will deliver you from the snare of the fowler.”  It goes on to say we will find refuge and safety in Him.  As I kept reading in James, I read in verse 11 about not speaking evil against one another. Verse 4 says having friendship with the world is having enmity with God.  Verse 6 says God opposes the proud.

There are many important “little” bits of power here that will keep the devil’s bullets from penetrating into our lives. Speaking against someone, just by saying something negative can open a door for the devil. Being prideful and holding on to anything from the world can also open a door.   

In verse 17, it says whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, is in sin. How many times have we all done that? It’s not just talking about the big things. What about the times you see someone in need and think “Maybe I should help?” Or how about the times you do something and don’t think it matters because no one is around to see? God wants obedience in all areas so we can be protected when the devil comes to attack.

We can only be close to God when we obey what He says and draw near to Him by getting into the Word, and submitting ourselves to Him. Then the devil has no door to walk through. Let’s shut and lock the open doors in our lives by using the Word so no bullets can get through.