How To Become A Spiritual Warrior

A prayerless Christian is a powerless Christian

Billy Graham

HOW TO BECOME A SPIRITUAL WARRIOR

Wear The Full Armor Of God

As Christians we are engaged in a spiritual conflict with evil. This spiritual conflict is described as a warfare of faith that continues until we enter the life to come. Satan is a masterful strategies who seeks our downfall by his various schemes. Some of the devil’s schemes are to perpetuate division in the church, unbelief in the promises of God, discouragement, temptation to sin, compromise of conscience, unforgiveness, getting our eyes off Jesus, fear accusation, indulging our sinful nature, spiritual apathy and so forth.

We can take confidence in the fact that our victory has been secured by Christ himself through his death on the cross. Jesus waged a triumphant battle against Satan, disarmed the evil powers and authorities, led captives in his train and redeemed the believer from Satan’s power.

At the present time we are involved in a spiritual warfare that we wage by the power of the Holy Spirit: against the sinful desires within ourselves, against the ungodly pleasures of the world and temptations of every sort and against Satan and his forces.

We are called to be separate from the present world system, hating evil, resisting and overcoming its temptations and sin. As Christian soldiers we must wage war against all evil, not in our own power but with spiritual weapons.

In our warfare of faith, we are called to endure hardships like good soldiers of Christ, suffer for the gospel, fight the good fight of the faith, wage war, persevere, conquer, be victorious, triumph, defend the gospel, contend for the faith, not be frightened by opponents, put on the full armor of God, stand firm, destroy Satan’s strongholds, take captive every thought and become powerful in battle.

Christians face a spiritual conflict with Satan and a host of evil spirits

These powers of darkness are the spiritual forces of evil who energize the ungodly, oppose God’s will and frequently attack the believers of this age. They constitute a great multitude and are organized into an empire of evil with rank and order.

The Full Armor Of God

Ephesians 6:10-18

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For 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. Therefore 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. 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.

1. Belt of Truth – The truth of God’s Word should be our foundation when going into a spiritual warfare. For every soldier the belt is where the weapon and tools are carried for the battle.

 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work

(2 Timothy 3:16-17).

2. Breastplate of Righteousness – Our righteousness comes from the Lord Jesus Christ. Our own righteous acts are like filthy rags in the eyes of God according to Isaiah 64:6. There is only one righteousness that God accepts and that is through His Son Jesus, because Jesus was the only one who lived on this earth and never sin. When the devil attacks us of our sinful ways in the past, we must fight back with the righteousness of Christ who is our breastplate, who came to save us and who made us right before God through his redeeming sacrifice on the cross.

3. Feet fitted with the Gospel of Peace – According to the book of Isaiah 52:7, How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “your God reigns!” As a soldier or a warrior, we must be ready to walk and go on a mission wherever God sends us to proclaim His good news of salvation through His Son Jesus.

4. Shield of Faith – The faith that overcomes the world is a faith that sees eternal realities, experiences God’s power and loves Christ to such an extent that the world’s sinful nature pleasures, secular values, ungodly ways and selfish materialism not only lose their attraction for us, but also are looked on with disgust, aversion and grief.

for everyone born of God overcomes the world (1 John 5:4).

5. Helmet of Salvation – A helmet protects a soldier against damaging and deadly blows to the head. Spiritually speaking, the helmet of salvation provides hope and protects the mind against anything that would disorient or destroy the Christian such as discouragement and deceit.

6. Sword of the Spirit – It is our offensive weapon in spiritual warfare. Satan will make every effort to undermine or destroy our confidence in that sword which is the Word of God. According to Hebrews 4:12- For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to the dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

The Word of God is razor sharp. It brings healing and life to those who submit to it in faith; on the other hand, it pronounces judgment on those who disregard it.

God’s Word penetrates so precisely and thoroughly our inner being that it discerns and defines the obscure dividing line between our spirit and soul. God’s Word awakens and strengthens His life in our spirit; it exposes our soulishness where it conflicts with the life of God within us. By willingly submitting to God’s piercing  Word, our hearts may be softened and changed so that we may truly enter into God’s rest. The alternative is is to harden our hearts against God’s Word, be condemned by it and perish in unbelief, as did the generations of Israelites in the desert, remind us of the seriousness of our choice when responding to God and His Word.

Bonus Key Point

Pray In The Spirit

Our warfare against Satan’s spiritual forces calls for an intensity in prayer, i.e., praying “in the Spirit”, on all occasions, and always keep on praying. Prayer is not to be seen just as another weapon, but as part of the actual conflict itself, where the victory is won for ourselves and others by working together with God Himself. To fail to pray diligently, with all kinds of prayer in all situations, is to surrender to the enemy.

Thanks for reading. Be blessed, inspired, encouraged and loved.