Spiritual Warfare Prayer

Sometimes it is hard to truly comprehend a threat that comes from things that are unseen. However, God warns us that the threat of spiritual warfare is very real and to arm ourselves with what He has given us.

To understand the battle of spiritual warfare, we need to begin with acknowledging that we are in a war. Battles make up smaller components of the bigger picture. By definition, battles involve combat between two persons, between factions, between armies and they consist of any type of "extended contest, struggle, or controversy" (Webster-Merriam). As Christians, we are in a spiritual battle of some sort on a daily basis. In warfare, battles are fought on different fronts, for different reasons, and with varying degrees of intensity. The same is true in spiritual warfare. Our spiritual battles and warfare are real, even though we cannot physically see the attacker. But, we can educate ourselves on how the battles are fought and how they impact our lives on a daily basis.

We have to ask ourselves, “Why do we even want to fight spiritual warfare?” It will do us no good to educate ourselves on the battle if we see no reason for the fight. War is very controversial today in the physical realm. Those attitudes, beliefs and convictions will transfer over to the spiritual realm. However, in the spiritual realm, there is a battle going on regardless of our opinion. We are either victors or victims. Jesus has come and conquered. The war is already won in the heavens.

Understand that there is a war and you are in it. Like it or not, all of us are caught up in the spiritual war that’s taking place between good and evil. If you don’t engage in the war, you’ll still be affected by it – and you’ll be much more vulnerable to evil than you would if you decided to fight as God calls you to do. So be active; not passive. Engage in spiritual warfare with the confidence that God’s power working through you is greater than any evil working against you. Your prayers can help prevent bad things from happening to people and usher good things into people’s lives. Listen to the Holy Spirit’s promptings for guidance about how best to pray for what’s most needed – and then pray to advance God’s kingdom on Earth and stop the spread of evil.

Know your commander and stand on His side. Your commander in spiritual warfare is Jesus Christ, who leads two armies: the army of holy angels in heaven and the army of prayer warriors on Earth. Jesus chose you, saves you, gives you an eternal inheritance of blessings, and lives in your soul as the Holy Spirit. Jesus wants you to choose His side in the spiritual war, and to remember that the power He gives you is more powerful than evil. Your commander Jesus is the greatest example of a prayer warrior; by studying his life on Earth you can learn how to serve God without fear.

Recognize who your true enemy is. Your enemy is Satan, the highest-ranked of the fallen angels who rebelled against God. Satan is your adversary, accuser, tempter, and deceiver. He works by trying to convince you to doubt God’s truth and believe his lies instead. You open doors for your enemy to attack you whenever you deliberately disobey God and choose to sin. It’s vital to run away from temptations to sin and pray against Satan’s plans to hurt you and other people.