Do you have a bone to pick with the devil?
Is he with your property: health, wealth, peace, or what is important to you? Maybe your current circumstance is not a result of what you did or didn't do. If that is the case, you will need an effective strategy.
I don't have all the answers, but I believe from experience that spiritual warfare is the way. You need God's intervention fast.
Introduction
Many people facing human problems today cannot resolve them all through physical efforts alone. In an attempt to get yourself out of a sticky situation, you at times create more problems for yourself. You need the intervention of a greater power… You need God. He sees the ‘behind-the-scenes’ activity that led to your situation and knows the exact strategy that will bring success.
Not every setback originates from the physical realm. Some problems have their roots in the spiritual realm. Such issues need divine intervention to be resolved. At times, you need to engage in spiritual warfare to resolve problems. What this means is that you call God through intense prayers to help you. Your earthly struggles are not always caused by human forces; at times, spiritual forces are behind your travails. God sees those spiritual forces and knows exactly what brought them, and how to dislodge them. To do this, you need a spiritual strategy only He can devise.
What is Warfare?
Warfare is defined by the online dictionary as the “set of techniques and actions used to conduct war”. War is an armed conflict between two warring parties. Our focus is therefore on ‘techniques and actions’. The dictionary defines techniques as a “procedure to complete a task,” while actions are defined in the philosophy domain as “intentional, purposive, conscious, and subjectively meaningful activity”.
These definitions clearly show that warfare is a set of sequential, planned, and targeted activities geared towards the realization of the pre-determined goal of winning a conflict. So there must be established conflict, a pre-determined preferred outcome (usually victory), and a set of activities undertaken to realize that outcome.
What is Spiritual Warfare?
Spiritual warfare is a set of techniques and actions used to conduct a spiritual war. This means these techniques and actions are going to be different from what you would normally employ to battle a physical enemy.
In spiritual warfare, your enemy is not the conventional human being but an adverse circumstance, situation, or attack orchestrated by unseen forces, which results in a negative outcome. In this case, you are battling an unseen malevolent foe bent on wreaking havoc in your life.
The Bible states that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12).
Therefore, your strategies will differ from when you are fighting a physical foe. The Bible also explains how we fight the battle set up by the forces mentioned above. The weapons you should use are not carnal weapons meant to fight flesh and blood, but God's mighty weapons, to pull down strongholds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; and having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. (2 Corinthians 10:4-6).
Case Study
Let us look at a classic example, in the book of Joshua, chapter 6, of spiritual warfare, and relate it to your circumstances.
“The march round the fortified enclosure was in its third day. The soldiers and the people of the city watched in bewilderment. They were hemmed in, scared, and at their wits' end. “What were these people doing?” the man muttered in horror. Their fame had preceded them as the news of the exploits of their God was whispered among all and sundry. These were people who supernaturally vanquished their enemies.
The people of the city had heard about the pillar of fire, the drying of the Red Sea, the supernatural feeding with manna, and more. Now these people were here. No nation as yet was able to stand against them… and the people knew their nation would not be an exception. Yet, they were surprised that no attempts had been made so far to invade the city; instead, these Israelites chose to march around the enclosed city of Jericho each day without saying a word or pulling a sword. “What was really going on and how long would this continue?” they wondered.
In the Israeli camp, everything was falling into place. They had received specific instructions to march around the city walls without a sound for six days with the men of war and the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant represented the presence of God, and marching around the enclosed city meant claiming the land for God. Six days the work of claiming the land took place, but on the seventh day, victory was obtained.
On the seventh day, according to the instructions they received from the Lord, they marched round seven times instead of once, after which the people gave a great shout while the priests blew the shofar (ram’s horn). Immediately, as if on cue, the walls of Jericho fell flat, and the children of Israel walked over the fallen walls and took possession of the city. They spared only Rahab, the harlot who had helped them earlier, providing them with military intelligence when two of the Israelites came to spy out the land.”
Principles of Spiritual Warfare
From our story illustrating this concept in ‘The Fall of Jericho’, we notice the very unconventional methods employed by the Israelis in defeating Jericho. These are techniques that have not been used before in conventional warfare, and as such, it is highly unlikely that it was conceived by the human mind. We see the integration of religious worship and paramilitary activity because the soldiers were acting in a non-combatant manner, which sparked the bewilderment of the inhabitants of the city.
