SPIRITUAL WARFARE
In Today’s article we are going to be discussing : Spiritual Warfare
Spiritual warfare is the Christian concept of fighting battles against principalities, and the prenatural forces of evil. It is a never ending struggle, and we as Christians face our battle even harder, when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.
Although we cannot physically see our battles, our warfare and our battles are REAL, and they are something we deal with daily. The bible teaches us how to prepare for spiritual warfare, how to fight, and ultimately how we will have victory- through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
In the book of Nehemiah, we learnt how imperative it is to pray against enemies, when to keep your mouth shut- especially when you have goals you want to achieve. We’re reminded to always pray before a task. Nehemiah’s concern for Jerusalem was that the wall of Jerusalem had been torn down, and things were not going very well. Nehemiah was troubled. He wept, mourned, fasted and prayed to God.
This was Nehemiah’s prayer:
“O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned! We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses.
“Please remember what you told your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations. But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth,[b] I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.’
“The people you rescued by your great power and strong hand are your servants. O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me.[c] Put it into his heart to be kind to me.”
The following Spring, King Artaxerxes asked Nehemiah why he was looking sad. He said he must be deeply troubled. Though Nehemiah was afraid to say, he still replied and explained that his troubles was due to the city of Jerusalem being burned in ruin and that the gates had been destroyed by fire.
The king then asked “How can I help?” After praying, Nehemiah then replied and asked if the King could send him to Judah to help rebuild the city where his ancestors were buried. When the King granted Nehemiah’s requests, he even had army officers and horsemen to protect him, but Sanballet and Tobiah were displeased that someone came to help the people of Israel.
Nehemiah reiterated in Chapter 2 v 12 and again in verse 16 that no-one knew he was out there, and that he hadn’t told his plans to anyone. Until verse 17-18, he explains to the city officials about the city being in ruins, and the conversation he had with the King.
Because the city officials agreed for Nehemiah to start the work, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Gesham heard the plan and they mocked and ridiculed him. But Nehemiah had faith that the Lord God would help them to succeed.
Sanballat was angry, and he continued to mock the jews, sowing doubt in his mind. Tobiah ridiculed them and their work- but when they heard the plans were still going ahead, they took action and planned to fight against Jerusalem and throw them into confusion.
Similarly, this is what the enemy does to us. Every time we have goals and dreams – when we pray, plan and attempt to execute, that’s when the enemy comes, mocks us, sows doubt and takes action by trying to confuse us and dismantle our plans.
In Chapter 4 verse 9 scripture shows Nehemiah prayed to God and guarded the city day and night, to protect themselves “But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves.”
VERSE 11-12 scripture says” 11 Meanwhile, our enemies were saying, “Before they know what’s happening, we will swoop down on them and kill them and end their work.”
12 The Jews who lived near the enemy came and told us again and again, “They will come from all directions and attack us!”[e] 13 So I placed armed guards behind the lowest parts of the wall in the exposed areas. I stationed the people to stand guard by families, armed with swords, spears, and bows.
Similarly, we are called to put on the full armour of God, so that we can stand against the enemies’ schemes.
Scripture tells us to prepare for battle with all of God’s armour.
In Ephesians 6: v 10-18 scripture says: “A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we[d] are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.[e] 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.[f] 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
We understand that the weapons used in spiritual warfare are not physical but divine weapons. The bible teaches us that victory is possible through God’s power and presence.
Scripture (1John 4 v 4) also says that He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
1John 4v 4 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.
And we know that the devil is king of the world, while God is KING of ALL. The enemy also battles with us by placing negative thoughts in our minds and the way we can deal with this is to surrender our thoughts to God.
In Philippians 4 v8, scripture says: “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”
We know that the Enemy always attempts to take action. He looks for all ways to lead us astray and destroy our lives. Stay alert to his presence and prepare for the battles you are sure to face.
Remember, we are ALL in this together.
Once we are spiritually equipped we will have victory through God. God provides our armour. This includes the Sword of the spirit (which is the Bible), the breastplate of Righteousness,( this is us walking in righteousness having turned away from Sin.) the feet ready for the gospel of peace, (Sharing the good news with the world), the helmet of Salvation, (knowing that Jesus saved us by the shedding of his blood) the belt of truth, (knowing the truth) and the shield of faith (having faith in our Lord and saviour and everything he says.)
This is our armour that we MUST put on every single day.
When Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness by the devil, Jesus quoted scripture for every thing the devil had to say. The bible tells us to use scripture in your battles with the evil one. (Matthew 4; 1-11)
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”
See here: Even Satan knows scripture. We must be equipped with God’s word so we don’t fall prey to his predatory ways.
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test. ” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ ” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Pray with me:
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for today. Thank you for the strength, wisdom, power and discernment you have given us to get through another day. Though we have trials and tribulation facing us, you have equipped us with the full armour so that we can take a stand against the enemy’s schemes, and for that – we thank you. You said in your word that in Romans 5 v 3 “That we glory in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”, give us the strength to persevere at all times Lord, knowing that we have hope, strength and faith in you.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen
God Bless you all.
