The
Battle and its Focus
‘There is no doubting the
severity of the conflict. Peter stresses
the ferocious of the opposition by saying that the devil ‘prowls around like a
roaring lion, seeking someone to devour’ (1Peter 5:8). Paul thinks rather of the cunning employed by
the evil one. ‘Satan disguises himself
as an angel of light’ (2Corinthians 11:14), so that it is small wonder his
missions appear in an attractive guise…The effect of such passages is to
emphasise that Christians…are engaged in a conflict that is both relentless and
cunningly waged. They are not in a
position to retire from the conflict.’
(New Bible Dictionary, page 1064)
Armed
and Dangerous
‘Finally, be strong in the
Lord and in his mighty power. Put
on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s
schemes. For
our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against
the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that
when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you
have done everything, to stand.’ (Ephesians 6:11-13)
To be
successful in this struggle we need not the armour of men, - which might work
if our battle was ‘against flesh and blood’ or if we were wanting to ‘stand our
ground’ in a human battle or if we simple were up against wooden arrows from
wooden bows - but the armour of God. That
armour alone means we will stand against ‘spiritual forces of evil’, in ‘the
day of evil’, ‘against flaming arrows of evil’ (Ephesians 6:14-17)
Is imprisoned
Paul looking at the armed guard chained to him and inwardly smiling knowing his
steely, harden armour is the wrong kit for this battle? Or is he drawing on the Isaiah 11 & 59
imagery of a true warrior of God with a resolute confidence in his gut? I’m
not going to add to the land fill of wasted ink speculating on why Paul
attached which element of armour to which attribute. The main thing is the plain thing – life is a
spiritual battle at every level. Are you
rightly dressed? Are you armed and
dangerous?
The Battle and its Focus
But
notice the main weapons - prayer and proclamation.
‘Pray
in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With
this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray
also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will
fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for
which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I
should.' (Ephesians 6:18-20)
Prayer is not a bell to call
the servants to satisfy some desire we happen to feel, it is a battlefield
transmitter for staying in touch with the general. Have we taken a wartime
walkie-talkie and tried to turn it into a civilian intercom? The power of prayer was not
given to the church to request comforts but to wield a weapon – and perhaps
that is why so much of our prayer goes unanswered? Are we hijacking a military frequency with
civilian chatter?
Pray for ‘all the Lord’s
people’, not as circumstantial friend around a mutually agreeable activity but
as fellow soldiers battling for the very freedom of humanity.
Pray for fearlessness: in clarity
of explanation (19) & courage in proclamation (20). It is prayer that wields the weapon of Word
proclamation. CS Lewis (1898-1963) powerfully
says: ‘Prayer is the only weapon in our arsenal that hits home every time. We can put the gospel on the radio, and they
will tune out. We can put the gospel on
the TV for them to switch off. We can
knock on their doors to have them slammed in our faces. We can even bring them to church for them to
stare at the rafters. But every time we
prayer it is an arrow that hits home.’
Prayer is the frontline of the
battle. Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) is
right: 'Prayer does not equip us for the
greater work, prayer is the greater work.' Prayer wields the weapon to the throat of Satan.
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