I have been singing “This is How I fight my Battles” by Michael W. Smith and at times wondering how many times we try to fight our battles on our own. We are in a fight where we have to take on things that sometimes will be too much for us. Yet we have a power that we can partner with as sons and daughters of the Creator. What is the most effective way to fight the battles in our lives? Bringing them to Jesus.
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this, we know that we have come to know him if we keep his commandments.
1 John 2: 1-3
Paul tells the church in Ephesus that they are not fighting battles of flesh and blood but of the enemy of the air. The devil is our enemy, make no mistake about that. The most powerful weapon we have is prayer. Bringing our needs and battles to the throne of God is how we fight our battles. He will then give us the power to defeat and overcome. We are told to prepare for battle by putting on the whole armour of God. Many would stop reading in Ephesians 6 at verse 17 where we add the sword of the Spirit to our armour, yet in 18 we see the piece that holds all the armour on and gives us the power we need to be effective: ‘Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion’.
When we immerse ourselves in prayer, praise and worship we invite the Holy Spirit to actively participate in your life. As the song continues ‘It may feel like I’m surrounded but I’m surrounded by you’, we understand that when the battles in life try to overwhelm us if we are walking with God we can focus on Him. He will guide us through the battle we are facing and bring us to freedom. It is when we see the battle and forget who we are walking with, maybe we think the battle is too much for even God. We must not fall for the enemies lie that the battle is too large for God to deal with. Think about what happened to the Israelites when the Philistines brought out Goliath. The battle in their eyes became too big for them and they forgot about the God who promised to fight their battles. Luckily enough for them, there was one young man who knew that God would fight his battle right next to him and give him the victory that the people desperately needed.
What battle are you facing today? Financial? Marriage issues? Children? Addiction? There is a multitude of battles that could be listed, but the question is how are you fighting your battles? Are you bruised and beaten because you are working to fight them alone? You do not have to fight these battles alone. The Holy Spirit is right there with you waiting for you to submit to God, call out to him for help, he is prepared to fight your battles. We cannot do this on our own, the battle may become so hard that we would rather fall on our own sword then face defeat, yet God has so much more for you. Remember when you feel surrounded by the battle that God is surrounding you, as believers this is his promise that he loves us and is ready to help if we would humble ourselves and ask. If you do not know Jesus as your saviour, He is waiting right now to help you in your battles. Just asking him to forgive you of your sins and cry out for help, he is never to busy for you.
Father, thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to aid us in the battles we face. Thank you for surrounding us, even if many times we forget you are there. We may be stubborn and full of pride, yet you know what we need and wait patiently for us to ask. We need your help in fighting our battles. Give us the strength to ask for help. Let us reach others with your love showing them that despite what is going on in their lives that you love them no matter what. Amen
50 Days of Pray 