Preparing for Spiritual Battles!
Christians are expected to develop their human spirit to the extent that they can discern spiritual things easily. We must be spiritually minded because the world we live in a wicked place, full of habitations of cruelty.
Man is born into trouble and so trouble is inevitable. It then becomes a tragedy for the man not to know how to defend himself when trouble comes. In addition, a child of God who chooses to live right will face constant demonic attacks, other than persecution.
What is a Spiritual battle?
Spiritual warfare or battle is contending with the forces of darkness arranged to derail us from our purpose in life. This definition is broad to indicate that the spiritual battles will continue until a man becomes very old, as long as you are standing on the truth. The devil never backs-off, he will continue to try to see whether you will make mistake, fall into sin or error, so he can stop you and your assignment, but we Have the Ultimate in power...JESUS CHRIST.
Whether we like it or not, we’re in a battle in this world. The enemy is good at doing some under-ground works in the spirit, before it manifests in the physical. For instance, before a major witchcraft attack on your life or destiny, these agents of the devil will fly in the night to the person's village, in search of information on him and his family. Some people may not believe it, but the witches and wizard of your family know the battles you are going through in town.
If you are successful or going to be successful, they know also. Recently, I heard a prophet say that the witches and wizards of his village knws that he can never be poor again. How did they know?
If you’re a believer who is living like salt and light in a dark world, the devil will be throwing 'arrows' at you and no man or woman of God can overgrow spiritual attacks. It is part of the Christian walk of faith. The difference is that we have different devils according to the grace we carry and the specific assignment the Lord is sending us to do.
This is why you must understand your assignment, and know how to identify the antics of the devil and to resist him. God has given us everything we need to defeat any Satan. They are in the Word of God. We may not know the depth of the darkness we are facing in battle, but if we know how to deploy the spiritual weapons, victory is sure.
When we don't know the power of wickedness we are facing, we appear ill-equipped, unprepared, or simply not aware of what to do. This is why we must rely on the Holy Ghost all the time for direction in spiritual battles against the enemy. The devil will not wait for us to be battle-ready before they attack. They’re ruthless, determined, and cunning. But, we are overcomers through the finished work of Jesus Christ. We have to approach every battle as winners and speak the word of God with authority in our mouth and be convinced about it.
Types of Spiritual Battle
1. The Job kind of attacks
Some believers experience, even today the same kind of sudden onslaught of various troubles, losses, and trials. This is a ruthless attack that Satan often brings against believers. It could be that after marriage, the man loses his job, one of his parents die and his investment in stocks and shares goes down. You would not know where they are all coming from. In Nigeria, when such happens to a man, he begins to think perhaps he had married a wrong wife, maybe the newly married wife is possessed and so on.
It might be correct that the newly married wife is possessed and in darkness, but the bottom line is that the devil has entered into the life of that believer to 'shift' him. If he would progress and move forward thereafter, he would have to understand how Job survived his own battle. (Job 1-2). Job was living right and the Lord shielded him roundabout and God was confident of him that He asked Satan whether he had noticed him.
Why was this question asked by God Himself? I think it was because Job was doing everything right before God. He would pray, praise the Lord and even offer sacrifices in case his children had offended God, asking for His mercy over his children. He was the mouth of the poor and oppressed and would go to any length to see that justice was done, where the poor, Needy or Widows had been dispossessed of their possession and God was pleased with him. His riches were not being enjoyed by his family alone, the poor and Widows also enjoy it.
So, the devil sought an opportunity to 'shift' him greatly. but notice that God held him secure through all the loss and hardship he suffered. God will never allow the enemy to have full control, he doesn’t have the final say over our lives. We may face battles and attacks in this life, but like Job did, if we can remain faithful in Christ, victory is ours.
