Day 3: Throw off entanglements
No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer (2 Timothy 2:4).
Heavenly Father, You are the Mighty Warrior who saves (Zephaniah 3:17). It is You who train our hands and arm us with strength for the battle (Psalm 18:34,39). Yet we know that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12).
Lord, we live in an earthly realm, and we do not understand much of the battle waged around us. We do not always grasp the full import of the warning—for though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. (2 Corinthians 10:3). We are often unwary and inattentive—absorbed in, and entangled by all the distractions designed to waylay us.
Yet that is precisely why Scripture continually warns of the dangers, the traps and the pitfalls of enemy strategy. The apostle Peter urged: Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).
And the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy using military language to stress the seriousness of the believer's "commission" as a good soldier of Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 2:3).
Father, the stakes are high. The Lord Jesus warned us that The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy (John 10:10). And Paul reminds us that Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12).
But we know that our Lord Christ is seated at Your right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come (Ephesians 1:20-21). And You have promised to preserve our soul (Psalm 121:7 - NKJV).
You have given us the weapons of our warfare with divine power to destroy strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4 - ESV). You have given us the full armor of God, so that we can take our stand against the devil’s schemes (Ephesians 6:11).
Oh God, all around us we see the carnage of spiritual warfare. We see chaos and confusion, crime and corruption. We see brokenness and struggle, despair and hopelessness, suicide and violence.
Wake us up! Help us to throw off our entanglements so that we can put on the full armor of God. Help us to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles... (Hebrews 12:1) so that we can successfully employ shield, sword, and all the other pieces of your divine protection (Ephesians 6:14-17).
Help us to pray, and fight in all the power of Your Spirit against the evil that seeks to devour us, our children, our families, our friends, our neighbors, our communities, our world. Strengthen us in the assurance of Victory in Jesus.
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