10-23-12 Where Is the Battlefield?
Ephesians 6:10-13, 18-20 The Armor of God
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand.
18And 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 saints. 19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly as I should.
Do not be fooled. Cast aside any doubts you may have. There is a spiritual battle being waged today for souls; our souls. You know our heavenly Father deeply desires a relationship with all His children. He wants us to rejoice with Him in His heavenly kingdom until the end of time. So too does Satan desire to keep us from having a relationship with God. Satan’s goal is to keep us from joining our Father in heaven. Pastor has preached about the presence of a third party, an unseen spiritual entity that disrupts relationships and families; creates doubt, mistrust, envy, jealousy. This is the struggle these passages refer to.
If we are in an unseen, unfelt “battle”, where is the battlefield? It is all around us. It is everywhere. How can I, a mere human being who struggles with sin in a broken world ever hope to meet the challenge of this struggle??? Ahhhh but we can’t. Not by ourselves. Certainly not alone. The only one who can equip us against Satan is Almighty God. The passages for today give us a battle plan when we encounter Satan. When everything we think, say and do is done with God in our thoughts and heart, we will have put on the full armor of God for the battle. We will be equipped for the battle. It is when we think, say and do without God in our thoughts and heart is when Satan finds an opening. It is then we are at our weakest.
Prayer is such a vital role in fighting against the forces of Satan. Prayer is essential in connecting with God. We cannot have a relationship with Him without prayer. Jesus went to our Heavenly Father all the time in prayer. It is no less that we need to spend time in prayer with our Father in heaven. Prayer prepares our hearts to accept Jesus. Prayer gives us that time to spend in His presence. Prayer can get us to that point where everything we think, say and do is with God in our thoughts and heart.
This passage exhorts us to pray. Pray for all kinds of requests with all kinds of prayers. Pray all the time. In that way God will dwell within us so that we can be a shining light for Him to everyone. He will have equipped us for battle by putting on the full armor of God.
Kevin