Ukrainians are fighting a battle for their lives. We in the United States watch from the sidelines and we are blown away by the resilience of this country. Our country’s humanitarian efforts, with the aid of 6.92 billion dollars, has reached its peak. Ukraine is fighting a diabolical battle, and whether they realize it or not, it’s going to take more than missiles and rockets to win this war. It’s going to take prayer!
The Victory Belongs to the Lord
1 Corinthians 15:57 New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Our Demons
When a Christian is attacked, it’s because the Enemy knows some special blessing or plan that God has for them in the future. Or another reason for an attack is when you are leading others to Christ, either through a ministry or charitable work. Every time, without fail, I would experience an attack after feeding the homeless on Skid Row. Many times I was so exhausted by the work put forth in picking up the supplies and organizing the sandwich making that my body would ache. In times like this I was too tired to recognize that this was an attack. Sometimes I’d feel defeated because I was too tired to pray.
Do Not Cave In
The spiritual battle is meant to continually erode your senses: first your mind, then your heart, then your spirit. But its main goal is to break your spirit. Once the Devil sees that He has succeeded in doing this, he goes in for the kill. Your self-negative talk greets all the other defeated senses, then you cave in. Once you start speaking defeat, the battle is over because you surrendered all and were too weak to fight. You’ve given up because you see no way out. This happens because when the battle is ongoing, things escalate. All you believe you can do is wait for the next attack.
Fight the battle
In a real fire you either get out or suffocate. If you stay and hope things get better without battling, you will meet your spiritual death. We refuel by surrounding ourselves with people who will guide us out of the fire, and by attending regular church services. We look to God to quench all the fiery darts of the Enemy; we pray by crying out for help. Sometimes this could indicate that you may need professional help. Being Christian does not mean you’re supernatural; ask the Holy Spirit for direction. We all have our crosses, but it’s the way we carry them that will make all the difference. At one time or another, we all cave in and dig a pit so large that we can’t find our way out.
Jesus experienced this torment personally with Satan. How did our Lord fight back? He quoted Scripture. We all have weaknesses that we need to get through; we all have that person in our lives who knows how to trigger our senses.
The Triggers
I have been teaching a Bible study for over 17 years. A few years ago an acquaintance joined our group. She was well versed in many areas of life, but she continually interrupted the study. She came across as arrogant with her input, and it made me uncomfortable. At first I would just ignore her comments; but when it became apparent that she wanted to undermine the Bible study, I stood my ground. This woman was studying to become a therapist and she would use some of her training to trigger me. The last conversation we had was her announcing to the group, “Does it bother you when I say that?” Normally my submissive, considerate response would be, “No, not really.” But this time, I had to put her arrogance in check. My reply was, “Yes, it does bother me, and your consistent interruption of the study is disruptive.” That was the last time she attended our study. It took a while for me to reach this point; it was a Bible study, after all, and I needed to express the love of God. But we cannot allow others to bulldoze their way in without taking control of the situation.
Our Family
Our biggest battles will involve our families. They may be suffering ill health, they may be steeped in sin by the influences of others, or they may be involved in drug or alcohol addictions.
When a family member is overcome by a serious illness, it’s important that we lift them up in constant prayer. We pray not only for their well-being but for their state of mind. Why their state of mind? Because when you are debilitated, you can easily fall into a state of feeling sorry for yourself. This is an entry for the Enemy to come in and affirm your weak state of mind. Once you give into negative feelings, your health will follow.
Family relationships are the Devil’s favorite territory. It is our God-given responsibility to pray our loved ones into the Kingdom of God. You may be suffering from verbal abuse via text messages, or outward disrespect. When people are in sin, they will do everything in their power to keep their lives from being disrupted. Sin blinds them; the deeper they go in, the darker it becomes. They can’t see in the dark so they continue to sin. Anyone who gets in the way of someone blinded by sin is going to be trampled by the diabolical behavior of that person.
The Workplace
If your family is not giving you heartache, the Devil will find a way to disrupt your life. Many times it’s in the workplace with difficult employees, co-workers and other situations to make you fall. We use the same strategy to bring down these strongholds.
How To Pray
Jesus is our perfect example because He quoted Scripture to fight the Devil. We need to have an arsenal of Scripture and speak it forth when we pray. In the midst of the Ukrainian battle, they are going to fight with all they have to win the war. You must believe that you will have the victory. The Ukrainians believe this; otherwise they would have already given up. God is on your side. Quote Scripture: Psalms 46:1-6; Psalms. 27:1-3; Joshua 1:9; 1 Peter 5:7; Ephesians 6:11-17; Deuteronomy 20:4; Deuteronomy 33:37. Pray the Rosary (Luke 1:28) and the Our Father (Luke 11:2-4).
My Prayer
Lord, we proclaim victory in every area of our lives. Father, take hold of these loved ones who are in sin; convict them of all their darkness and bring them back to the light. Expose the pain and suffering they have caused and heal their brokenness. Lord, receive them as they run toward You. Father God, we come alongside the Ukrainians and pray for a swift victory in this war. Amen