“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience,when your obedience is fulfilled”.( 2 Corinthians 10:3-6)
“It is true that I am an ordinary, weak human being, but I don't use human plans and methods to win my battles. I use God's mighty weapons, not those made by men, to knock down the devil's strongholds. These weapons can break down every proud argument against God and every wall that can be built to keep men from finding him. With these weapons I can capture rebels and bring them back to God
and change them into men whose hearts' desire is obedience to Christ. I will use these weapons against every rebel who remains after I have first used them on you yourselves and you surrender to Christ”.(TLB)
“For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons. For
the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One), Being in readiness to punish every [insubordinate for his] disobedience, when your own submission and obedience [as a church] are fully secured and complete”.(AMP)
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”(1 Peter 5:8)
“ Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping”.(MBCL)
Prayer is a warfare. It lifts you from the level of the natural to the world of the spiritual. It transforms your mind and focuses it on the heavenly things for a better result. It is one of the weapons that can help you destroy the works of the enemy and its fiery darts against you. You are able to pull down demonic strongholds and imaginations that are against your life, business and family because you’ve obtained a weapon that is mightier through God. It is not a carnal weapon and so it is not man-made.
Warfare is the waging of armed conflict against an enemy.
God knew that you should encounter series of battles and oppositions on the earth and that’s why He has decided to equip you ahead of time. The Message Bible in Contemporary Language says in 1 Peter 5:8 that the whole effort is to see that you stay alert, so that the enemy will not caught you napping. So, you are a soldier in God’s army and to be a terror to the powers of darkness. When you are a soldier, the devil has no power over you, though he roars like a lion. You have a Lion of the tribe of Judah, the man Jesus Christ who has conquered him and has given you the victory and authority. You are to roast the enemy with the Lord’s authority. Jesus Christ has crippled the strenght and power of the evil one. He is the captain of the Host. Rejoice!, for he has given you the victory. The enemy you know has fallen!
“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it”. (Colossians 2:13-15)
You should understand that all battles are engaged in the spiritual realm. So you are seeing the manifestation of the result of the battle that is either won or lost there. This is the reason why you see many things happening around you. Atimes, you do not understand why certain things are taking place in your life while you confess that Jesus is the Lord of your life. Listen, any victory not gotten in the spiritual is not possible in the human realm. So you are hereby called to be alert,go for an attack to dismantle every satanic forces that is against your destiny. If you fail to stop them, they will stop you. In this case, only the prayerful heart can conquer. Pray to overcome!
Do you know that for you to engage in a fight against the enemy or any spiritual being, there must be a change and transformation on your part. You should be taken to the level of the spirit? How do I mean? You cannot be in the carnal form and fight the enemy. You should know that the danger is that they are seeing you but you can’t see them. So, they are always monitoring to see when you are not on guard. No carnal mind or body wrestles with the enemy and returns unhurt. You must die in the flesh and live for the Lord for your protection. When you are transported to the world of the Spirit and wrestle or command, your word will become effective. It is so because you are now a spiritual being with the strenght of Jesus Christ.
One thing the unbelieving world fails to understand is there is no way a kingdom should be against a kingdom. They are already the property of the evil one and the devil can make use of them anytime he needs them. Equally, they are in their carnal nature and lustful mind and cannot fight successfully against their leader-the devil. At this point, someone may cast spell,charm or play wizardry against them and it becomes effective. The eventual result may be sudden death or sickness. This is the reason why you should be born again, if you are not. The word of God made it plain in John 3:3
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”.
When you have passed this level, you should seek the avenue for your freedom(John 8:36). You are now ready to rejoice in the newness of your life through Christ Jesus and to receive His Divine promises for yourself. He said,
“They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover”.(Mark 16:18)
“They will take up snakes, and if there is poison in their drink, it will do them no evil; they will put their hands on those who are ill, and they
will get well”.(BBE)
“They will pick up serpents; and [even] if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will
get well”.(AMP)
One of the prescribed weapons to destroy the recrimination of Satan is prayer. As you stand in holiness,whatsoever you decree shall come to pass. You should bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. So, prayer is one of the greatest weapons that makes you victorious in the spiritual warfare. The thought of the enemy against you is evil continually as recorded in John 10 verse 10 but anytime you crucify the carnal man and realize your authority as a Child of God,you are lifted above satan and the standard of the world. Prayer helps you to keep your body under subjection which is a difficult task outside the help of the Holy Spirit. When you value worldly things, you become less interested in the spiritual things and easily become a prey to the hosts of darkness. So prayer helps you to know your stand in the Spirit, though the enemy seeks to destroy your relationship with God.