2. Attacks on our health
The devil comes but to “steal, kill, and destroy” those things we cherish in life (John 10:10). He is a thief, a roaring lion, and preys on God’s people. He desires to torment and afflict believers to make them curse the Lord and backslide from faith, but God forbid that. We know our rights in Christ and it is up to every child of God to exercise that right over sickness and all the afflictions of the devil. Take authority over the devil by the Word of God. By the finished work of Christ, which says He took away our infirmities...and by His stripes, we are healed Isaiah 53:4-6
3. Attack on our Finances
When a man has a wicked enemy trailing him, an agent of darkness assigned to bring him down, the first place they target is his finances, and brethren attack on your bread, your employment and business is one of the most destructive and painful attacks. If a man's heaven is closed, there is nothing he can do that will succeed, including ministry and even soul winning. Every child of God with a purpose must constantly watch over his finances and pray for sustenance and increase. This is one area the devil is trying the faith and existence of many believers today. They lose their job and that's it, year after year, he cannot find another. Some will venture into business without favour coming their way at all.
The solution may not be in trying one business after another, because if care is not taken, all of them may eventually close down. If the enemies have closed the heavens of such a person. That person must fight to get his/her heavens to open, otherwise, such a person cannot fulfil destiny. You have to seek the help of the Lord especially, go into fasting and praying. Get relevant scriptures like Isaiah 49:24-26 and others like it and then...lock yourself up in the room for at least 3 days without food and cry to God for help. Your closed heaven must open in Jesus Christ name.
Warfare Preparation
What is a Spiritual battle?
Spiritual warfare or battle is contending with the forces of darkness arranged to derail us from our purpose in life. This definition is broad to indicate that the spiritual battles will continue until a man becomes very old, as long as you are standing on the truth. The devil never backs-off, he will continue to try to see whether you will make mistake, fall into sin or error, so he can stop you and your assignment, but we Have the Ultimate in power...JESUS CHRIST.
If you are successful or going to be successful, they know also. Recently, I heard a prophet say that the witches and wizards of his village knws that he can never be poor again. How did they know?
If you’re a believer who is living like salt and light in a dark world, the devil will be throwing 'arrows' at you and no man or woman of God can overgrow spiritual attacks. It is part of the Christian walk of faith. The difference is that we have different devils according to the grace we carry and the specific assignment the Lord is sending us to do.
This is why you must understand your assignment, and know how to identify the antics of the devil and to resist him. God has given us everything we need to defeat any Satan. They are in the Word of God. We may not know the depth of the darkness we are facing in battle, but if we know how to deploy the spiritual weapons, victory is sure.
When we don't know the power of wickedness we are facing, we appear ill-equipped, unprepared, or simply not aware of what to do. This is why we must rely on the Holy Ghost all the time for direction in spiritual battles against the enemy. The devil will not wait for us to be battle-ready before they attack. They’re ruthless, determined, and cunning. But, we are overcomers through the finished work of Jesus Christ. We have to approach every battle as winners and speak the word of God with authority in our mouth and be convinced about it.
Types of Spiritual Battle
1. The Job kind of attacks
Some believers experience, even today the same kind of sudden onslaught of various troubles, losses, and trials. This is a ruthless attack that Satan often brings against believers. It could be that after marriage, the man loses his job, one of his parents die and his investment in stocks and shares goes down. You would not know where they are all coming from. In Nigeria, when such happens to a man, he begins to think perhaps he had married a wrong wife, maybe the newly married wife is possessed and so on.
It might be correct that the newly married wife is possessed and in darkness, but the bottom line is that the devil has entered into the life of that believer to 'shift' him. If he would progress and move forward thereafter, he would have to understand how Job survived his own battle. (Job 1-2). Job was living right and the Lord shielded him roundabout and God was confident of him that He asked Satan whether he had noticed him.
Why was this question asked by God Himself? I think it was because Job was doing everything right before God. He would pray, praise the Lord and even offer sacrifices in case his children had offended God, asking for His mercy over his children. He was the mouth of the poor and oppressed and would go to any length to see that justice was done, where the poor, Needy or Widows had been dispossessed of their possession and God was pleased with him. His riches were not being enjoyed by his family alone, the poor and Widows also enjoy it.
So, the devil sought an opportunity to 'shift' him greatly. but notice that God held him secure through all the loss and hardship he suffered. God will never allow the enemy to have full control, he doesn’t have the final say over our lives. We may face battles and attacks in this life, but like Job did, if we can remain faithful in Christ, victory is ours.
