We also see commands to pray, as Jesus says that certain kinds of demons can only be expelled through prayer and instructs us to pray that we enter not into temptation but are delivered from evil (with this reference to evil likely not just evil in general but rather the Evil One – Satan himself). Related to the armor of God is prayer, as it comes in the passage discussing the armor. Since the “sword of the Spirit” is the Word – and particularly the spoken Word of God – we need to hear and listen to God’s Word and have that truth fit against Satan and his attacks (as his primary weapon is deceit and falsehoods).Ĥ.
1 PETER 5:8 9 AND EVERY MANS BATTLE FULL
In talking about the spiritual battle, the Apostle Paul tells us to put on the full armor of God, which really consists of the various truths of the gospel and things that Christ has accomplished for us. Put On the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20) We do this by clinging to God and not dabbling with things like anger and unforgiveness we need to continue preaching the gospel to ourselves.ģ. As Gregory Boyd says, we are called to live a revolting lifestyle – that is, a lifestyle that is revolting to Satan. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” We need to push ourselves away from the influences and work of Satan, and the best way to do that is to run to God. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. We read in James 4:7-8: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. We must live with an awareness of the victory won in Christ but also the reality of battles being fought.Ģ. Only if we are aware of him will we be able to “resist him” (1 Peter 5:8-9). As Peter tells us, we are to “be sober-minded be watchful” as we know the devil is out there.
![1 peter 5:8-9 and every mans battle 1 peter 5:8-9 and every mans battle](https://preachthewordblog.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/beware-the-devil.jpg)
The first step is to recognize that there is a war out there and we are living in the war zone! This idea of proceeding with caution is not that we should be afraid that Satan is out there, but to be aware of him and recognize that he will seek to lead us astray. (Some of these might be a stretch, but I wanted to make sure they all start with the letter “P”as I always find alliteration helpful in these contexts!)
![1 peter 5:8-9 and every mans battle 1 peter 5:8-9 and every mans battle](https://realtalkbroadcastnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/img_0062.jpg)
As I reflected on the nature of the war and various instructions in Scripture, I came up with seven “P’s” that will hopefully help us in this battle.
![1 peter 5:8-9 and every mans battle 1 peter 5:8-9 and every mans battle](https://scripturalseeds.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/2017-11-10-06-06-56.jpg)
As noted in the introductory post to this series, we need to remember that spiritual warfare is not just for “elite” Christians, but for ordinary Christians Satan is real and uses his demonic forces as well as our own sinful natures and the structures of the world to try to lead us away from following God. Having learned more about Satan and demons over the past several posts, I now want to focus on spiritual warfare – that is, how are we to engage Satan and demons in battle.