Spiritual Warfare Scriptures: Facing Life’s Battles-Part 4

October 5, 2022

Spiritual Warfare Scriptures: Facing Life’s Battles-Part 4

Will We face Spiritual Warfare daily?

As Christians we are going to face spiritual warfare, it is an everyday reality. The Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins which in turn disarmed the power of the enemy and the spiritual wickedness of this world. That is why we need to make it our business to understand the knowledge of God and the mighty power in the Name of Jesus, the Son of God.

There is a vast army in heavenly places comprised of levels and different ranks of wickedness and they are all in one accord when it comes to their agenda. They want to see every single one of us burning in the lake of fire right next to them. So don’t find it strange when you encounter spiritual attacks from the devil and his minions.

The thing is we have the Power of the Lord Jesus Christ on our side to overcome any tactic that the enemy would ever throw in our direction. We need to be armed with God’s Truth which is God’s Words and learn how to apply them to our daily lives. I am listing some powerful verses of Scripture that you can meditate on to get you prepared for the warfare that you will come up against as a believer of Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 61:3

“To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

The reason that I chose to highlight this particular verse of Scripture in regards to spiritual warfare is because of the significance of praising the Lord. Praise and worship is actually one of our greatest weapons against the spiritual forces of evil and the wiles of the devil. When you can praise the Lord regardless of what is going on in your life, it confuses the enemy.

Here he is shooting his flaming arrows and every possible powerful weapon at you and you still choose to praise the Lord. When we can stand on the promises of God and His faithfulness praising Him through the storms of life, it is a powerful thing and the devil can’t stand it. What praise does is secure the presence of the Lord. Psalm 22:3 states, “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.” As we take a closer look at this verse of scripture we can see that God is specifically telling us that where our praises to Him are, there He will be also.

The part of the verse in Isaiah 61:3 that I wanted to point out was “…The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness…” When we begin to dissect this line of Scripture we can get a better understanding of what David through the Holy Spirit is trying to reveal to us. He is telling us what to do when battling a spirit of heaviness which actuality is a demon bringing on the heaviness.

When life becomes so overwhelming and you’re fighting off spiritual attacks and wicked plots from every direction, you have to go to war by praising your Heavenly Father. Get into your prayer closet and begin to thank the Lord for everything that He has ever done for you: every time that you should have been gone but He saved you, every time that He got you out of circumstances that threatened to take you out, every time that He shifted you in the right direction. Reminisce on His goodness and all of the promises that He has fulfilled in your life!

When you can do that through your tribulation it completely confuses and disarms the devil and the powers of darkness that he uses against you. I can remember so many times I was going through a storm in my life and I could feel the enemy trying to use those moments to bring on sadness, depression, heaviness, and so many other negative emotions. I would get into a space where I could be all alone with the Lord and I would begin to just praise Him and thank Him just for who He is. As I would do that, I could feel the presence of the Lord so strongly that whatever negative emotion the devil was trying to consume me with would slide right off of me.

Once we have an understanding of praise warfare and how it works, you will allow God to take over your situation. This is a powerful weapon that you can use to counteract the devil’s schemes against you. God is so faithful; we can see all of His promises laid out for us throughout Scripture. We have to stand on His Word which is the absolute Truth so that we don’t get swayed to the left of right when the enemy comes in to steal, kill, and destroy, John 10:10.

2 Chronicles 20:21-22

“And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:

“Praise the Lord,
For His mercy endures forever.”

Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.”

A little background on these verses of Scripture, the “he” that 2 Chronicles 20:21 is referring to is King Jehoshaphat who was the King of Judah at the time. He was coming up against a great multitude, a very strong opponent (the people of Moab, the people of Ammon, and others) 2 Chronicles 20:1. Naturally this would make anyone fearful, but during Jehoshaphat’s moment of apprehension he was able to make wise decisions regarding the war up ahead.

He proclaimed a fast throughout all of Judah because he knew that he was going to need to seek council during this difficult battle that he was facing, 2 Chronicles 20:2. All of Judah gathered together in unison to seek the Lord on the matter, 2 Chronicles 20:4. As we all should do during challenging circumstances when we need direction. There are so many key points in the entire chapter of 2 Chronicles 20 regarding the Lord helping us in our time of need against the adversaries that we face.

In regards to these Scriptures that I have highlighted 2 Chronicles 20:21-22, Jehoshaphat is appointing people who are going to usher in the presence of the Lord with praise and worship. He understood how significant of a spiritual warfare weapon praise to God actually is. You are surrendering the battle to the Lord and allowing Him to take over on your behalf.

The Bible verse states in 2 Chronicles 20:15 “…the battle is not yours, but God’s.” This is how the Lord wants us to approach our struggles and our conflicts, with the reassurance that we know Whom we belong to and that He will never leave you nor forsake you, Hebrews 13:5. We cannot defeat the power of the enemy within our own might but we can be triumphant every single time when we come at him in the Power of God.

One thing that we can conclude is that our praises are an effective warfare weapon against the devil’s schemes. 2 Chronicles 20:22 reveals to us the outcome when we allow our worship of the Lord to be used as ammunition. It states, “Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.” The Lord intervened on their behalf and will do the same for you.

When we praise and worship it will actually confuse the enemy as it did in the case of the multitudes that were coming against King Jehoshaphat and the army of Judah, 2 Chronicles 20:23. They had no idea what they were doing and ended up killing each other. The Lord will fight your battles for you, have faith in His promises and in His Word and you will prevail every single time!

Acts 16:25-26

“But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.”

