Battling From God’s Turf
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
In the healing process, we must learn how to utilize prayer and the Word of God…the Sword of the Spirit…as effective weapons against the attacks of the enemy. Ephesians 6:12 states:
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Though much of what we fight is our flesh, we cannot be blind to the tactics of the enemy. His goal is to take out many of God’s people by drawing them away from God through temptation or by having them fight each other. He can distort our vision in how we see the situations we are in, making them look much bigger than they are or causing us to feel there will be no positive outcome. He easily draws our vision to the negative instead of the positive and attacks our emotions through words and actions. He is a master at twisting God’s word to cause us doubt. He’s enough of a problem that the Word of God warns us about Him. Below are different examples of how he works and how we must be alert to his schemes:
3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it; 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. (Mark 4:3-4 and 14)
“you are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. (John 8:44)
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11)
“And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14)
“Therefore we wanted to come to you—even I, Paul, time and again—but Satan hindered us.” (1 Thessalonians 2:18)
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
“He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8)
However, James gives us instructions on how we must get the devil to flee:
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)
When we are alert to the schemes of the enemy, we can be better prepared to win the battle. We must learn to pick and choose our battles carefully with others. Not everything has to be a battle. The enemy’s agenda is to get us into battle with each other, however we are not called to fight with each other as we see the following scriptures:
If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. (Romans 12:18)
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)
Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. (1 Peter 3:8-9)
We must take everything to prayer as that is where our battles can be won. We must learn to be specific with our prayers. Prayer is similar to artillery fire in the Army. A soldier calls in the coordinates of the attack and other soldiers fire upon the enemy in the direction they are given. If the directions are off just a bit, they could end up missing their mark or worse yet, firing upon their own people. We must be specific with our prayers, when asking for God’s help. God always knows what to do. When we don’t see any improvement or difference in the situation, we can’t get discouraged. We must have faith that God will come through for us or that He has something better. Sometimes He does say “no” because it’s something that may not be right for us or the current situation is where He needs us to be for a bigger purpose. We must trust in His direction, be patient and wait on Him.
Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord! (Psalm 27:14)
When we fight on the enemy’s turf, we fight in the flesh and not the spirit. We battle each other instead of who the true cause of some of our problems really are…Satan. Though he’s not the cause of everything, the Bible gives us enough clues to show that he is a big problem in the life of a Christian. This is where prayer is important.
Wherever you are in your healing, don’t be discouraged and don’t give up. Whatever situation or trial you are in, do not doubt or fear. Keep your eyes focused on Christ and He will come to your defense.
As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. (2 Samuel 22:31)