A Call to
Battle
by Faith Noles
Ephesians 6:10-18
“Finally, my
brethren, be strong
in the Lord, and in
the power of his
might. Put on the
whole armor of God,
that ye may be able
to stand against the
wiles of the devil.
For we wrestle not
against flesh and
blood, but against
principalities,
against powers,
against the rulers
of the darkness of
this world, against
spiritual wickedness
in high places.
Wherefore take unto
you the whole armor
of God, that ye may
be able to withstand
in the evil day, and
having done all, to
stand. Stand
therefore, having
your loins girt
about with truth,
and having on the
breastplate of
righteousness; And
your feet shod with
the preparation of
the gospel of peace;
Above all, taking
the shield of faith,
wherewith ye shall
be able to quench
all the fiery darts
of the wicked. And
take the helmet of
salvation, and the
sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of
God: Praying always
with all prayer and
supplication in the
Spirit, and watching
thereunto with all
perseverance and
supplication for all
saints;”
Paul warns us to
take on the whole
armor of God so that
we may stand firm
against the forces
of evil. Why does
Paul use the analogy
of a soldier’s
uniform and weapon
to describe truth,
righteousness,
faith, salvation,
gospel of peace and
the word of God? It
is because we are in
warfare and Paul is
instructing us to
take a ‘combat
position’ against
this invisible
satanic army. Notice
that we not only
have a defensive
armor, but
offensively, we have
the “sword of the
Spirit” to attack
the works of Satan.
To take the armor of
God is to prepare us
for battle. Prayer
is part of entering
into the battle,
with God’s word as
our principal weapon
to bring down these
strongholds of
Satan.
It doesn’t take a
rocket scientist to
figure out that evil
forces surround us
on every hand. And
it looks like they
are winning the
battle. I think
everyone would agree
that the United States is in a state of moral
and spiritual crisis
such as it has never
been. Instead of
being spiritually
led, many churches
have been society
led. America is
reaping the dire
consequences of
rejecting God. Our
society is morally
bankrupt, and the
problems seem
resistant to
government cures.
William J. Bennet,
in his Index of
Leading Cultural
Indicators, provides
the following
statistics for the
past 30 years.
Despite increased
funding and stricter
laws, violent crime
has increased more
than 500 percent.
While sex education
programs have
proliferated,
illegitimate births
have increased over
400 percent,
significantly among
teenagers. The
divorce rate has
quadrupled, and
single parent homes
have become the
majority. Our young
people today exhibit
hopelessness, with a
more than 200
percent increase in
the teenage suicide
rate. Is there
anything that can
turn our society
around? America has experienced three great
periods of revival
in the previous two
centuries, during
which all of society
was dramatically
affected. Will there
be another revival
in America?
History is filled
with prayer warriors
such as Martin
Luther, Muller and
Finney who fought to
bring about change
in society. E.M.
Bounds in his book,
Power Through
Prayer, states:
God's true preachers
have been
distinguished by one
great feature: they
were men of prayer.
Differing often in
many things, they
have always had a
common center. They
may have started
from different
points, and traveled
by different roads,
but they converged
to one point: they
were one in prayer.
God to there was the
center of
attraction, and
prayer was the path
that led to God.
These men prayed not
occasionally, not a
little at regular or
at odd times; but
they so prayed that
their prayers
entered into and
shaped their
characters; they so
prayed as to affect
their own lives and
the lives of others;
they so prayed as to
make the history of
the Church and
influence the
current of the
times.
Will there be
another revival in America? Guy H. King said, No one is
a firmer believer in
the power of prayer
than the devil; not
that he practices
it, but he suffers
from it. I believe
there can be another
revival. With God,
all things are
possible. 2
Chronicles 7:14 “If
my people, which are
called by my name,
shall humble
themselves, and
pray, and seek my
face, and turn from
their wicked ways;
then will I hear
from heaven, and
will forgive their
sin, and will heal
their land.”
One day when I was
in third grade, one
of my classmates
came to school with
both of her knees
red and rough
looking. We asked
her what had
happened to her
knees. She explained
that her church was
having a revival and
that she had been on
her knees praying.
Wow...I didn’t know
the Lord at the
time, but her
confession made an
impact on me. To
think that a little
third grader would
stay on her knees in
prayer long enough
to make them red and
roughened! I believe
that we Christians
need to get some
calluses on our
knees. We need to
fall on our knees
and cry out to God
for mercy and
guidance. I’m
talking about
‘crying out’ to God,
not some lay me down
to sleep prayer.
James 5:16 “The
effectual fervent
prayer of a
righteous man
availeth much” and
verse 17 says that
Elijah “prayed
earnestly”.
‘Fervent’ comes from
the Greek word ‘energeo’
which means ‘to be
mighty in’ and the
Merriam-Webster
dictionary defines
‘earnestly’ as
‘characterized or
proceeding from an
intense and serious
state of mind’.
People, it’s time to
get serious with
God.
God has given us
multiple promises
concerning prayer.
In Jeremiah 33:3,
God says, “Call unto
me, and I will
answer thee, and
show thee great and
mighty things, which
thou knowest not”. 2
Corinthians 10:4
“For the weapons of
our warfare are not
carnal, but mighty
through God to the
pulling down of
strongholds;” God is
telling us that the
weapons of our
warfare are mighty.
That our weapons
will pull down
strongholds.
There’s a sense of
apathy within the
church today...not
caring, not hoping.
It’s as if many are
walking around in a
state of fugue--not
really aware of what
is happening around
them. Oh God, arise
and wake up Your
children, so that we
may fight for Your
glory and honor. May
we be as Winston
Churchill said,
Never give
in--never, never,
never, never, in
nothing great or
small, large or
petty, never give in
except to
convictions of
honour and good
sense. Never yield
to force; never
yield to the
apparently
overwhelming might
of the enemy. Will
you answer God’s
call to battle?
|