If living a Christian life has nothing to do with spiritual warfare, then a lot of scriptures including the ones below must be removed from the Bible. There is probably more spiritual warfare in the Bible than any other subject. The word battle appears 230 times in scripture and the word fight appears 200 times. Perhaps the scripture below will shade more light on why we very much need to practice spiritual warfare.
Ephesians 6:11 and 13 (AMP)
V11
“Put on God’s whole armor (the armor of a heavy – armed soldier which God supplies), that you may be able successfully to stand up against all the strategies and the deceits of the Devil.”
V13
“Therefore put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day (of danger)) and, having done all (the crisis demands), to stand (firmly in your place).”
The above verses communicate the need for preparation in relation to danger, evil day, and in times of crisis. By implication, there is a warfare that awaits every child of God here on earth. The key to wage this war is to possess the right spiritual attire (dressed for war) that will enable us to fight the enemy regardless of the day he comes. Remember the devil is like a roaring lion seeking whom to devour. The enemy always comes when we least expect him and he attacks when we underestimate his power.
We have to wrestle with the devil’s power, to resist it all, to stand against everything in the confession of Christ, of the light; we have to do all that the confession of His name requires in spite of all and at whatever cost, and to be found standing when the storm and the evil day are past.
Though the Church is on the winning side, the question of what to fight, who to fight, why fight and when to fight” is very important in spiritual warfare issues.
Jesus in Matthew 16:19 spoke to Peter something we cannot afford to miss. He said, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” The first part of this verse (I will give you the keys) is what we all need to possess higher levels of victory over every demonic situation. We need the keys of the Kingdom first before we can do the binding and the loosing. The advantage of having the key is that, you don’t have to knock before you enter. The KEYS of the Kingdom takes us straight into the Kingdom of God where we can get every navigational tool or principle that we can use in this life.
The doors of victory God will open for us in life are determined by the type of keys we obtain from God.
The keys of the Kingdom are established divine principles that give us access into all Kingdom business. Having the keys means we can open doors without struggling. If you are serious about getting the right keys, ask God to give you as He did to Peter. In spiritual warfare, we all need divine keys to open doors of victory.
To neglect the subject of spiritual warfare is to make ourselves vulnerable to demonic attacks. What God expects in every Christian is 100% victory over the works of the devil – in fact that’s the reason for the manifestation of the Son of God (1 John 3:8b). The works mentioned here in scripture refers to operations, schemes, practices, and activities of the devil. The devil’s aim has always been to steal, kill and to destroy. These three words describe how really the devil is and how intense the Christian battle is. The devil has been using every tactic, every weapon and diabolical strategy to hinder Christians from being effective. His specific strategies are there or plotted to keep the Church in a weakened position. The Church must realize that, to give life to this wicked generation involves fighting because the devil wants to “kill” and “destroy” the same life.
To Ignore the Devil Is To Invite Him In
There’s absolutely no demonic power that can stand God’s dynamic power in every child of God
A society we are in today is filled with conflict, fear, wars, generations battling generations, generations warring within themselves. What we see here is that the seeds of the enemy have been planted and are ready to spring forth unless urgent, fervent prayer is released. The Church is being prepared to approach each year with an overcoming spirit and a breakthrough mentality. God’s power in those who believe is strong enough to break down every demonic resistance. But if Christians are not prepared enough to take the right position of authority boldly, then we are on our way to receiving more victims and casualties in the body of Christ.”
Our God is a victory oriented God. He is All Powerful. When the devil uses stratagems to fight us, we have to use strategies to fight him back. But before we fight, we must be equipped and anointed for battle. Any military group that wants to engage warfare today takes serious training; knows how to handle and use weapons, puts on uniform and then always ready to fight when the enemy strikes. Often times men of God say, “failure to prepare is preparation for failure.” So it is a prepared generation of Christians that will do the work of spiritual warfare.