Spiritual warfare is not necessarily something we like to talk about or think about but it is something a believer is involved in at every moment of his/her life. The evil one does not take a break from deceiving the world, nor does he rest in his pursuit to render the lives of believers inactive and unfruitful.
As Paul battled with his own brothers in the battle, he states the most important principle in spiritual warfare is that we do not wage war as the world does. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we do not use deception, lies, hypocrisy, slander, stand standover tactics, gossip, character attacks and so on. These worldly tactics are unbefitting the Christian character.
On the contrary, the weapons of the Christian have the power to pull down or demolish strongholds. Paul was able to take the Corinthian’s thoughts captive, make them obedient to Christ and to bring about repentance. He was able to destroy their arguments that were against Christ and through prayer and loving service was able to bring about repentance.
For Paul, spiritual warfare involved writing a severe letter and seeking the Lord’s intervention to bring about repentance. Spiritual warfare is not always about casting out demons and suppressing the evil one with the blood of Jesus. A loving rebuke to a brother who holds false teaching is spiritual warfare. Teaching the truth to a sister is spiritual warfare. Evangelism is spiritual warfare. Praying that God reveals the truth to those who oppose you is spiritual warfare. Taking necessary steps to discipline a wayward believer is spiritual warfare. Praying for other believers is spiritual warfare.
When we think of spiritual warfare we immediately think of spirit battles, exorcisms and the like. But every day you are on the spiritual battle field. Walk in obedience. Walk in truth. Walk in prayerfulness and you are fighting the good fight.
Prayer:-
- The church phone directory is a great prayer tool. Count the number of families listed in your church phone directory. Divide the total by seven. Spend each day praying for that many families. By the end of the week you’ll have prayed for every listed family in your church.
Do It Today
Ring up one believer today and ask how you might be praying for them.
See if you can turn this into a habit by ringing and speaking to people about prayer needs every 2 or 3 days.
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