This is a word I believe the Lord is releasing for today 31 October 2023, but also the coming weeks as we journey into the promises of God. Take it back to God inviting him to reveal its relevance and timing for you as well as the specifics as it pertains to you and His plans for your life.

Liz Skosana

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A change in strategy

From attrition warfare to maneuver warfare the strategy is changing. God has called us into unified fasting and prayer. Into warfare against the ploy of the enemy. Like Daniel who fasted and was met by an angel of the Lord, who mentions being held up by the Princes of Persia in Daniel 10:10, God is calling us to consecrate, abide, seek and intercede to break the spirit of delay, to possess the territory before we enter it, to receive healing from cycles of sickness (particularly inflammation-based diseases) and to take position.

The enemy has changed his strategy. Until now the strategy has been to exhaust, frustrate and kill our will.

Attrition warfare.

Attrition warfare is a military strategy that focuses on wearing down the enemy’s strength over time through continuous, sustained combat and causing them to gradually weaken or exhaust their resources. It’s like a long, drawn-out battle where the goal is to make the enemy suffer losses and deplete their troops, equipment, and morale.

In attrition warfare, there may not be a single decisive battle or maneuver, but rather a series of smaller engagements over an extended period. This strategy aims to achieve victory by simply outlasting and out-resourcing the opponent. It’s a war of attrition where the side that can endure the longest often prevails.

Maneuver warfare is a military strategy that focuses on using movement and positioning to gain an advantage over the enemy. Instead of just facing the enemy head-on, maneuver warfare involves outsmarting and outmaneuvering the opponent. It’s like playing a game of chess where you move your pieces strategically to control the board.

In maneuver warfare, the goal is to disrupt the enemy’s plans, encircle them, or attack their weaknesses while avoiding a direct, costly confrontation. This strategy is all about being agile, using speed, and taking advantage of opportunities. It’s often used to minimize casualties and achieve military objectives efficiently.

Literature on warfare suggests 6 elements of the maneuver warfare strategy. Here they are along with the insight the Lord has shared on responding to the attack of the enemy

1. TEMPO

The “tempo” in warfare is like the speed or rhythm of the battle. It’s how fast or slow things are happening. For example, when soldiers move quickly and attack fast, the tempo is high. When they move slowly and take their time, the tempo is low. Understanding and controlling the tempo is important in war to make the right moves at the right time. It’s kind of like a dance where you have to keep up with the music to win the game.

Stay in tune with the spirit. Undistracted, yielded to sense the shifts in the tempo of the enemy’s attack.

If we [claim to] live by the [Holy] Spirit, we must also walk by the Spirit [with personal integrity, godly character, and moral courage—our conduct empowered by the Holy Spirit].

Galatians 5:25

2. FOCAL POINT OR CENTRE OF EFFORT

Striking the enemy at the right place at the right time. Ideally, a spot that is both vital and weakly defended.

Close the open doors in your life. The seemingly insignificant pleasures that don’t affect you you think. Guard your heart. Watch what you watch and listen to and meditate on. What’s your focus pint for insight and revelation? The word of God or IG? Revelations by pastors and Christian influencers?

Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.

Proverbs 4:23

Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.

Hebrews 3:1

3. SURPRISE:

Leaving the enemy unable to counter an action is central to any maneuver, and may be achieved by their remaining unaware for as long as possible.

In warfare, the element of surprise is like playing a game of hide-and-seek. It means doing something unexpected that your enemy doesn’t see coming. It could be attacking from an unexpected direction or using a new tactic. The surprise element makes it harder for your enemy to prepare, giving you an advantage.

Ignorance is not bliss. Wake up. Stayed alert. Remain vigilant.

“Be on guard and stay constantly alert [and pray]; for you do not know when the appointed time will come.

Mark 13:33 AMP

Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour.

1 Peter 5:8-12

4. COMBINED ARMS:

The use of multiple means by which to attack the enemy creates an opportunity cost to any reaction. Should the enemy counter against one form of attack, they may leave themselves vulnerable to another. Additionally, different forms of attack may support each other through concurrent action

“Combined arms” in warfare is like using a team of different types of soldiers and equipment, like tanks, infantry, and airplanes, all working together. They each have their own strengths and can help each other out to be stronger and more effective in a battle. It’s a bit like having different players on a sports team with different skills working together to win the game.

The “little” areas of your life and heart being simultaneously attacked wears you down and leaves you weak. A loss here. A betrayal there. A disappointment here. A delay there. An unanswered prayer there. An offense there. These leave us weak in faith, tired and with hard hearts, often returning to old comforts the Lord told us to leave. An expired friendship or relationship, porn and masturbation, gossip etc.

