Friday Fight 95 - Our Fighting Stance
Every Friday, when I wake and pray, God places something on my heart to help me fight darkness beginning in our minds. Today is FF95.
Every week we post lessons about how to help fight against the enemy of our souls. How often do we hear the phrase "spiritual warfare," and what are people referring to when referencing it? We have access to multiple teachings, topics for discussion, and an array of books, information far beyond the space in a Friday Fight. However, how are we framing our thoughts when we hear this phrase?
Our Fighting Stance:
The term spiritual warfare opens perspectives that lead to a wide array of opinions, mindset shifts, and even changes in the dynamic of a person's character. But God is sovereign and merciful and offered His Son as a living sacrifice, paying for our sins in the most horrific way. This is life changing. Our Heavenly Father of strength and mercy sent His Son of suffering and salvation, allowing us to walk with the Holy Spirit of truth and guidance. God enables healing, miracles, and freedom from the bondage people tend to be fascinated by, which is something to celebrate! Experiencing the love and grace of God and the perfect timing of the Holy Spirit is unparalleled over deliverance teachings or trying to master knowledge in the wrong area.
Spiritual warfare is real, and the Bible clearly shows us how to stand against it. But, unfortunately, this topic can bring denial or fear, giving Satan a foothold. For some, warfare brings a fascination to understand the workings of the demonic, which can lead to a sudden desire to "do deliverance." But rather than educating this fascination, remember that this can spiral quickly to a place where chaos is widespread and pride dominates a once humble heart.
If you want to discuss anything in the spiritual realm, open the Bible and read about God's power, His love for us, and the numerous examples of how we are called to love God and people. A short, healthy lesson is to remember the job of the Christian - to stand firm in fervent prayer while God fights on our behalf. Awareness of our stance is the best way to fight by asking ourselves these questions. Are we fighting defensively, going before God with our interference of missed timing and chaos rather than allowing God to fulfill His promises? Or are we standing fervent in prayer from an offensive standpoint, as explained in Ephesians? Watching others move from a defensive posture to an offensive posture and seeing God move on their behalf brings hope.
The goal of Satan is to remove our identity, reliance, and dependency upon God by changing our perspective of His grace, power, and love. Satan is the accuser, deceiver and the father of lies. He works to steal, kill, and destroy our joy, causing division in every area of our lives and stopping us from praying.
Our most significant resistance in spiritual warfare is remaining diligent in prayer. But we can also be mindful of not giving Satan credit for every bad day. Instead, look for places where God is moving, pray, and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal anything we have missed. As Christians, let's seek answers from the Word and apply what we have learned. We are standing under the authority of Christ's blood, bound by the truth of the Word. So, let's practice and proclaim to be prayer warriors together to fight spiritual warfare, giving God the focus and credit, He deserves.
Pastor Shannon
New Life Calvert