We may well ask, “Why is it that people who are loyal to Jesus Christ, who endeavour to be as He was, holy, harmless, undefiled—people whose desire is to live and teach the ethic of Heaven itself—why should they be, in every age, the objects of such furious hatred?”

There are, perhaps, many reasons. I will name what I believe is the main one. The ungodly of this world persecute the body of Christ because they instinctively recognize that body as the vanguard of an invasion from another world, a world diametrically opposed to this one. The ungodly are fighting to hold this planet against this invasion, even though it is an invasion by the greatest love and goodness that ever was. The ungodly want to keep this planet a place where they can practice independent meaning in rebellion against God, even though the penalty for that rebellion is death itself, and so they resent every encroachment from that other world where the rule is that men practice dependent meaning in submission to God.

Some imaginative men have speculated about the possibility that this world may some day be invaded from outside itself. Little do they realize that an invasion of this world occurred two thousand years ago, an invasion far more subtle, far more sophisticated, far more certain of success than anything that the wildest flight of man’s imagination could conceive. The incarnation of Jesus Christ was that invasion and He is still carrying on His conquest, not by bringing in armies to suppress the earth, but by transforming His enemies into citizens of His kingdom through His Gospel. (Helen Manning)

The victor’s best ally in this conflict is the man, who while he remains down on the battlefield, puts his life in full touch with his Saviour-Victor, and then incessantly, insistently, believingly claims victory in Jesus’ name. He is the one foe among men whom Satan cannot withstand. He is projecting an irresistible spirit force into the spirit realm. Satan is obliged to yield. We are so accustomed through history’s long record to seeing victories won through force, physical force, alone, that it is difficult for us to realize that moral force defeats as the other never can…

Every time such a man prays it is a waving of the red-dyed flag of Jesus Christ above Satan’s head in the spirit world. Every such man who freely gives himself over to God, and gives himself up to prayer is giving God a new spot in the contested territory on which to erect His banner of victory.