2. Attacks on our health
The devil comes but to “steal, kill, and destroy” those things we cherish in life (John 10:10). He is a thief, a roaring lion, and preys on God’s people. He desires to torment and afflict believers to make them curse the Lord and backslide from faith, but God forbid that. We know our rights in Christ and it is up to every child of God to exercise that right over sickness and all the afflictions of the devil. Take authority over the devil by the Word of God. By the finished work of Christ, which says He took away our infirmities...and by His stripes, we are healed Isaiah 53:4-6
3. Attack on our Finances
When a man has a wicked enemy trailing him, an agent of darkness assigned to bring him down, the first place they target is his finances, and brethren attack on your bread, your employment and business is one of the most destructive and painful attacks. If a man's heaven is closed, there is nothing he can do that will succeed, including ministry and even soul winning. Every child of God with a purpose must constantly watch over his finances and pray for sustenance and increase. This is one area the devil is trying the faith and existence of many believers today. They lose their job and that's it, year after year, he cannot find another. Some will venture into business without favour coming their way at all.
The solution may not be in trying one business after another, because if care is not taken, all of them may eventually close down. If the enemies have closed the heavens of such a person. That person must fight to get his/her heavens to open, otherwise, such a person cannot fulfil destiny. You have to seek the help of the Lord especially, go into fasting and praying. Get relevant scriptures like Isaiah 49:24-26 and others like it and then...lock yourself up in the room for at least 3 days without food and cry to God for help. Your closed heaven must open in Jesus Christ name.
Warfare Preparation
Preparation begets success. Preparation is a necessary ingredient for success in life and spiritual battles. God reminds us not to go into the day without being prepared and equipped for battle. He tells us to take up his full armour in order to stand against the enemy’s schemes. As soldiers of the Lord, we should never enter into any battle without our Commander the Holy Ghost with us, secondly, we should never go into battle without being prepared.
What kind of preparation is needed?
Our God is a holy God. who cannot behold iniquity? He cannot look at sin. We need the presence of the Lord to win any spiritual battle that faces us, if the Lord go not with us, we go nowhere were the words of Moses to God. So, we must invite the presence of the Lord and the Man of War through obedience and holy living. The man that is praying to God should be at least be of one heart. Your heart should be full of faith and pure.
1. You must be born again: - You must believe the word of God as true and accept the Son of God, Jesus Christ as your Lord and saviour. You must be surrendered to Jesus and very well too. You must believe in Jesus according to John 3:16, and confess that He is Lord of your life - For Jesus said in John 3:3 "Verily verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
2. Acquaint yourself with the Word and be baptized: The scripture and the Holy Ghost are your enablers in the faith. When you become born again, get water baptism as soon as you believe and then devote yourself to studying the word of God. The word of God is power and if you have the word in your spirit, you have power. We use the word to counter the devil as Jesus did and also as prayer 'bullets' in spiritual warfare.
3. Holy Living: - Spiritual battles are easily won be people who live holy. What do I mean? Holy living is simply obeying God's word in the bible and doing what He says you should do. If you will hearken to His words and obey His instructions, you will surely prosper Deut 28:1-14
4. Flee from Sin: - Sin is a reproach. Both the sin we do and the evil thoughts we harbour in our heart will hinder our prayers, and make victory very difficult. Sin brings separation between man and God according to Isaiah 59:1-2. Sin are works of the flesh as counted in Galatians 5:19-21. Sin are works of the flesh do not please God and no one can continue in sin and see the glory of God.
5. Obedience to Christ - Our willingness to obey the words and commandments of Christ at all times will deliver us from danger. Obedience leads to submission and when there is submission, there is a relationship. If you are not obeying the Word of God, you cannot say you love Jesus or that you love God.
Obedience is submitting to God's authority and resist sin and every temptation to sin. For anyone to win in the battles of life, you must first “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7). Without total submission to the Lord, demons will not flee at your command. This is why obedience is very important.
5. Obedience to Christ - Our willingness to obey the words and commandments of Christ at all times will deliver us from danger. Obedience leads to submission and when there is submission, there is a relationship. If you are not obeying the Word of God, you cannot say you love Jesus or that you love God.