As the Apostle Paul and Silas were traveling preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they journeyed through a city called Philippi. They came across a woman that was possessed with a spirit of divination or as some would call today a psychic, Acts 16:16. Paul became annoyed at the demonic presence that was in this woman and cast it out of her which happened in an instant. This became a problem because of the fact that the evil men that were making money off of this possessed woman could no longer make money because the demonic spirit was gone.

This created an uproar causing Paul and Silas to be beaten and then put into jail. Anyone in this situation would be distraught, worried, and feeling a sense of hopelessness because of the circumstances that they were facing. Not Paul and Silas, they prayed and sang hymns unto the Lord so loudly that a great majority of the other prisoners were listening to them, Acts 16:25. How many of us today use the tribulations and storms of life as an opportunity to draw near to the Lord?

Most of us allow our situations to overwhelm us which creates fear, doubt, and unbelief which is exactly what the enemy wants. It is one of the most used schemes of the devil. Prayer and praise are some of the weapons of our warfare and we need to use them against the wiles of the devil. He is a roaring lion using every flaming arrow against you in this spiritual battle and he never plays fair.

We can see how the warfare weapon of praise helped Paul and Silas in their time of need. As they were inviting the presence of the Lord through worship and admiration, He supernaturally intervened on their behalf, Acts 16:26. Every single prison door was opened up and every chain was loosed. The same can happen in our lives, every one of Satan’s demonic strong holds can be loosed off of you by using your spiritual artillery, praise.

The devil cannot stand when we worship God, he is extremely prideful and wants everyone to bow down and worship him as he wanted Jesus to, Matthew 4:9. It breaks the feeling of heaviness, sadness, and depression when you move your attention from your strong hold to the One that can break its power over you. Never underestimate your spiritual ammunition of praise!

2 Corinthians 2:11

“lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

This verse of Scripture sums up the Lord’s warning to His children, we are not to be ignorant of the devil’s devices. It is one of the number ways that the enemy gains access into our lives. We cannot afford to be unaware of his tactics and schemes. You can’t fight against an opponent that you know nothing about. The Lord has outlined everything that we need to fight off the devil and his kingdom of darkness.

We need to know what the full armor of God is found in the book of Ephesians: belt of Truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes prepared with the Gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit, Ephesians 6:10-18. We need to understand how to use every piece of protective covering effectively which will prevent any cracks for the devil to make his way in.

We need to know God’s Word and continuously study to show ourselves approved, 2 Timothy 2:15, so that we can accurately understand the undiluted Gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to comprehend the Lord’s spiritual laws which govern both the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness. Nobody is exempt from God’s rules and regulations whether they know what they are or not.

We need to recognize the fact that we have a powerful adversary, Satan that wants nothing more than to see every single one of us standing at the gates of hell when we leave this Earth. He has many devices that he uses to attempt to lure us into going against the laws of God so that he can have legal access to our lives. The Lord is up-front that it is our responsibility to know the devil’s schemes. He has already given them all to us in His Word so we have no excuses!

Some of the devices that he uses the most are:

Making people think that he doesn’t exist. The Word of God mentions the father of lies, Satan in many different areas throughout the entire Bible. There is no mistaking the fact that he is a real enemy. We just don’t read our Word at face value making us susceptible to the lies of the adversary. The devil wants to remain hidden and does not want anyone to know how his kingdom operates. He can easily camouflage himself by making you think your sickness and your negative thoughts can be fixed by doctors and medication. When in reality a lot of the things that we deal with on a daily basis are caused by demonic forces.

Another tactic that he uses is making us believe that his tools and devices are innocent and positive and seemingly of light and not darkness. For example: healing crystals, certain meditations, certain figurines that people put in their houses, sage, psychics, tarot cards, dream catchers, rituals, and the list goes on and on. He comes to you as an angel of light, 2 Corinthians 11:14. We need to be connected to the Holy Spirit so that He can guide us in all Truth when we are being deceived, John 16:13.

The enemy will also use false doctrine or doctrines of demons, 1 Timothy 4:1, to pollute the Word of God and keep you away from the full knowledge and Power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He’s been doing this to all of humanity since the Garden of Eden when it did it to Eve, Genesis 3:13. That is why it is so imperative that we get into the Lord’s Word and study it on our own because we are surrounded by wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15) that are in actuality agents of the devil assigned to lead you astray!

The deception that gets me the most is people that think that the devil is locked away in some special place in hell. Where he can’t do anything to harm us, influence us, or persuade us to do things against the will of God. The devil is a liar! 1 Peter 5:8 states, “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” Does that sound like he is locked away in some sort of pit? He wants us to believe that so that he can remain hidden to fulfill the agenda to steal, kill, and destroy, John 10:10.

We cannot be naïve enough to believe that we are not up against an extremely powerful adversary that doesn’t play fair and will go straight for your jugular. We have to remain equipped as Christians in the army of Jesus Christ fighting a real spiritual war. Our adversary is not playing any games and he will eat you up and spit you out. But, greater is He that is in you, than he that is in this world, 1 John 4:4.

I am linking other blogs pertaining to this topic below:

Spiritual Warfare Scriptures: Facing Life’s Battles-Part 1

Spiritual Warfare Scriptures: Facing Life’s Battles-Part 2

Spiritual Warfare Scriptures: Facing Life’s Battles-Part 3

The Armor of God

The Power of Your Tongue!

The Importance of Forgiveness!

What does it mean to walk by Faith and not by Sight?

7 Steps to Fighting Spiritual Oppression-Real Talk!

Why Is the Cross of Christ so Significant?

Also, get your week started right! Check out my Positive Weekly Message Series down below:

Positive Thinking-Get Your Week Started Off Right! September 24, 2022