Spiritual battle or warfare is a conflict that we experience against Satan and his demons. Many people are not familiar with spiritual warfare, but it is real in our walk with our God. Ephesians 6:12 says, "For we 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." The flesh-and-blood refers to human beings, and so our spiritual battle or warfare is against Satan and his forces, which consist of fallen angels that followed Satan's rebellion against God. Satan has two weapons that he uses to attack us: lies and temptations. Satan is good at twisting the truth to confuse and lead us to the wrong conclusion or ways. For example, he puts things in our minds that are not true about us. Satan is good at falsely accusing us of not being good enough, we are failures, or we don't have what it takes to succeed. Satan is also good at luring or tempting us to sin against God. Satan tempts us not to trust in God but to trust in ourselves. He tempts us to value money and material things of this world more than prioritizing God's way. He tempts us in the area of sexual immorality, alcohol, and drugs.
David experienced constant attacks by his enemies, and he fought against them through prayer. He prayed this prayer in Psalm 64:1: "Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint; protect my life from the threat of the enemy." One of the spiritual armors that God has provided us is our shield of faith, and the sword that God has provided us is the Word of God, our Bible (Ephesians 6:17). We activate or use our shield of faith through our prayer. We cannot win against Satan without the help of our God, and this is the reason we need to keep praying. When bad thoughts come into our minds or fear and anxiety grip us, we need to fight against them through prayer. We need to ask God to protect our minds and believe who we really are in our Lord Jesus. There are times that Satan puts temptations in my mind, and I have to pray to God to give me the strength to not give in to them. Sometimes, his attacks are persistent, and I have to keep on praying to overcome them.
We can only find victory in our spiritual battle or warfare through the power of our God. When we are being tempted to sin, or Satan puts fear and lies in our minds, we need to pray immediately for God to deliver us.
Questions for application: (Think through these questions carefully, meditate on them while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you.) What are the two weapons that Satan attacks me? How can I protect myself from Satan's attack? What should I do when Satan tempts me to sin or puts lies in my mind?
Write down all the worries you face today and lift them up to God.
Prayer:
Dear Father in Heaven, You are my God. Please protect my mind from Satan's lies and temptations. Please help me not to believe all the lies that he puts in my mind and to only believe in your promises from your Word. Please help me not to give in to any temptations that Satan puts on my way so that I may not sin against you. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
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