By: Lisa Lothian
It is said that there are more than 40 active conflicts around the world at the time I am writing this article. War. Everywhere. Lives are being destroyed. Conflict. Turmoil. Hatred. Demolition. Bloodshed. Tears. Despair. All the result of war. Those are just a few descriptions of the effects of physical combat and conflict all over the world.
But were we to pull the curtain back and take a view of the spiritual, unseen elements working behind the scenes we would see something even more astounding. The greatest battle ever fought is a war that has been going on for all eternity. The great conflict between Christ and Satan. It started in Heaven. Revelation 12:7 tells us that there was a war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought His angels. That had to be a sight. Satan lost that war and was kicked out of heaven along with a third of the angels. The battle continues here on earth. It’s a war. A fight for our very souls. Satan is constantly trying to kill, steal and destroy. Every day. How many of you know of people you love bound by the yoke of sin and destruction in their lives? Look at the turmoil all around us. It’s a spiritual war and this war is for keeps. The eternal destination of lives is at stake.
It is truly no wonder that Paul speaks of the warfare of Spirit-filled believers in Ephesians 6:10-18. In the big scheme of things, everything we go through and everything we see around us is less about the people and the physical dynamics we appear to see or experience. It’s more about the unseen elements behind it. We are told that we aren’t wrestling with flesh and blood, but against principalities—order in the unseen spiritual realm. Powers and rulership of darkness in high places. In other words, what we “see” is much more than what we see. In all the chaos around us, there is a high order of demonic presence undergirding the people involved and the bloodshed and destruction that naturally takes effect. If only we could remember this as we see and deal with “war” all around us, in the lives of others, in our own spiritual and physical “battles” we would take heed to 2Corinthians 10:4-5 which reminds us that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. We have to bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ and check our mindset – our imaginations and anything that brings itself against the knowledge of God. How do we do that? Warfare prayer.
Warfare prayer is that understanding when we pray that we are in a spiritual war—not with people, but against Satan. He is our enemy. Our only defense is to learn, through our daily walk with God how to get into that secret place of the Most High so that we can abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Through daily earnest, heartfelt prayer. A prayer that puts on the whole armor of God. The armor that helps us to withstand all the fiery darts of the enemy. We need Bible truth.
We must spend time with God in His Word daily. We need right doing– which is righteousness. Not in our own strength but in the strength of God by faith. We need to allow the word of God to settle us in the gospel which is the good news of peace and the salvation of God. Then above all, we need faith which quenches the fiery darts of the enemy. God gives us the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God. Then finally, the true description of warfare prayer is in verse 18 of Ephesians 6 which reminds us: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints”.
This is the attitude of prayer that will get us through these end-time events and the extremely difficult times soon to come. Some of us are already there. I remember personally dealing with an element of demonic proportions when my very good friend’s son was literally demon possessed. I had never experienced anything like it. She called one day in the midst of my homeschooling routine and I could hear the demons screeching through her son in the background as she called begging for prayers for deliverance. The demons identified themselves through her son. We fasted. We prayed. We wrestled with God on that young man’s behalf. Warfare prayers. He was miraculously delivered. Not by the hands of flesh or blood. But through the victorious hand of the Wonderful Counsellor, the mighty God, The everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. Jesus. A mighty Warrior who has never lost a case. He has won the battle for all of humanity on Calvary. We have to remember that. And we must remember to pray in the Spirit always because, in this life, it’s really all about a spiritual war.
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