During any war, the General in charge will strategize with his senior officers on how to defeat the enemy, while the troops will execute the tactical plan on the battlefield. The probability of winning any war is strongly correlated to the quality of the strategy and tactical maneuvers. This quality is greatly influenced by the depth of spiritual and military intelligence available to the troops. The more you know about your enemy’s vulnerability and where to strike, the greater the probability of winning the war.
Living in a physical world with a physical body places a demand on us to collaborate or, better still, partner with a unique, superior spiritual entity to effectively battle conflicts that emanate from the spiritual realm. Partnership with God is the best option if we hope to win a war orchestrated by the kingdom of darkness. God knows exactly what to do to achieve victory. He sees everything, knows everything, and He can do anything. When you are in partnership with Him, it is like having an exposition of your enemy’s trump card with all the weak points revealed. On that basis, your best bet is to rely on God and do whatever He asks you to do, no matter how it sounds or looks.
You might ask, “How do I know in specific terms what God would have me do in my situation?”
I would not want to give you a pat answer. Why? Because individual circumstances differ. The problems may look similar, but your personal story and, therefore, specific context are unique to you.
But, a guideline to help you could be as follows;
- Get clear on your actual situation.
- Get as much information as possible. If it is a medical situation, call it by its medical term and understand the diagnosis.
- Be sure there is no physical reason for what you are going through, like choices and decisions you made.
- Check for a similar circumstance in the Bible and how it was handled to use it as a reference in your prayers.
- Check the promises God made concerning that situation. For instance, if you are believing God for a child, one promise is that "there shall be none barren in the land" and believe it.
- Believe that God can sort it out.
- Declare in words that promise to yourself.
- Decree and declare the outcome you expect. Be clear on your preferred reality and insist on that in faith.
- Ask God to forgive you for all your sins, cover yourself and your loved ones with the blood of Jesus, and ask Jesus into your life if you have not done so.
- Command the spirits responsible for that condition (name it) to get out in the name of Jesus, and stay out.
- If you need support, reach out to a born-again Christian you trust, whose salvation you are sure of and pray with that person.
- It is not a frightening experience at all. Just call out to God into your situation with faith and He will hear you.
- You will receive a lot of guidance by reading the bible, which is replete with various stories and instances where spiritual warfare under God’s direct instructions was fought.
- As you read through the scriptures, a pattern begins to emerge on how spiritual warfare is fought and won.
In our story, we notice that God placed a premium on the priesthood and on worship, and less emphasis on the physical trappings of war, such as weaponry, tactical skills, might, etc. His techniques for winning the war were a procedural march around the fortified city. The Lord emphasizes precision and timing. Numbers are a critical part of spiritual principles, and certain numbers have particular significance. We note that the number of days this was done was six, signifying the number of days God worked on creation. Then on the seventh day, representing His day of rest, the city was taken with a loud shout. The men of war only went in to finish the work.
The Implications for You
What does this mean for you? It means that the key to a successful spiritual warfare is, first of all, praise and worship, even before you start any aggressive prayer. Why? Because the Lord inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:2-5). The fastest way to call God into your situation is through praise and worship. Sacrificial worship gets God’s attention all the time. When you bring down the glory of God in worship, the Lord Himself fights on your behalf. All you need to do is claim your victory, giving all the glory to God.
However, there is a caveat: Spiritual warfare, just like physical warfare, has its rules of engagement, which must be adhered to for your safety. Only engage in spiritual warfare on God’s terms. If you want to access the spiritual realm in the name of God, then you have to access the spiritual portal through the right Door to gain legal access. And the Door is Jesus Christ (John 10:9). The Lord Jesus ensures your effectiveness and safety as you go into battle under His protection. He has already defeated the kingdom of darkness, and they are scared of Him. They know who He is and what He can do.
Conclusion
The ability to correctly wage spiritual warfare is a must-have for every child of God. It is part of the Christian walk. The Lord Jesus is both a Lamb and the Lion of the tribe of Judah. There is a place for peaceful obedience and followership, and a time for you to enforce compliance. The devil’s major strength is that he knows many humans do not know the extent of power at their disposal, and he uses that knowledge gap to oppress many. When you team up with Jesus, you win.
Have you experienced a persistent challenge that defied known solutions? Please, share!
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Do you have questions, need counseling, or would you like prayers? Please let me know in the comments section below.
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