How to Fight Spiritual Battles (Part 2)

A few weeks ago, my kids and I arrived at a park in our city to play before going to get ice cream. As we pulled up to the parking lot, there was a large group of about 12-15 young people gathered near the margins of the playground.

As we walked to the play area, we suddenly heard loud shouting coming from the direction of the parking lot. Two of the men in the group were in a heated argument, coming at each other with flailing fists–ready for a fight.

Others in the group were either trying to break up the brewing brawl, or were egging them on; it was difficult to tell with all the shouting.

Quickly, my children and I walked as far away from the group as we could. Their booming voices grew louder and echoed throughout the park. We headed further from the playground and onto a nearby soccer field.

Other moms with their children huddled together helplessly, while others grabbed their cell phones to call for help.

In that moment, I did what I instinctively knew to do.

Pray.

With my children by my side, I prayed aloud for the young men. I prayed for the safety of everyone in the park, and declared that it was a safe place where children could play freely.

I prayed that any schemes of the enemy would be thwarted in the name of Jesus. I prayed that the inner pain of those men would be met with the life-changing power of God. After a couple of minutes, the brawl died down, and everyone eventually dispersed and drove away in their cars.

That day I praised the Lord for answering my prayers and keeping everyone safe from harm. As those men were preparing to fight physically, they had no idea that someone else was fighting a spiritual battle on their behalf through the power of prayer!

Have you been sensing battles erupting around you lately? It’s time to take out our spiritual weapons and claim victory over lives, our families, and our communities. In my last post on the story of Jael, I discussed how this courageous woman fearlessly fought the enemy who showed up at her tent.

Let’s return to her story and unpack a bit more about her determined resolve to defeat the enemy. When we read her story in the book of Judges, we can observe that Jael was not in an actual battlefield like Deborah.

Her battle was waged at home—because the enemy came knocking at her door.

How to Fight Spiritual Battles on the Homefront

For many of us, our battles will also be fought and won on the home front. Here are a few takeaways from Jael’s courageous example:

1.) Jael recognized the enemy when he came knocking.

When Sisera came to her tent, she knew right away that he was an enemy of Israel. Jael’s example should encourage us to not only recognize the enemy when he comes, but to stand guard as the doorkeepers of our homes.

Whether you are single, married, single mom, or grandmother, we are all called to watch the “doors” of our tents sensor what we allow to come into our homes and hearts.

Jael recognized right away who she was dealing with when the enemy came to her tent—and planned accordingly to exterminate him.

2.) She picked up her weapon and took action.

Jael took action to get rid of the enemy instead of allowing fear to paralyze her. While Sisera was fast asleep, she took her weapons (a tent peg and hammer) and finished him off. What a woman of courage!

Allowing God to fight our battles does not mean that we sit idly and do nothing.

He requires that we take action to fight our spiritual battles not with physical weapons, but with the spiritual weapons of the Word of God and prayer. When we use His weapons, we have everything we need to gain victory against the enemy!

[bctt tweet=”When we use God’s weapons, we have everything we need to gain victory against the enemy.” username=”christinbaker12″]

3.) As a result of Jael’s courageous act of warfare, the Israelites grew stronger.

After Jael killed Sisera she went to notify Barak, the commander of the Israelite army. The passage goes on to say that the Israelites grew stronger and eventually destroyed the Cannanite king (Judges 4:24).

The victory was theirs! Oftentimes we do not know how our action steps in the battle will positively impact those around us. Jael’s courage gave the Israelites even more strength to continue fighting until the victory was won. We must always remember that we never fight our battles alone.

Believers in places around the world are all fighting together. There is strength in numbers, and we can find great encouragement in knowing that we are in this together.

Deborah sang a song of praise to the Lord after Israel’s victory, giving thanks to God for his goodness. She also gave credit to Jael for her courage:

“Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed of tent-dwelling women… So may all your enemies perish, O Lord! But may they who love you be like the sun when it rises in strength.” Judges 5:24, 31

Jael’s strength through the Lord brought Israel great victory, and they entered a time of peace for forty years (Judges 5:31b). Defeating the enemy through God’s power will not only give us victory, but peace and rest for our souls.

How are you fighting your battles? I’d love to hear in the comments below! 🙂

Linking with these lovey bloggers here!