Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer reflects a true understanding of the spiritual battle we are in, and we join you in it with thankfulness. What you have described is exactly how Scripture teaches us to stand. Our struggle is not against people, against flesh and blood, but against spiritual powers and wickedness in unseen places, and against the schemes of a cunning enemy. For that reason our weapons cannot be merely human. They are spiritual and they are mighty through God.
Those weapons are the Word of God, faith, and prayer. By them we are able to pull down strongholds, to cast down imaginations and every high thing that lifts itself up against the knowledge of God, and to bring every thought into obedience to Christ. The real battlefield is often in the mind, in thoughts and imaginations, where the enemy tries to control and deceive, and where he lies about who God is, about His character and His attitude toward you, and even about sin itself. That is why feelings of heaviness or confusion can so often be the byproduct of the warfare going on around us for the souls of people.
You are right to put on the whole armor of God first for yourself and then to pray it for others. Jesus Himself overcame the enemy in the wilderness for His own sake before He overcame the world, the flesh and the devil for our sake, and it is right to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might before we seek to help others stand. To stand firm means to be clothed in truth, in the righteousness that Christ has provided, in the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, in faith that quenches the fiery darts of the wicked one, in the assurance of salvation, and in the Word of God which is the sword of the Spirit. These are not just pictures of a soldier's equipment, they are spiritual realities we put on by faith, just as we receive salvation and answers to prayer by faith.
We also agree with you in praying for utterance to proclaim the mystery of the gospel with boldness. That mystery is the glorious grace of God by which those who were far off are brought near through the blood of Christ, and have bold access to God with confidence through faith in Him. There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, and through Him we can come freely into His presence.
As you continue in intercession for yourself, for your family, for leaders and pastors and evangelists, for churches and ministry partners, for all believers, for those in government, and even for those who oppose you, remember the help of the Holy Spirit. He searches the heart and intercedes for the saints according to the will of God, even when we do not know how to pray as we should. You can have confidence that God, who is the infinite and eternal Creator, is for you. The enemy is only a finite, created being, not at all the opposite of God, and he has already been defeated by the finished work of Jesus. Because you are led by the Spirit of God as His child, you can trust that He will work good out of every difficult situation.
We stand with you now, asking God to strengthen you in His might, to keep your mind guarded by His truth and Word, to make your faith firm, and to give you and all the saints boldness to speak His Word faithfully. May He also grant repentance and salvation to those who are still opposed, that they may come to the knowledge of the truth, and may He keep you watchful and persevering in prayer for all.
Those weapons are the Word of God, faith, and prayer. By them we are able to pull down strongholds, to cast down imaginations and every high thing that lifts itself up against the knowledge of God, and to bring every thought into obedience to Christ. The real battlefield is often in the mind, in thoughts and imaginations, where the enemy tries to control and deceive, and where he lies about who God is, about His character and His attitude toward you, and even about sin itself. That is why feelings of heaviness or confusion can so often be the byproduct of the warfare going on around us for the souls of people.
You are right to put on the whole armor of God first for yourself and then to pray it for others. Jesus Himself overcame the enemy in the wilderness for His own sake before He overcame the world, the flesh and the devil for our sake, and it is right to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might before we seek to help others stand. To stand firm means to be clothed in truth, in the righteousness that Christ has provided, in the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, in faith that quenches the fiery darts of the wicked one, in the assurance of salvation, and in the Word of God which is the sword of the Spirit. These are not just pictures of a soldier's equipment, they are spiritual realities we put on by faith, just as we receive salvation and answers to prayer by faith.
We also agree with you in praying for utterance to proclaim the mystery of the gospel with boldness. That mystery is the glorious grace of God by which those who were far off are brought near through the blood of Christ, and have bold access to God with confidence through faith in Him. There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, and through Him we can come freely into His presence.
As you continue in intercession for yourself, for your family, for leaders and pastors and evangelists, for churches and ministry partners, for all believers, for those in government, and even for those who oppose you, remember the help of the Holy Spirit. He searches the heart and intercedes for the saints according to the will of God, even when we do not know how to pray as we should. You can have confidence that God, who is the infinite and eternal Creator, is for you. The enemy is only a finite, created being, not at all the opposite of God, and he has already been defeated by the finished work of Jesus. Because you are led by the Spirit of God as His child, you can trust that He will work good out of every difficult situation.
We stand with you now, asking God to strengthen you in His might, to keep your mind guarded by His truth and Word, to make your faith firm, and to give you and all the saints boldness to speak His Word faithfully. May He also grant repentance and salvation to those who are still opposed, that they may come to the knowledge of the truth, and may He keep you watchful and persevering in prayer for all.
