Welcome back again to part five of our series on winning your spiritual battles. It has been quite a journey so far, and we’ve seen a lot of things that have strengthened us in Christ. We’ve learned how to stand firm in our spiritual identity by putting on the entire armor of God, and guarding against the spiritual lies of the enemy.
Now today will continue examining the one unique piece of equipment given to us: the sword of the spirit, and how to use it to obtain spiritual victory in Christ Jesus.
Using Your Spiritual Sword
Knowing that we have all of these tools and equipment is the first step. Yet none of this does any good if we do not actually use them. This is especially true of our spiritual sword. If we do not know how to use our sword, then we will always be on the spiritual defensive, and will always be subject to losing-ground, rather than contending for what is ours in Christ Jesus today.
There are a great number of Christians who have a kind of spiritual lethargy regarding spiritual struggles. Frankly, it is much easier to simply dismiss absolutely everything as “the will of God” and leave it at that. Yet if that was what God wanted us to do, then He would’ve never given us a spiritual sword. There would be no need to contend for anything at all! If everything is truly the will of God, then there is no no need for any kind of struggle; just concession after concession.
Sadly, this describes the lives of many Christians today. Giving up ground daily, inch-by-inch and yard-by-yard. However, the scriptures actually describe how to content for spiritual victory, by using the sword which we have been given. Let’s begin by reading the relevant verses of scripture, Ephesians 6:17-18:
“ 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”
We noted last week, how a majority of people get confused about the sword of the Spirit. One of the main causes of this confusion comes from simply reading verse 17 out of context. However, as we can see plainly, the thought does not end with verse 17, it continues on to verse 18, by telling us how to use our spiritual sword: praying always in the Spirit. This is a crucial detail that often gets little or no attention, but it is vital to use our spiritual sword correctly.
Understanding that praying in the Spirit is connected with using our spiritual sword will oftentimes instantly clear-up much of the confusion regarding how to apply this piece of the armor.
Praying Always in the Spirit
Now there is a lot of confusion and debate about what it means to pray in the spirit. However the scriptures give us a clear definition of what praying in the spirit actually is. Let’s examine a few scripture verses to get some clarity. The first is Jude verses 20 and 21:
“ 20 But you, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.”
What we can see in these two verses, is that praying in the spirit is something that builds you up. It edifies us when we pray in the spirit. Praying in the spirit is not a heavy thing, or time of regret, mourning, or sadness; but a time of uplifting, encouragement, and building-up.
Put this together with the next verse 21, which says that we should keep ourselves in the love of God. Oftentimes, we fail to do this, and this is the danger of becoming self-focused. When we are focusing on our performance and circumstances of the day, we lose sight of the love of God much too easily.
Instead of looking at ourselves and our sin, we can read here that we should be looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So, now that we have an idea of the characteristics of praying in the spirit, let’s read 1st Corinthians 14, to see what praying in the spirit actually is. 1st Corinthians 14:2-4:
“ 2 For he that speaks in an unknown tongue speaks not to men, but to God: for no man understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.
3 But he that prophesies speaks to men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
4 He that speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself; but he that prophesies edifies the church.”
Being Edified in the Spirit
In verse 2, we can see the distinction between speaking in tongues personally, and prophesying within the congregation publicly. This is something we have studied in detail previously, and so we will not examine it at length now. For now, it is sufficient for us to see that there is a distinction, and also that speaking in tongues privately has some unique properties:
- It speaks directly to God
- It is in the Spirit according to verse 2
- It edifies us personally and builds us up according to verse 4
Therefore, what we learn from these verses is that one of the primary ways for us to be personally edified and built-up in Christ, is by speaking in tongues, praying in the spirit.
Further on in this same chapter of 1st Corinthians 14, Paul draws the conclusion that both private speaking in tongues, and public prophesying are good and beneficial for their own reasons, and neither are to be shunned or prevented in verses 14, 15, 27, 28, and 29.
Strength for Victory in Christ
The point of being edified and strengthened is the key for supernatural victory. Just as possessing a physical sword would give you an advantage over an unarmed opponent, so too does your spiritual sword give you an advantage over the spiritual enemy.
Colossians 2:15 states that Jesus has already “spoiled” and disarmed principalities, powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world. They are unarmed. Jesus spoiled the the evil forces and disarmed them through His finished work on the cross.
I encourage you to not let this fact just slip passed you. Jesus disarmed the enemy already! The enemy has no weapons other than mere lies and deception! The trouble comes in when we go into the spiritual battle ill-equipped and unprepared.
However, what we have seen throughout this series, is that we have been given everything that we need for complete protection and victory in Christ. Protection against the spiritual lies of the enemy; the fears, condemnation, and worry that his lies try to conjure.
We have also been given a spiritual sword, which gives us an overwhelming advantage over an already disarmed and defeated foe. As we pray in the spirit we are spiritually edified and built-up in the truth of Christ and our spiritual identity in Him. This strength allows us to easily stand against and overcome the enemy in ways that would normally seem impossible and unsurmountable.
As we saw earlier in this series, it is the power of the Lord, His strength, and His might that we are made strong in. And no place is this made more clear than through praying in the spirit.
I encourage you today, my friend, to receive and equip all of the pieces of God’s armor, and start enjoying the spiritual victory in Christ Jesus, as you were always meant to have.
The enemy has been defeated, the battle has already been won. Stand against the lies of the enemy, resist the devil, and he will flee, because he has nothing left.
Be blessed.