“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.”—2 Corinthians 10:4
“Living room wars” entered our lives during the Vietnam era and the first Persian Gulf War and increased in intensity with the advent of cable news during the Iraq war.
We watched the shifting desert weather and soldiers hiding in trenches and heard actual bombs exploding. The fascinating and grievous action of a real, live war becomes a constant backdrop while we work, play, and eat dinner. We are experiencing it again with the war on Ukraine and in the Mid East.
Then, when we grow weary of it, we turn the television off. If only real war could be turned off with remote control.
In the spiritual realm, a war is also raging for your soul and for every human
being on the planet, with the same intensity. There are spiritual prisoners, great and small victories, and fiercefighting as believers battle with the sword of God’s Word, prayer, and sacrificial service.
“We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
Because the physical wars in our era are usually far away, we forget that the spiritual battles are right at hand, not far off in other realms.
As any well-trained, physical army can tell you, winning battles requires the discipline of our minds, hearts, and bodies. But what if discipline eludes us? What if you’re weak (and we all are)?
It takes daily exercise! Being in the Word and praying daily will make you aware, just like the living rooms wars, of how to battle for people under spiritual attack—including yourself and your family.
The strength to be disciplined comes from a relationship with our heavenly Father. As we make our goal in this life to know Him, and to allow Him to speak to our hearts, we can face life’s battles with calm endurance, and the strength that only He can give.
The war can be on the battlefield, or in homes, schools, workplaces, and on the streets—anywhere the enemy determines to destroy lives.
Every battle is waged with intensity and purpose; each conflict is a sacrificial risk. Remember thesesoldiers, physical and spiritual; remember innocent victims of war; remember those in physical and spiritual captivity—and pray.
To prepare for His ultimate battle against evil, Jesus prayed for forty days and nights. Prayer and the Word are where we get our orders, battle plan, strength, and inspiration.
