“The warrior of God prepares before the battle begins.”
In addition to putting on the armor of God, the Christian warrior must consistently practice spiritual disciplines (prayer, biblical meditation, and community with other Christians) to be increasingly well-equipped for potential spiritual battles from Satan.
The responsibility of the Christian warrior is to stand firm against the tricks of the devil through the power of Christ, waiting for the Trinity to give us victory in His perfect timing. Part of the process of standing firm is asking Yahweh Warrior to give us strength, to receive marching orders from Him through prayer, and to stand firm with sufficient faith, which, in addition to prayer, is strengthened by hearing the word of God.
Prayer: “The greatest warrior of God fights on their knees.”
“Prayer is the mechanism that activates the armor, transitioning it from a static set of virtues into a functional, dynamic defense against spiritual opposition. Prayer is the spiritual engine or activator that drives the entire suit, transforming these metaphors into functional defenses, making the armor of God work as a functional defense against spiritual warfare by connecting us to the power of God at work on our behalf. Without prayer, the armor remains like a suit of clothes in a closet: present but unutilized.”
Through prayer, we put on the armor of God by asking God to align our thoughts with the spiritual realities that represent each armor component:
“How Each Piece is Activated Through Prayer
- The Belt of Truth: Activated when a believer prays for discernment to see through the “schemes” or lies of the enemy.
- The Breastplate of Righteousness: Activated when one prays to confess sin and rely on Christ’s righteousness rather than their own moral effort.
- The Shoes of Peace: Activated through prayers for tranquility and readiness to share the Gospel, preventing the “slips” of anxiety.
- The Shield of Faith: Activated when prayer is used to “take God at His word,” effectively raising a barrier against doubts (the “fiery darts”).
- The Helmet of Salvation: Activated by praying for a renewed mind, protecting the believer from thoughts of hopelessness or insecurity.
- The Sword of the Spirit: Activated when a believer speaks or recalls specific Scripture during prayer to rebuke temptation, much like Jesus did in the wilderness.”
Prayer connects us to the power source of the Holy Spirit, which empowers us to stand firm against the tricks of the devil as we put on the armor of God. Just as a high-tech suit of armor requires a battery, the spiritual armor requires the “energy” of persistent prayer to remain “charged against spiritual discouragement and temptation.
“The true prayer warrior spends more time with his Commander and less time in the battle.” (E.M. Bounds, The Necessity of Prayer)
“A soldier in full armor who cannot hear orders from his commander is ineffective.” When we pray to God (talk to our Commander-In-Chief), we receive strategic instructions from Him on what we should do as we face spiritual warfare.
“Victorious warriors of God win first in prayer, then go to war.”
Biblical Meditation: “We must also sharpen the sword of the spirit daily before the battle begins.”
The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God, “living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, capable of piercing to the division of soul and spirit” (Hebrews 4:12).
The sword of the Spirit protects the believer by enabling them to “repel lies, resist temptation, and maintain spiritual clarity in the midst of conflict”. By consistently sharpening the sword by studying and meditating upon God’s word, the believer becomes capable of “advancing and demolishing strongholds”. The sword also helps the ambassador to deny self, cross-bear, and follow Jesus by “exposing personal hidden motives and refining the heart.”
Biblical meditation involves “filling the mind with God’s Word (divine truth) by chewing on a text until it becomes absorbed into the soul, and until it becomes a part of the believer’s automatic thought processes. Memorizing scripture is essential because there will be times when you need to speak the truth out loud to refute the devil’s lies, just as Jesus did in Matthew 4, when Christ was tempted by Satan in the wilderness.
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5)
When Satan implants temptation, lies, and deception inside the Christian ambassador’s mind, the Christian warrior part of him should choose to use the sword of the Spirit to repel these untruths by speaking out loud truths previously ingrained in his mind from biblical meditation. By taking captive every thought and replacing those thoughts with scriptural truths, we can, through the Spirit’s power, tear down strongholds (patterns of thinking that oppose the always truthful knowledge of God).
Many of us have had strongholds, lies that have been so entrenched in our minds, possibly formed in our thinking over several years, that trying to remove them from our thoughts seems like rigid, immovable mountains that we believe cannot be removed. The truth is, according to Jesus (in Matthew 17:20): “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” In other words, “If you speak truth out loud to that mountain (stronghold) and have mustard seed faith in the power of Christ working on your behalf, it can move, because nothing is impossible with God.”
Here are some examples of speaking truth out loud to various mountains (strongholds) people often face:
“Fear, I cast you out in the name of Jesus. You will not control my future. God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.”
“Anxiety, you are not my portion. You will not race through my body or dominate my thoughts. The peace of God guards my heart and mind.”
“Depression, you are not my identity. I am not darkness. I am not hopeless. The light of Christ lives in me, and light pushes out darkness.”
