This is the final part of our series on Spiritual Warfare. In this section, we will be looking at how to engage the enemy in battle, and the requirements needed to repel him and neutralize his activities against our lives, our families, our Christian faith, the gospel of Christ, and the church of God.
ENGAGING THE ENEMY IN BATTLE
“Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour. But resist him, be firm in your faith [against his attack—rooted, established, immovable], knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. [You do not suffer alone.]” 1 Peter 5:8-9 (AMP version)
In 2 Corinthians 10:4, Paul also stated, “I use God’s mighty weapons, not those made by men, to knock down the devil’s strongholds.” (TLB version)
This means believers, much like the apostle Paul, are expected to engage the devil in spiritual battle. They must confront the devil and his agents both mentally and through warfare prayers. Otherwise, they will lose their possessions to him through ignorance and spiritual laziness.
A great evangelist once said that the promises of God are not a substitute for our prayers; they provoke our prayers. It takes our prayers to make God’s promises effective in our spirit. In other words, your prayers are instrumental in fulfilling God’s promises to you. The devil will fight to hinder these promises, especially when he knows their fulfillment will cause trouble for his kingdom. He will fight to stop you from achieving that.
As previously mentioned, Daniel during his twenty-one-day fast, was unaware that the Prince of Persia obstructed the answer to his prayers from the very first day they were heard and answered. Like many of us, Daniel thought God was the one who delayed in his response, so he persisted in prayer, to hasten up God for Hos response. Eventually, God, overlooked Daniel’s ignorance, and sent another angel to intervene. Although Daniel later realized that it was the Prince of Persia, not God, who caused the delay.
This is what the devil is doing: he is obstructing believers’ blessings and then convincing them that God is uncaring. He makes them believe that God is the one behind their troubles, disappointments, and failures, rather than recognizing these challenges as attacks from the devil.
This situation is negatively affecting the attitude of believers towards the ongoing spiritual battle. Instead of engaging the enemy and breaking through in prayer, some believers exhibit the same ignorance that Job and Daniel did. Job didn’t recognize the devil as the source of his troubles; he believed that God had taken away everything he had been blessed with. He said, “…the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away…” (Job 1:21). Job refused to accept that God wasn’t responsible for his predicaments. Instead of seeking God’s intervention through prayer, he kept complaining and lamenting over his troubles. What a display of ignorance!
Many may blame Job for his ignorance, forgetting that he and others of his time did not have the Bible to read from, as we do today. The sixty-six books of the Bible are available for us now, providing lessons, corrections, and instructions. This wasn’t the case for the people of ancient times. We have the experiences of great biblical figures documented for our reproof and correction, making it inexcusable for believers today to repeat the same mistakes that the ancient bible people made.
THE WARFARE (PRAYER) PATTERNS
Let me reiterate that our battles are not fought with physical weapons. Our weapons are spiritual because our adversaries are neither visible nor human. It’s also very important to understand that the armour of God referred to in the book of Ephesians chapter six is not physical, rather spiritual. To be effective with every piece of this armor, a believer must be well versed in the scriptures and in practice, as its use requires both mental and spiritual skills. I have addressed the amour of God in another article, you may refer to it to understand them and how they are used for warfare.
When it comes to attacking, The Sword of The Spirit (The Word of God) is the preferred weapon to use. “Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” Jeremiah 23:2
The sword of the Spirit is more effective when used for attacking by speaking and making pronouncements. In warfare prayer, you speak your prayers aloud with authority to nullify the devil’s power, unlike other types of prayer. You use faith-filled words, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit and in line with God’s Word. There are various kinds of prayer, each meant to achieve different purposes. But we won’t discuss them in detail in this article, perhaps we will address that another time. We may however briefly mention a few to do justice to this topic.
COMMANDING PRAYER
“And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.” Acts 16:18
The above scriptural passage exemplify Commanding Prayer, a powerful method for directly confronting and neutralizing the activities of wicked forces. Through this form of prayer, believers enforce their spiritual authority against satanic powers and put an end to their assaults.
PRAYER OF DECREE
“Then Jesus said to the tree, “You shall never bear fruit again!” And the disciples heard him say it.” Mark 11:14 (TLB version)
Prayer of decree is an act of addressing issues and overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles. By speaking directly to challenges, believers can invoke divine intervention and transform difficult situations, by forcing evil forces behind terrible situations to cease their operations.
PRAYER OF PETITION
“O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.” 2 Chronicles 20:12-13
This is a petition for God to intervene on your behalf, an act of inviting Him to take control of your situation. It is an important prayer in spiritual warfare. King David prayed it when he was constantly being harassed by wicked and formidable enemies. “Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him” (Psalms 68:1). This means you are handing over your enemies to God, making them His enemies.
JUDGEMENTAL PRAYER
“Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser stand at his right hand. When he is tried, let him come forth guilty; let his prayer be counted as sin!” Psalm 109:6-7 (ESV)
Here David prayed to God to bring his enemies to trial in the courts of justice, seeking that they be found guilty and condemned. He wants God to prevail over the wicked who trouble him and ensure justice is served.
WARFARE THROUGH TONGUES
“I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all.” – 1 Corinthians 14:18.
Why did Apostle Paul regularly speak in tongues? It was because of the power in tongues and the necessity of this power to deal with the harsh situations he constantly faced in his ministry.
“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues.” – Mark 16:17.
When you speak in the tongues of the Holy Spirit, you are speaking the language of heaven. You address issues beyond the physical realm and dissolve stubborn spiritual and physical impossibilities, including casting out devils and winning spiritual battles.
Finally, “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31.
It’s noteworthy therefore, that the Word of God provides us with the assurance of victory as we consistently and effectively employ these strategies in our conflict against Satan, our archenemy. Remember, we adopt the posture of predators, not prey, recognizing that our strength comes not from ourselves but from the victory already secured by our Lord Jesus. This understanding is what enables us to stand firm and confidently exercise our authority over Satan and his works.
