Part 3 of Battling the Darkness: Spiritual Warfare
Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not
live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of
the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer
and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and
supplication for all saints;
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and
sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul
and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart.
2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Matthew 18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree
on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of
my Father which is in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered
together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
A full discussion of Scripture study and of prayer are far beyond the reach
of this article. What we will examine here, and only in outline form, is
the role that Scripture and prayer play in spiritual warfare. Jesus knew
very well the power the Word has against the Enemy; he responded to every attack
of Satan in the wilderness with "It is written", and used the appropriate
passage to refute Satan's suggestions. We can do the same, but in order to
do so, we must be familiar with what the Word teaches in the various situations
that confront us in life. Daily Bible study is an essential part of our
arsenal against Satan; memorizing verses is good, because we can draw on those
verses we've committed to heart as the situation arises. There will be
times, though, no matter how many verses we have committed to memory, that we
need something else. Familiarity with the Word allows us to call passages
to mind even when we can't cite chapter and verse. If we're at home, or
some other place where we can sit down and look up references, we'll have a head
start if we know where to look, at least the book involved if not the chapter
and verse. A good concordance is another essential tool in our daily
devotional life.
The presence, or abiding, of the words of Scripture, the words of God, within
us bears directly on the success of our prayer life. Here's what Jesus
said: If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye
will, and it shall be done unto you. (John 15:7). This "abiding" in
Christ has to do with the kind of relationship we have with him, more intimate
than we have even with our own spouses. We not only live with
Christ, but in him, as part of his body. Paul calls the church "the
body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:27). If we live in Christ, and his Word
lives in us, he promises that our requests to God will be answered. When
we are confronted by spiritual attacks, then, no matter what form they take, we
have the assurance that the ammunition we need to counter the attack is in the
Word, and that our prayers will defeat the Enemy's purpose, because the Word of
God says so. This is one of the promises we can stand on: Submit
yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James
4:7), and Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because
greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. (1 John 4:4).
Paul's letter to the Ephesians, like many of his other letters, was written
to a church body, though it certainly has application to individuals. The
passage in Ephesians says "we" battle not against flesh and blood; a soldier
goes to battle as part of an army, not as a lone ranger. The great thing
about being a Christian is that we are part of a body; we don't have to
fight Satan and his demons alone. There is great power in spiritual unity,
as Jesus indicated in the passage above from Matthew 18. Roman soldiers
fought shoulder to shoulder, and, if necessary, back to back. It has often
been pointed out that there is no protective armor for the back, because we are
to stand against the enemy, not run away. This is true, but in the heat of
battle someone may attack from your rear anyway. There's a popular
expression now, "I've got your back," meaning the other person is looking out
for us. Well, in spiritual battles, others in the church "have your back".
We need to be part of a local church body in part because we can turn to the
people in it for support when the Enemy comes against us like a flood; if we
can't rely on our church to do that for us, then we need to find another one.
The admonition in 1 Thessalonians is to "pray without ceasing". That
doesn't mean we should be uttering prayers all day long; it does mean we should
be consciously in fellowship with the Lord wherever we are. It's a little
like being at home with a well-loved spouse; we aren't talking all the time, but
just the consciousness that the other person is there, and will answer when we
call, is a great comfort. When Satan uses people and circumstances to come
against us, we can be certain that the Lord is there by our side to help us
resist him. The members of our local church cannot always be physically
present with us, but the Lord certainly can. We are not alone; we are
never alone if we are Christ's.
We acquire habits in our daily lives, good and bad. The best habits we
can cultivate are to make the two bulwarks of our faith, the Word and the
fellowship of prayer, a part of our daily routine. Defeating the enemy may
not be something that happens immediately, and we may lose some battles because
our faith falters. We can rest in the assurance, though, that Satan is
already a defeated enemy, and that we rest in victory when the war is finally
done.
Resources:
Correcting the Cults: Expert Responses to Their Scripture Twisting
By Norman L. Geisler / Baker
How do cults use Scripture to ensnare millions? Discover the ways that Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, the New Age movement, and others misinterpret the Bible to support their own doctrines. Comprehensive, accessible, and intelligent, this reliable resource will equip you to understand aberrant faith systems, reason with their adherents, and point them toward Jesus Christ! Formerly titled When Cultists Ask. 368 pages, softcover from Baker.
Coming next: Know Your Enemy
