How To Battle

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First part of this series is Warrior God.

Forces in the spiritual realm are set against us so we must battle or the enemy will invade and prevail over us. We must don our spiritual armour and wear it 24/7 and stand up to our enemy and fight because forces are set against us and if we are idle the enemy will run us over. If we do not fight the enemy will be relentless in attacking us and will take our blessings away. Whether we like it or not, spiritual warfare is going on 24/7, Satan and his army are not going to back off just because we are ignorant of his devices or tired of fighting. Oh no, he will fight even harder until we are so bound up in demonic chains that we are totally harmless to his kingdom.

Unbelief in spiritual warfare does not stop the oppression of the enemy, that only gives the enemy an advantage over us. Remember:

Exodus 15:3 NIV

The Lord is a warrior;

    the Lord is his name.

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A child of God should not behave like a civilian or a citizen of the world but needs to take on their responsibility and be a soldier in the Lord's army.

Ephesians 6:12 NIV 

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.

The word struggle or in some versions, wrestle, implies fighting or hand to hand combat. Struggle defined by dictionary.com says: to contend with an adversary or opposing force. to contend resolutely with a task, problem, etc.; strive: to struggle for existence. to advance with violent effort: to struggle through the snow. (of athletes and competitors) to be coping with inability to perform well or to win; contend with difficulty: After struggling for the whole month of June, he suddenly caught fire and raised his batting average 30 points. This word gives us the picture of extreme fighting, a battle that one does not give up on until they win the fight.

1 Timothy 6:12 NIV

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Psalm 144:1 NIV

Praise be to the Lord my Rock,

    who trains my hands for war,

    my fingers for battle.

Jesus is our teacher, ask Him to show you how to do battle and He will. Remember He is faithful and Father hears our prayers if we are not living in sin and stay under the covering of the Blood of the Lamb. There are some rules to warfare and if you follow them you will be successful in the battle.

Deuteronomy 20:1-8 NIV

When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. He shall say: “Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”

The officers shall say to the army: “Has anyone built a new house and not yet begun to live in it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else may begin to live in it. Has anyone planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else enjoy it. Has anyone become pledged to a woman and not married her? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else marry her.” Then the officers shall add, “Is anyone afraid or fainthearted? Let him go home so that his fellow soldiers will not become disheartened too.”

From reading this above passage we see that we are to go into prayer knowing God is with us and we have no reason to fear because it is God who will be fighting for us. We also see that if we are distracted when we go into prayer then our prayers are not effective and we are open for a sucker punch to the vitals by the enemy. We must deal with the distraction first in order to win the war.

Psalm 8:1 NIV

Lord, our Lord,

    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory

    in the heavens.

Always start your prayers off with praise and worship. God is worthy of our praise so when we go to war we need to acknowledge Him for Who He is, praise Him and know that He is going before you into the battle field.

1 John 1:9 NIV

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Confess your sins. You cannot enter into the presence of the Lord while you are living in sin or have unrepentant sin in your heart. You need to be right with Him because when you are He will hear your prayer and He does answer right away. It is either yes, no or wait.

Ephesians 6:18 NIV

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. 

Now you are ready to pray all kinds of prayers in the Spirit. What does praying in the Spirit mean? Check out GotQuestions.org for a good explanation. Here is a little snippet of their answer...The Greek word translated “pray in” can have several different meanings. It can mean “by means of,” “with the help of,” “in the sphere of,” and “in connection to.” Praying in the Spirit does not refer to the words we are saying. Rather, it refers to how we are praying. Praying in the Spirit is praying according to the Spirit’s leading. It is praying for things the Spirit leads us to pray for.

Next post will be on why we must fight.

Blessings,
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Warrior God

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God is a Warrior, a Mighty Fighter and the lives we live are not going to be all fun and games. The battles that we deal with in the physical is nothing compared to the spiritual battles that occur 24/7.

Around the world over billions of dollars are spent on defending our nations from attacks and wars. Wars are a huge part of our human history. We have biological warfare, Guerrilla warfare, religious warfare, germ warfare and so on. Our countries live on the defense with war strategies placed all over our nation.

The natural mirrors the spiritual and what we see here in the physical is only a fraction of what is happening in the spiritual which is a mega war on a colossal scale.

Jeremiah 12:5 NIV

“If you have raced with men on foot

    and they have worn you out,

    how can you compete with horses?

If you stumble in safe country,

    how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?

The story of our lives is one long stretch of unending battles starting in the womb and ending in death.

Jacob tells us how difficult his life has been...

Genesis 47:9 NIV

And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.”

Job declares that our days are few and full of trouble...

Job 14:1 NIV

“Mortals, born of woman,

    are of few days and full of trouble."

Paul talks about his hardships...

2 Corinthians 11:23-29 NIV

"Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?"

The wonderful thing is that we have victory in Jesus Christ! He won the war and so we are winners too.

1 Corinthians 15:57 NIV

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christian are to be warriors just like our Lord Jesus. He is a mighty Warrior and He has shown us how to do battle.

Ephesians 6:10-13 NIV

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. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Jesus is our Commander in Chief and He is prepared and ready to lead us into the battle field.

Exodus 15:3 NIV

The Lord is a warrior;

    the Lord is his name.

If you are a person that is not willing to do battle, if you want a cosy life problem free, then you cannot belong to the family of God because God's children are warriors just like their leader. How do we war? Simple!! We war in prayer and intercession just like Jesus did.

Luke 22:43-44 NIV

An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

We fight with our words in intercession to our God who hears us and answers right away. Have you every prayed so intensely that your sweat was like drops of blood? I haven't but if we could have that same determination and focus I don't believe our world would be in the situation it is in now.

Christians need to wake up and put on their battle clothes. Our knees need to become calloused from kneeling in prayer. We need to pray intensely about all situations because Satan's children are praying and doing battle in the second heaven against us. They are fasting food and sleep in order to gain favour from their leader.

Prayer:

Father You are glorious indeed! The might of Your armour shines and Your mighty right arm bulges as You hold the double edge sword. I praise and worship You and give You thanks!!
Release in me the understanding of who I am in Jesus Christ.
As I stand by Your side and mimic Your moves I trust that You have my back, my front and all around me You surround me with Your presence. Any satanic demons tormenting my life, be tormented in the name of Jesus Christ. Any satanic demons standing in the way my destiny be blocked in the name of Jesus. Every demonic angel blocking my prayers be roasted by the fire of the Holy Spirit. Every power increasing against the healing of the sick be silenced in the name of Jesus. Lord, soak this blog in the blood of Jesus and the people on the prayer page be healed, in Jesus' name.

Blessings,
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