Spiritual Warfare 

Good news! Jesus has already won! This means we can have victory in every spiritual battle. We have authority over the kingdom of darkness and weapons to bring down every stronghold that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. Every situation or problem must first be addressed in the spiritual. The fight is the Lord’s, rest in His power (2 Corinthians 10:4-6, Matthew 16:18-19, Ephesians 6:12, Colossians 2:14-15, Mark 16:17, 1 Corinthians 15:57, Proverbs 21:31, Hebrews 2:14). 

The Armor of God

The armor of God is described in order for followers of Jesus to have a better understanding of warfare against the enemy. Every follower of Jesus can equip these! (Ephesians 6:10-17, 1 Thessalonians 5:8)

  • Helmet of Salvation: knowing, understanding, and believing that we are saved and set free protects us from lies, and keeps our mind at peace (John 3:16,  Romans 6:5-11, 10:9-10, Ephesians 2:14, Philippians 4:7, John 14:27) 

  • Breastplate of Righteousness: believing and understanding that we are righteous only because of what Jesus has done protects our hearts from believing lies (Romans 9:30, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Philippians 3:9)

  • Shield of Faith: having faith, trusting, and believing in God’s faithfulness prevents the enemy’s attacks from affecting us, because He protects us! (1 John 5:18, 2 Timothy 4:18, Proverbs 30:5, Psalm 91:4)

  • Shoes of the Gospel of Peace: living/walking out of a place of peace prevents rough paths (our own doing sometimes) from causing us pain (Ephesians 2:14, Philippians 4:7, John 14:27, Proverbs 3:13-18)

  • Belt of Truth: knowing and understanding the truth allows us live unrestricted lives ready to combat the enemy and lies (John 8:31-32, 14:6)

  • Sword of the Spirit: knowing and meditating on scripture and yielding to the Holy Spirit enables us to go on the offense (Matthew 4:1-11, Hebrews 4:12)

Application

As an individual or group, 

  • Ask God to reveal an area or place He wants to bring His kingdom to. This could be a place of work, school, neighborhood, or city as examples. 

  • Ask what principality/evil spirit is over the area.

  • Pray against that principality. You can also do a prayer walk around the area. Walking around similar to the Israelites walking around Jericho is a suggestion (Jericho 6:1-27)