“Koinonia” is a Greek word used in Christianity to describe a sense of community, fellowship, and sharing among believers. It represents the idea of Christians coming together, sharing their faith, supporting one another, and being part of a spiritual community. Koinonia emphasizes the importance of unity and togetherness in the Christian faith, where believers support each other and work together in their spiritual journey. It’s a fundamental concept in Christian community and relationships.

Unity and Diversity in the Body

12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues[d]? Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. The angel of God, who had been going in front of the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them. The pillar of the cloud moved from in front and stood behind them.

1 Corinthians 12:12-28

5. FLEXIBILITY:

By maintaining different avenues of attack, either in method, movement, or any other factor, alternatives are always available, and opportunities can always be seized. In military terms, flexibility means the ability of a military force to adapt and change its plans and actions quickly in response to new or unexpected situations on the battlefield. Flexibility in warfare is crucial because battles can be unpredictable, and the ability to adjust and make quick decisions can be a significant advantage. It allows a military to be versatile and better prepared for different scenarios.

Don’t get attached the ministry, the assignment, the circle, the way of praying or worshiping. Remain open and willing, yielding to leading of the Holy Spirit as he brings insight and revelation. Be teachable, malleable and responsive to his prompts. His mercies are new every morning and he teaches us to pray give us this day our daily bread. Yesterday’s strategy or terrain may not be today’s. Like the children of Israel led through the wilderness, live light so you can move as He instructs to.

(A change in strategy)

“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment]. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’

Exodus 14:19 AMP

Matthew 6:9-13 AMP

6. DECENTRALIZED COMMAND:

Rapidly changing situations may outpace the orders of a centralized command, leaving fighters with instructions that no longer apply. Lower levels of command must understand overall intent so as to adapt to a changing environment.

Think of this as the responsibility of personally seeking and hearing from the Lord. You can’t live on the the instruction or revelation your pastor/teacher/prophet/apostle gives Sunday to Sunday. We all have to have a personal relationship and revelation with God to stay in tune with the tempo and strategy of the war and to get instructions from the Lord. Under the new covenant the veil is torn and you have access and authority. Legitimacy and power. Claim it and fight for your promise, your legacy, the territory you’ve been called to.

“ Ask and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking receives, and he who keeps on seeking finds, and to him who keeps on knocking, it will be opened.

Matthew 7:7-8 AMP

So Jesus said again, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, I am the Door for the sheep [leading to life]. All who came before Me [as false messiahs and self-appointed leaders] are thieves and robbers, but the [true] sheep did not hear them. I am the Door; anyone who enters through Me will be saved [and will live forever], and will go in and out [freely], and find pasture (spiritual security). The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].

John 10:7-10 AMP

So they will fear the name of the Lord from the west And His glory from the rising of the sun. For He will come in like a narrow, rushing stream Which the breath of the Lord drives [overwhelming the enemy].

Isaiah 59:19 AMP

God is rushing in like a flood. He’s raising up a standard. Jehovah Gibbor has entered the fight.

He’s overwhelming the enemy.

Satan is a defeated foe.

• Stay in position.
• Repent and forgive.
• Fast and pray as you seek the Lord on the areas in your life to cover and remain vigilant.
• Praise and worship is the victory strategy.
• Guard your heart and your mouth.
• Guard ports and points of entry – Be vigilant about who and what you let in or near you.

But resist him, be firm in your faith [against his attack—rooted, established, immovable], knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. [You do not suffer alone.] After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace [who imparts His blessing and favor], who called you to His own eternal glory in Christ, will Himself complete, confirm, strengthen, and establish you [making you what you ought to be]. To Him be dominion (power, authority, sovereignty) forever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 5:9-11 AMP

“Now yield and submit yourself to Him [agree with God and be conformed to His will] and be at peace; In this way [you will prosper and great] good will come to you. Please receive the law and instruction from His mouth And establish His words in your heart and keep them. If you return to the Almighty [and submit and humble yourself before Him], you will be built up [and restored]; If you remove unrighteousness far from your tents, And place your gold in the dust, And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks [considering it of little value], And make the Almighty your gold And your precious silver, Then you will have delight in the Almighty, And you will lift up your face to God. You will pray to Him, and He will hear you, And you will pay your vows. You will also decide and decree a thing, and it will be established for you; And the light [of God’s favor] will shine upon your ways. When you are cast down and humbled, you will speak with confidence, And the humble person He will lift up and save. He will even rescue the one [for whom you intercede] who is not innocent; And he will be rescued through the cleanness of your hands.”

Job 22:21-30 AMP

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Liz