The Word of God made it plain in Ephesians 6:12-18 and gives you the different armors to put on for your success in the spiritual warfare.
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints”
“For we are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age. So put on God's armor now! Then when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist the enemy's attacks; and after fighting to the end, you will still hold your ground. So stand ready, with truth as a belt tight around your waist, with righteousness as your breastplate, and as your shoes the readiness to announce the Good News of peace. At all times carry faith as a shield; for with it you will be able to put out all the burning arrows shot by the Evil One. And accept salvation as a helmet, and the word of God as the sword which the Spirit gives you. Do all this in prayer, asking for God's help. Pray on every occasion, as the Spirit leads. For this reason keep alert and never give up; pray always for all God's people”.(TEV)
However, from the above scriptures, you can see other weapons that are mentioned which when used could give victory for a child of God in the spiritual battle. St Paul stated it boldly that the battle you engage in is not against flesh and blood but against the satanic kingdom in different hierarchy.
As mentioned earlier, the thought of the enemy-the devil is evil against you. He may decide to cause havoc against your spiritual life, business, family, academic life and other areas of your life. He may choose different instruments or human agents such as native doctors, mediums, diviners, magicians,occultists to bring untold hardship, problem, sickness, bondage lack of progress to a defenseless Christian. When you leave them without doing something, they may succeed in ruining your life and cause some damages to you. As you read on, you will find out that you are fighting against four categories of the agents of darkness and more.
These satanic agents are deadly, but God is more powerful. Though they seek to hinder your prayers but their powers are limited. You should remember the case of Daniel in Daniel Chapter 10. He offered his prayers to the Lord and received an answer from Him but it was not released. The prince of the kingdom of Persia, modern Iran withstood the angel that was coming to give him an answer to his prayer. By the intervention of Angel Michael which is one of the chief princes of heaven, Daniel had his reply of the prayer.
You can see the challenge in Daniel 10:12-13.
“Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia”.
What a challenge,battle and victory!
This may be the way some of your answered prayers,blessings,favor and success are being stopped by these demonic agents of darkness. But, in the name of Jesus Christ, they shall be scattered.Amen
The Word of God says that the power of death and life are in the tongue. When you take authority against these powers of evil, they become paralyzed and ineffective and give way for your success to come to you. You should stop blaming anyone for your case, rather believe that you are established to rule against the works of the enemy. So, begin to engage in warfare against those things that struggle against the will and knowledge of God in your life. It’s high time you be ready to dismantle the plans of principalities, powers, rulers of darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in heavenly places.
The Word of God says something about binding and loosing.
“Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”.(Matthew 18:18)
"Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven. What you say to one another is eternal. I mean this”.(MBCL)
“And I tell you this-whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven, and whatever you free on earth will be freed in heaven”(TLB)
“Truly I say to you, Whatever things are fixed by you on earth will be fixed in heaven: and whatever you make free on earth will be
made free in heaven”.(BBE)
When you obey this Biblical injunction,it will make you a ruler and help you in exercising dominion on the earth.(Genesis 1:26). Everything living on the earth, inside the water, beneath the earth, in the air,fire, ocean,land,atmosphere are waiting for your command. You can only lose your authority and dominion when you begin to live in sin and immorality. The enemy can use the avenue to enter into your life. But, today is made up of time. The authority can be restored to you when you genuinely confess your sins and forsake them. May God help you to receive your key of rulership in the name of Jesus!
The binding and loosing are possible when you exercise the authority given to you by the Master, Jesus Christ. As you use the word of God,when you issue a decree, it shall come to pass. The Lord will establish your utterance and action. The devil obeys the command of the children of God. It can be done singly or collectively. The Word of God talks of agreement in prayer;
“Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them
of my Father which is in heaven”.(Matthew 18:19)
“Again, I say to you, that if two of you are in agreement on earth about anything for which they will make a request, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven”.(BBE)
Devil fears prayer, praises, unity of the believers, the word of your testimony, the blood of Jesus Christ and His name. Now, begin to destroy the powers which controls your family,nation, community,business,church and spiritual life with these weapons. When you pray, the enemy trembles. I remember one of our popular songs when we are at the school;
Obey o, obey, o (Response)
Obey!
Satan must obey Jesus
Obey!
(This song ushers you into the ground of boldness and victory during warfare)
Child of God,do not be afraid of the plans of the enemy because the captain of your salvation, Jesus Christ has declared you a conquerer and overcomer through Him. You should now be ready to win your battles, for He will neither leave you nor forsake you. He is always with you. He had walked that way you are walking today and He lives forever. So, begin to celebrate today for victory is yours.
“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4)
