Weapons of Our Warfare

"Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels."— Revelation 12:7

There will always be war between the two kingdoms: the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom of good and that of evil, the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of Satan, until Jesus comes and casts Satan and his hordes into the bottomless pit. Peace between good and evil is an impossibility. There is no compromise or middle ground.

Daniel understood this battle in which we fight, a battle he took on to discover God’s will for the Jewish people in Babylon. In Daniel 10:3, Daniel sets himself to fast and pray for forty days until he received an answer. In verse 10 an angel appeared to him and said, "Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days.” (Daniel 10:12-14)

The enemy never gives up and is incessant in his onslaught, sparing no weapon, fair or foul. We must become as persistent as the enemy. Like Daniel, we must come into agreement with God and His Word, and persist until we get an answer. God sent an answer the first day Daniel prayed, but it took forty days of persistent prayer and fasting on Daniel’s part to receive what God had for him. II Corinthians 10:4-5 says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of
God.” What are these weapons of warfare that God has given us?

Ephesians 6:14-18 exhort us to, “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 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, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” I had a missionary friend who, when he dressed every morning, he mentally put on the armor of God to remind himself of the battle he was in and what God had given him to overcome the enemy.

We do not overcome the enemy with the gifts of the Spirit, for those are for ministry. We overcome the enemy with the fruit of the Spirit--“love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23) The enemy has no weapon or defense against love, joy and peace. When the enemy throws everything at you and by the Spirit you maintain peace and joy, what can he do? Righteousness and faith will always quench every fiery dart of the enemy.
We are in a battle, but the victory is ours if we will persevere in prayer with faith, hope and love.

Andy Clark