Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall... (Leviticus 26:8).
Father in heaven, Lord God Almighty, Yahweh-Nissi—You are the Lord our banner. Through You we will do valiantly—we will gain the victory—for it is You, Lord, who will trample down our enemies (Psalm 60:12).
Many scoff at the idea of spiritual warfare, but Your word tells 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).
We have no power on our own, Lord, to fight against the cunning, the wiles, the schemes (Ephesians 6:10) of the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray (Revelation 12:9). The apostle Peter warns us of his evil intentions towards us—Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).
We know that we stand in the power of Christ Jesus our Lord, who, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; ...has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Colossians 2:14-15).
We know that God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus... (Ephesians 2:6). We know that though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
Help us Father, to fight valiantly in the battlefield of the mind. To resist [the devil], standing firm in the faith (1 Peter 5:9). Just as in times past you multiplied the power and the capacity of Your people in their physical battles, multiply our strength and resistance against the evil forces in the heavenlies, and against the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world.
Help us to put on the protective armor You have given us (Ephesians 6:10-17). Thank You for the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace fitted firmly on our feet. Thank You for the shield of faith with which to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Thank You for the helmet of salvation and for the sword of the Spirit—the mighty word of God.
Teach us to "pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. Teach us to be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people (Ephesians 6:18). O help us battle for our families, our friends, our communities, and our world. Use our prayers to chase hundreds, and thousands of "spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms," and bring deliverance from the enemy of our soul.
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing: For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; His craft and pow’r are great, and, armed with cruel hate, On earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing, Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing: Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He; Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same, And He must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us; The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure, One little word shall fell him.
That word above all earthly pow’rs, no thanks to them, abideth; The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth; Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever.
~ Martin Luther ~ circa 1529
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