Obedience is submitting to God's authority and resist sin and every temptation to sin. For anyone to win in the battles of life, you must first “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7). Without total submission to the Lord, demons will not flee at your command. This is why obedience is very important.
6. Purity of heart: - God loves purity of heart and the pure in heart shall see the Lord, so you must keep a pure heart - for if you regard iniquity in your heart - If there is a secret sin you hid to commit, which you enjoy doing and each time, you make sure nobody sees you...Know for sure that nothing can be hidden from God, and so when you pray, God will not answer you.
7. Accept you have a problem: - You must acknowledge a problem before you can solve it. When you identify a problem, then you do a research finding on it, to know how the problem started, where it started, what dreams you had before the problem started and what visions God showed you before that time.
You should also find out who and who is involved and where the arrows and attacks are coming from. This will help you arrange relevant scriptures for battle.
8. Faith: You need to develop your faith and put your trust in God. You need to know that the battle is not yours. It belongs to God, your defender and protector, so, you do not go into battle alone. You go into the battle, led by the Holy Ghost, then the battle is not yours, but the Lord.
You must also realize that your righteousness cannot heal or deliver you, but faith in that name JESUS CHRIST will. So, develop strong faith in the name of Jesus - as the apostles did and God wrought miracles and wonders through them. Believe in God and let the Holy Ghost lead you into every battle.
9. Prayer and Fasting: - Your next step is to arrange the scriptures relevant to the battle at hand. The scriptures serve as the legal ground upon which your battle. If it is an oppression, Isaiah 49:24-26; There is Isaiah 41: 10-14 to assure you of God's presence and victory.
God’s weapons available to us
Spiritual warfare is not giving the devil more attention or focusing too much on his evil ways. It is also not announcing what actions you will take to the enemy, it is praying effectively. You should know how to burst in tongues and pray throughout a season in tongues, which the enemy does not understand. We should desire to hear His voices during prayers because that is what will make the difference.
If we can hear Him and do what He directs us to you, He will surely fight our fiercest battles for us. There’s power through His Spirit, His Word, and in prayer, and we can be confident that He is always with us, leading our way and covering us from behind. The weapons are:
The gift of the Holy Spirit
God fills us with strength, wisdom, and discernment through His Holy Spirit to discern what to do and how to do it. The Holy Spirit is the 'Man of War' and He knows what the enemy is planning and how to disrupt it through our prayer arrows. Every believer has the gift of God’s Spirit dwelling within them. The same power that raised Lazarus from the dead, parted the sea, broke open prison doors, and caused the lame to walk, is the same powerful Spirit still alive and at work within us today.
Armour of God
“Put on the full armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
These are the Armour of God
1. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,
2. Breastplate of righteousness in place
3. Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
4. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
5. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. Eph 6:14-18
God Himself says "call unto me in times of trouble and I will show you great and mighty things you know not". This is your ticket to His presence in times of trouble and the prayer of warfare is a bit different from your day to day prayer. (I gave a clue to this before). One of the secrets of success in warfare battle is the ability to pray in tongues.
His Word
He arms us with the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, to stand against the lies of the enemy. Praying God’s words back to Him, is a powerful weapon against the forces of evil. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12).
The blood of Christ
The blood of Jesus is one of the most potent weapons a believer has.
The name JESUS CHRIST
The name above every other name, Jesus Christ is the number one key for victory. For we pray in His name, and without His name, no prayer will be answered.
Power of praise
Praise is a powerful weapon in the hand of God for deliverance because in praises, God Himself comes down to see things for Himself. When you are praising God, He comes because He inhabits the praises of His people, whether in war or peacetime. In the story of Jehoshaphat, we see God miraculously defeat the enemy, because of the people’s obedience to praise Him.
“As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.” (2 Chronicles 20:22). “He inhabits the praises of His people.” (Psalm 22:3).
Christ has already overcome the enemy for us, but we must walking in the Spirit to make victory easy. When we do, we will be led by the spirit of God and the specific prayers and actions required, the Spirit will tell us and victory is sure.
FIRE...
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