“Shame, you are broken off my life. My past is forgiven. I am redeemed. I am not who I used to be.”
“Condemnation, you are not from God. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. I reject every accusing voice.”
“Self-doubt, you will not silence my calling. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I am equipped. I am empowered.”
“Identify the mountain. Speak directly to it. Replace it with truth”.
Through neuroscience and the habit of speaking truths out loud over time, you can eventually move the “immovable” strongholds (mountains) out of your thinking. For more information on how to apply this principle in your daily life, please watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQPHeJYWcHQ
The Significance of Overcoming Strongholds
The thoughts we allow to reside in our minds influence whether we become victorious Christian ambassadors and warriors, especially when we face trials, including spiritual warfare. The thoughts Satan implants when we experience fear, anxiety, depression, shame, condemnation, self-doubt, etc., can gradually become strongholds that attempt to prevent us from “being the person God wants us to be” and from “accomplishing all the goals God has helped us to set”. However, if you know the truth and believe it, it will eventually set you free. That is why it is so essential to consistently sharpen the sword through Bible reading and meditation, and to make use of the truths of the sword of the Spirit (God’s Word) by taking thoughts captive and speaking the truth out loud habitually over time. By doing all of this, and through prayer, and with the Spirit’s leading and empowerment, we can stand firm against the devil as we daily put on the armor of God.
In conjunction with putting on the armor of God daily, consistent prayer and biblical meditation are essential to standing firm and, therefore, to being a strong Christian warrior in this unpredictable world where spiritual warfare exists.
“A lack of a disciplined bible meditation and prayer life leaves the Christian warrior vulnerable to subtle spiritual deceptions.”
Community: “I’ll lift you and you lift me, and we’ll both ascend together.” (John Greenleaf Whittier)
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17).
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)
Final Thoughts
The Christian ambassador is entrusted with the task of properly embodying and conveying the King’s message to his world. He often must live as a strong Christian warrior in this unpredictable world.
“The spiritual warrior hides from nothing. We meet life’s challenges with courage and faith.” When you know you are not alone, it becomes much easier to be a strong warrior and a determined ambassador.
During Paul’s time, Roman soldiers often used the testudo formation in battle. In this formation, many soldiers would stand side by side and interlock their shields to create an impenetrable shell over the entire unit. Working together as a team, they used their shields in a formation that protected one another, rather than relying on individual shields that provided limited protection for a single soldier.
Today, we must interlock our shields of faith as a church body, so that our faith and courage can endure the darkness of the night as we shine our lights together, led by the Spirit, helping to illuminate the path of the Christian ambassador.
Links:
Great Exchange, Reconciliation, Christian Ambassadors In Demand
Being An Effective Christian Ambassador
The Armor of God, Part 1: The Christian Warrior Assessing His Armor
Sources:
https://iask.ai/q/what-is-exactly-the-armor-of-god-8qr70qg
https://iask.ai/q/armor-of-God-spiritual-warfare-importance-o26ro50
https://iask.ai/q/armor-of-god-spiritual-reality-meaning-e561ac0
https://iask.ai/q/spiritual-reality-simple-explanation-qr3649o
https://iask.ai/q/spiritual-reality-armor-of-god-meaning-6k8g5j0
https://iask.ai/q/spiritual-reality-armor-of-god-meaning-6k8g5j0
https://iask.ai/q/Yahweh-warrior-Christ-cross-armor-of-God-spiritual-truths-drrpo1g
https://iask.ai/q/spiritual-truths-armor-of-god-components-h00qr5g
https://iask.ai/q/armor-of-god-spiritual-warfare-protection-deceit-temptation-h28k628
https://iask.ai/q/Yahweh-warrior-Christ-cross-Satan-armor-of-God-spiritual-truth-protection-tj557p0
https://iask.ai/q/how-to-put-on-armor-of-God-prayer-faith-Christ-vt2b9p0
https://iask.ai/q/spiritual-truths-armor-of-God-pieces-g0730fo
https://iask.ai/q/armor-of-God-symbolic-meanings-components-blre4q8
https://iask.ai/q/armor-of-God-faith-protection-benefits-v1k342o
https://iask.ai/q/spiritual-truths-armor-of-god-principles-r7fikfg
https://iask.ai/q/Yahweh-warrior-Christ-cross-Satan-armor-of-God-spiritual-truth-protection-tj557p0
https://iask.ai/q/armor-of-God-symbolic-meanings-components-blre4q8
https://iask.ai/q/bible-meditation-neuroscience-overcome-negative-thoughts-spiritual-warfare-6ms6nag
https://iask.ai/q/neuroscience-speaking-God-s-word-overcome-strongholds-spiritual-warfare-ffutkhg
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/how-jesus-disarmed-devil/