You Are In A Spiritual Battle. Ephesians 6:10-20

You are in a spiritual battle. Even if you do not feel it, and even if you do not know what that means, you are in a spiritual battle. Since creation and the fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, God’s enemy and ours, Satan, has been at work trying to destroy what God has created. Jesus says the thief – Satan – comes only to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). Peter writes that our enemy is like a ravenous lion seeking whom he may destroy (1 Peter 5:8). Our enemy is real, and what he wants to do to humans is not metaphorical. He really seeks to steal, kill, and destroy.

So, then, what do we do? The Apostle Paul gives us direction about how to view and engage in this battle when he writes to the Ephesians. In chapter 6:10-22, he says we need to put on spiritual armor, recognize this for what it really is, and pray. Spiritual armor is likened to normal armor, but steel and Kevlar cannot engage in spiritual battle. Truth, righteousness, the gospel, and faith can. Have you been deliberate about your spiritual armor recently?

Even though a lot of the culture around us treats evil spirits as a matter of fiction, they are very real and malign. The follower of Christ is not lulled to sleep by the assumption that demonic activity does not exist, but they are attuned to the fact that behind the human forces that wreak havoc, there are “spiritual forces of evil.” Your neighbor is not the source of evil. These spiritual forces are. As a result, we pray to that effect.

Paul then says that we need to “keep alert” and pray “for all the saints.” Today is a great day to be reminded of spiritual warfare. We need not fear it, for Christ is greater than all the power of the enemy mustered at once. But we are the “boots on the ground” today, putting on the armor only God can give us and praying for the light of Christ to penetrate the darkness.

Read and pray through Ephesians 6:10-20 today and see if it does not change your perspective on the world around you.