Intro to Spiritual Warfare: Part 2

How to Fight Spiritually 

God wins the war against Satan. This likely isn’t a surprise to you, but what is a surprise to many is the fact that you are fighting in the war. I mentioned this in part 1 of this series on spiritual warfare. Everyone who has ever lived has been a participant in this battle. You’re fighting for the good side or the bad side. Even if you don’t realize it. This begs the question, which side are you fighting for? If you’re not sure, it’s likely that you’re not actively fighting against the powers of darkness, and you’re fighting with the enemy. Think about it this way: If you’re in a river and you’re not swimming upstream, then you’re floating downstream. This spiritual war is the same. If you’re doing nothing at all, you’re moving away from the goal. 

What is the goal? To work alongside God as He saves as many people as possible, so they can spend eternity with Him. God certainly doesn't need us to win this war, but He gives us the honor of working with Him, and we have to be active and intentional in this fight. So, how do we do that? Well, the answer is much simpler than you might expect, and it’s powerful. To find the answer, we’re going to go to Ephesians 6:14-18. It says this: 

“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 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 Lord’s people.” 

How do you fight against the powers of darkness? You have to put on the armor of God. Let’s break this down and talk about how we do this practically. 

The Belt of Truth

The first thing the Apostle Paul mentions here is to equip yourself with the belt of truth. To fight in this battle, you have to know the truth. What is the truth? This seems to be a big question in the world today. Everyone believes that they have their own version of the truth, but this is Satan deceiving us. The thing about truth is that it’s not subjective. Something is true or it’s not. Period. The devil will try to get you to compromise the truth even if it’s just 10%. But something that’s 90% true isn’t true at all. So what is truth? God’s Word. If you don’t know what God says, then you will more easily believe Satan’s lies. In John 8:32, Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Read God’s Word, let it sink into your heart, and be set free by it. 

The Breastplate of Righteousness

Righteousness is defined as the quality of being morally right or justifiable. But here’s the problem: none of us are justifiable on our own. God’s beautiful solution to this problem was Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, ​​“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Those who know Jesus as Savior and Lord, get to point to Him and the perfect way that He lived and claim that as our own. But this astounding reality should make us want to live more like He lived—to live a righteous life to the best of our ability. So do that. It’s become cliche but ask yourself “What would Jesus do?” and do it. Take care of your neighbors, welcome people into your home, volunteer your time, and give your resources to bless. Live like Jesus. How is this fighting against Satan? Well, when people see the way you live it will stir something in them and they will ask why you’re different. If you live a righteous life, people will come to know Jesus, and when people come to know Jesus, you’re taking back ground from the enemy. 

Feet Fitted with Readiness

Next Paul says to have your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. Readiness is being fully prepared and willing to do something. “Do what?” you might ask. Romans 10:15 and Isaiah 52:7 both say, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Paul is saying that you better be prepared and willing to share the gospel. Tell people about the Good News that you have in Jesus. In doing so, you’re fighting against the enemy. But also, don’t miss the fact that our readiness comes from the gospel of peace. This is a beautiful picture of who God is. Who has peace when fighting in a war? Christians because peace doesn’t come from our circumstances, it comes from God Himself. 

The Shield of Faith

Shields are used for protection. And faith is the shield that protects us from all the ways Satan attacks us. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” It is faith that reminds us that everything will be okay, that God works for the good of those who love Him, and that Jesus will come back and right every wrong and eradicate all pain one day. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to lose sight of that. So, figure out how you best hold onto faith. Maybe for you it’s remembering ways God has shown up in your life, or looking at the details of God’s creation in nature, or hearing the laughter of your friends, or even having deep conversations about Scripture. Whatever it is, make sure to focus some of your time doing that. Stir up your faith so the devil can't discourage you to the point where it dwindles. When your faith isn’t built up, it’s so much harder to actively fight against Satan.

The Helmet of Salvation

Next, Paul says to put on the helmet of salvation. Most people would argue that helmets are the most important part of any armor because when your head is damaged, nothing else functions the same. Paul is saying that having the right mindset towards your salvation is as important as a helmet. What does that mean? Firstly, it means trusting in your salvation. I’ve had many conversations with people who are not confident that they’re going to heaven when they die. If this is you, then let’s go back to the truth—the Word of God. Romans 10:9 says, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” If you’ve done this, then trust that you are saved because of the work of Jesus on the cross alone. It is also important that you meditate on your salvation. To meditate simply means to think deeply about something. Think often about the miracle that is your salvation. Sit in awe in God’s presence because of what He has done for you. Psalm 51:12 says, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” Meditating on the fact that you get to spend eternity in the presence of God will restore the joy of your salvation. 

The Sword of the Spirit

You can’t go to battle without a sword. Paul says that the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. We talked before about knowing the truth. That is so important, but why do we need to know God's Word? So we can wield it. Use Scripture to speak life into yourselves and others. When you’re anxious or afraid, remind yourself that God has not given you a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). When your friend cannot seem to forgive herself/himself for the past, tell them that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). When your children are afraid to go to sleep because there might be monsters under the bed, speak over them Psalm 4:8 which says “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Know your Scripture and then go to battle with it just like Jesus did in Matthew 4. He showed us how to fight. Let’s use our swords.

Prayer

Lastly, Paul says this, “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 Lord’s people” (Ephesians 6:8). Paul was not alone in telling us to pray. Jesus also said this, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8). You get the mind-blowing privilege to talk to the perfect Creator of all. So pray and pray persistently. Pray about everything. Praise God for His goodness. Cry out to Him when life hits hard. Talk to Him about the details of your day. Knock and knock and knock on behalf of your friends and family.  Always pray for all of God’s people, and do it with confidence—because God will show up.

I recognize that none of this is groundbreaking information. But remember this: knowledge is only power if it’s applied. My prayer is that you would put this into practice in your life. That you would read God’s Word and memorize Scripture so you can battle with it. That you will seek to live a righteous life just like Jesus. That you would always be excited and ready to share the Good News with everyone. That you would work to stir up your faith and to remember the miracle that is your salvation. Because it is only with all this armor on and the power of the Holy Spirit that we can stand firm. That we can hold our ground against Satan and his evil army. Some days you might feel like you’re losing, but the fact that you’re aware of the battle means you’re fighting, and everyone is better off with you in the fight. Let’s go to war together.