Spiritual Warfare: Battleplan
2 Corinthians 2:10-11(NIVUK)
“Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven - if there was anything to forgive - I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.”
Knowing how much I love a good acrostic; God spoke to me recently about being spiritually SMART:
Being Strategic in prayer. We can pray through scriptures, declaring our God-given identity through Christ.
Being on the Move. Let us not be content to stay where we have been before, with all that is familiar, but be prepared to act and move where God calls us to go.
Being Alert. When we are alert, the enemy loses ground. We can ask the Holy Spirit to show us areas of vulnerability and pray accordingly.
Being Righteous and holy. We have been made righteous and holy through Christ and by pursuing holiness, our lives can reflect that. As we fix our eyes on Jesus, he will show us whatever spiritual carrion we have been feeding on and lead us away from it.
And Trusting that God’s intentions are good. We can trust him with every area of our lives and believe what he says.
The idea of praying offensively (taking the offensive) as opposed to defensively has been on my heart for the past few years. We might hear of an awful situation that has occurred and immediately start to pray, which is an appropriate response. But what if part of our battle approach was to be praying on the offensive, pre-emptively, as ones who are familiar with Satan’s evil schemes?
We can pray for our church staff team, that people in our church and communities will be protected from harm, that marriages are strengthened and restored, for sickness to be replaced with healing, and for people to be filled with the Holy Spirit and discerning of God’s presence around them in whatever context they find themselves. I believe this is akin to spiritually putting multiple stakes in the ground and declaring, ‘No Satan! Not now, not here! In the name of Jesus.’
Prayer — Lord, thank you that you have given me everything that I need to live a godly life (2 Peter 1:3) Give me the insight to pray strategically and to believe that when I pray, things change.