Warrior spirit

Believers are in the midst of a no-holds-barred war, armed with an overpowering but invisible weapon - the Spirit of God.

Through prayer, we can call upon the Spirit to defeat the dark powers that surround us.  But, so often, we feel we are alone and vulnerable.

So, speaking personally, it is easy for me to get discouraged.  It is tempting to just go with the flow and avoid the spiritual combat.

I see the prophet Elijah as an example of a true warrior spirit.  He fought his king and many of his fellow Israelites who had given themselves over to satanic idol-worship.  He did it through boldly standing publicly by the Lord and constantly listening to God and obeying.

It is comforting to know that Elijah, too, sometimes felt alone and exhausted.  He even fled Queen Jezebel even though God had delivered an amazing victory over the idol-worshiping priests.  He complained to God and asked the Lord to end his life, but he never wavered in his faith.

His story in 1 Kings 17-19 reveals a man who was ready to do whatever God asked him to do.  And he was a man who held to the truth no matter how dangerous the situation.

God honoured his trust and prayers by demonstrating his power in imposing a three-year-drought on the country as a judgement against King Ahab’s idol-worship and persecution of those believing in God.  And three years later he provided rain again at Elijah’s request.

The Lord also worked other miracles as a result of Elijah’s prayers - providing food to a widow who helped Elijah through the drought; raising the widow’s son from the dead; and the great victory over the idol-worshiping prophets on Mount Carmel.

So, how should we approach the battle against Satan and his evil work in our world?

Wesley Duewel, author of Mighty Prevailing Prayer, says:

• We must accept we are warriors for Christ: God expects us to demolish Satan’s arguments and invade his territory with spiritual weapons - God’s word and prayer;
• We are to stand against the Devil - not retreat:  The apostle Paul outlines in Ephesians 6 the spiritual weapons we are to use against the evil one.  We are promised that Satan will retreat when we invoke Jesus; 
• We should pray from a position of victory:  Jesus has won the victory over Satan and we are to enforce his victory through proclaiming God’s word and through prayer in the world we live in; and
• We are to plan and take the offensive: We are to target Satan where he is active in our lives, in the lives of our families and our neighbourhoods, and in our broader world with faith and prayer.

To do that, we must first overcome fear.  And we can do that only if we are willing to take the risk of faith in God and what he wants in our lives.

I am only taking some baby steps in this area.  

But I am sure warrior spirits like Elijah had to begin somewhere.