“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:10-12, NIV). If you are a child of God, you are in a battle. Although our enemies seem to be other people, the real threat comes from powerful spiritual forces. We cannot avoid this supernatural conflict, so we must be wise and learn how to fight the good fight. As in any war, we have to learn to plan and also how to utilize our forces correctly. Our enemies’ goal is to render us ineffective for the kingdom of God, and also to kill us before we can accomplish God’s will for our lives. To fight in the war, we must rely on God. The good soldier of Christ seeks God’s wisdom, his strength, and his resources.
We need God’s wisdom in order to fight against Satan and his demons. Wisdom is the ability to understand knowledge, and it is also a supernatural understanding of a situation. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and unbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord” (James 1:5-7). God’s wisdom will show us what to do when we are under spiritual attack, give us knowledge that we are under a spiritual attack, and show us how to live to make it difficult for the enemy to attack us in the first place. Ask God to give you wisdom so that you can defeat the plans of Satan for your life and also for the lives of your family. Satan has wisdom that is beyond human understanding, but his wisdom is nothing compared to the wisdom of our all-powerful God. Along with wisdom, ask for God’s strength.
Ephesians 6:10 tells us to be strong in the Lord; we rely on his strength and not on our own abilities. Do not ever think that you can fight Satan apart from the supernatural power given to you by God. God will give you the strength to stand up during trials and temptations. And he will give you the strength needed to carry out his plans for spiritual battle. “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness” (Isaiah 41:10). We are not alone in spiritual warfare, God has given us help.
“What are all the angels? They are spirits sent to serve those who are going to receive salvation” (Hebrews 1:14, GW). God has assigned powerful supernatural beings, angels, to watch over us and to help us in spiritual warfare. Remember, although they are assigned to us, they are God’s angels; they do not belong to us. “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways” (Psalm 91:11). Angels listen to God’s word. When we speak God’s word, under the inspiration of God’s Spirit, angel will listen to us. “Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word” (Psalm 103:20). Never pray to angels, but you can ask your Father for their help. Since our main battles are usually in our minds, God has given us weapons that we can use to win the spiritual battle for our minds.
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). God has given us spiritual weapons that we can use to cast down mental strongholds and bring our thoughts in line with his word. We need to think according to God’s word and recognize thoughts that are actually lies from Satan. Any thoughts that contradict God’s word or are against the nature of God should be brought under the obedience of Christ. Demonic thoughts bring fear, depression, anxiety, and lust. Use God’s word to cast down these thoughts or they will take root and become strongholds. God has given us spiritual armor to wear.
“Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). The armor of God, Ephesians 6:13-17, is the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit. We put on the belt of truth by embracing the truth of God’s word. We walk by faith and not by site, God’s word is our ultimate truth. The breastplate of rightness speaks of our understanding of our “right standing” with God. We are righteous because we are in Christ. And we live in a way that brings glory to our Lord. There are many teachings on what it means to put on the shoes of peace, but this part of our armor speaks of the stability we have because we are at peace with God. “And as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15, ESV). The shield of faith extinguishes the attacks of the enemy. The shield of faith may not totally stop an attack, but our faith will stop the devastation of the attack. The arrow may reach us, but the “flame” of that arrow will be extinguished by our faith. The helmet of salvation deals with our mind. We put on our helmet by embracing the salvation that we currently possess. Our minds stay at rest because we have been delivered from death by the sacrifice of our Lord. The sword of the Spirit is God’s word; it is an offensive weapon. Jesus resisted Satan using God’s word, and we are to do the same. We speak God’s word over our situations. This sword not only cuts Satan, but it also strikes at our minds and brings our thoughts into alignment with God’s word. We use the sword of the Spirit by speaking God’s word and also by meditating upon it. God’s sword does a transforming work in our minds as we intentionally focus on it.
We are in a spiritual war. And as with all wars, we will have battles. God desires that we win these battles; therefore, he has given us all that we need to achieve victory. We can be victorious if we understand the nature of our battles, and we utilize the weapons that God has given us. When we rely on God’s wisdom, strength, and resources, we will win every spiritual fight.
Grace and Faith Ministries 