The Balanced Approach to Spiritual Victory - Protestant Caucus/Devotional

"Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God" (Eph. 6:10-11). Spiritual victory is not passive; it involves the discipline of daily obedience to Christ and His Word.

When I was a child, my father and I watched a boxing match on television. After going through the ritual of punching the air, kicking his feet, and putting rosin on his shoes, one of the fighters knelt in the corner and crossed himself. I asked my dad if that helped. He said, "It does if he can punch. If he can't punch, it doesn't help at all."

That illustrates a point we touched on yesterday and will explore further today: God's part and our part in spiritual warfare. Many Christians believe that spiritual victory comes simply by surrendering more completely to God. They quote verses like 2 Chronicles 20:15 to support their view: "The battle is not yours but God's." "Stop struggling and striving," they say. "Instead, yield and completely surrender yourself to God. He alone does the fighting and gives the victory."

Such people are often called "Quietists" because they view the Christian's role in spiritual warfare as passive or quiet. Their anthem is "Let go and let God."

But Scripture gives a very different view of the believer's role. It pictures the Christian life as a war, a race, and a fight. We depend on God's energy, power, and strength, but are by no means passive. We're commanded to apply ourselves to good deeds, resist the devil, bring our bodies under subjection, walk in wisdom, press toward the prize, cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, work out our salvation with fear and trembling, and perfect holiness in the fear of God. Those are calls to fervent action.

In Ephesians 6:10-11 Paul says, "Be strong in the . . . strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God." That's the balance. God supplies the resources; we supply the effort.

Prayer To Be Strong In The Day Of Battle

Heavenly Father I pray for Your strength and courage – I pray that I would be strong in the day of battle. I pray that You would give me the strength and courage that only comes from You and You alone. I pray that like Joshua I would be strong and very courageous and not be afraid to face the enemies of my soul, nor be dismayed by the spiritual armies that encompass me round about.

I pray that You would break any stronghold of fear or doubt, shame or unbelief that weakens my walk and witness and that makes me so vulnerable to the wiles of Satan. Help me I pray to resist the devil and to take every thought, that starts to drag me down, captive.. and to hand it to You – for You have not given us the spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, self-discipline and a sound mind.

Lord I am aware that there are many forms of opposition – many strongholds that can keep our souls enslaved and captive and which prevent us from being strong in the Lord and in His mighty power in this evil day – but I pray that by Your grace and in the power of the Holy Spirit I would be strong in the day of battle and abide in Christ, Who is my Shield and Buckler, My Defence and my Defender – and in Whose name I pray,

Amen

Source: https://prayer.knowing-jesus.com/search?q=Battle

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