Warfare - Who or what are we exactly fighting

[PortiaSamantha]

Ok, so the subject of warfare is very popular amongst us as believers but what exactly does it mean; Who or what are we fighting?

The bible only mentions it 5 times in the scriptures below but what does it mean for you personally?

1 Samuel 28:1

Isaiah 40:2

1 Corinthians 9:7

2 Corinthians 10:4

1 Timothy 1:18

I'm interested in hearing your views on the subject

[wingnut-]

Spiritual warfare is fought in the spiritual realm, which I think it is best to avoid for a believer unless you have no choice. The battle is satan and his minions versus the angels of heaven led by Michael. They intercede on our behalf according to the Lords will. As for us, the Word of God is our only weapon, through prayer we can ask for Gods protection.

[Guest ninhao]

Spiritual war is all around us even at times when we are not aware. It means we must maintain integrity to God while being subjected to much anti Christ activity.

We have victory though, of course.

[PortiaSamantha]

Spiritual warfare is fought in the spiritual realm, which I think it is best to avoid for a believer unless you have no choice.

Paul seemed to have believed that warfare is part of our spiritual walk, I say this because to him it was necessary to identify "Weapons of our warfare" of which you might agree to an extent that we wouldn't need weapons unless we were going to use them?

Ninhao seems to be of the same school of thought as you Wignut; He says it happens whether we are aware or not.

Beyond interceding, what is then the purpose of the night vigils we still facilitate as believers?

[wingnut-]

Paul seemed to have believed that warfare is part of our spiritual walk, I say this because to him it was necessary to identify "Weapons of our warfare" of which you might agree to an extent that we wouldn't need weapons unless we were going to use them?

Ninhao seems to be of the same school of thought as you Wignut; He says it happens whether we are aware or not.

Beyond interceding, what is then the purpose of the night vigils we still facilitate as believers?

The only offensive weapon Paul mentioned is the Word of God, the other pieces of armor are for defensive purposes. Belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, feet with the gospel of peace, shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation. All of these are rooted in knowledge of scripture as well, and the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

The purpose of any vigil is prayer, and through prayer God intercedes on our behalf, which is why Paul concludes the Ephesians passage regarding the armor with this.

Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

[Guest man]

Ok, so the subject of warfare is very popular amongst us as believers but what exactly does it mean; Who or what are we fighting?

Ephesians 6

¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

.

[Willa]

One of my favorite battles is in 2 Chron. 20:15-22. Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's." Also when Elisha opens the eyes of the servent to see that the armies of the Lord, in chariots of fire, are surrounding them in 2 Kings 6:8-20.

When we pray for peoples salvation we sometimes enter into spiritual warfare by prayer.. The battlefield is the mind. 2 Cor 10:4 speaks of taking every thought captive to God's Word. We do this in our own minds, first.

Psalms 34:7, Gen. 32:2, and Joshua 6 are other favorite warfare verses. Much of the Old Testamant is about warfare and it is a great training manual for us. It requires perfect obedience to His voice and instructions. God does the fighting on our behalf. We need to hold the ground while the battle goes on around us. This means keeping our heads low and in prayer.

We must remain focused on God during this time. Satan came to lie, steal and destroy. Since he is the father of lies, we need to ignore him and his lies but look to God our deliverer. That means we must know God's Word very well to avoid being deceived. The enemy is intent on destroying us by those lies and on stealing our joy. Again, our chief duty is to hold our ground. So we use our shield of faith and the Word of God and the helmet of salvation to protect our minds. We focus on God and His loving faithfulness.

In Galations 4:19 Paul talks of being in travail till Christ is formed in you. I believe that this intense, painful prayer is a type of spiritual warfare, too.

Those who witness to unbelievers also ask for God to give them the words the person needs to hear, and wisdom to know how to answer them so as to take every thought captive to God's Word. Again, we must know God's word very well, and to be able to not be deceived especially when witnessing to cult members. In this case telling our personal testamonies of what God has done in our lives is one of the best ways to witness. They have no testamony. In Rev. 12:11 Satan was overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of their testamony.

There has only been one time that I had to confront a demon possessed person. She had become involved in shamenism on an Indian reservation. My back was too the wall and I felt like I was looking into the eyes of pure evil and darkness. Never has my family of believers looks so pure, bright and full of light as after seeing this woman. I hope never to have to do this again. But God was faithful because I knew Who was doing the fighting. I have no power in such situations, but I know Him who does, and He is faithful.

This is not a subject I particularly enjoy discussing. I hate to think of the evil I have encountered in my lifetime. My thoughts don't dwell there. They dwell on God's perfect love that casts out fear. They dwell on His admonishment in Deut. 31:8 "And the Lord, he is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed."

[Willa]

Ok, so the subject of warfare is very popular amongst us as believers but what exactly does it mean; Who or what are we fighting?

Ephesians 6

¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

.

Amen and amen!

[Guest]

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[holys]

for our fight is not man verses man but the princapalities of darkness..