Prayer and Spiritual Warfare

The aim of this article is to make prayer more vital and spiritual warfare more effective for its readers. Prayer is more than spiritual warfare and spiritual warfare is more than prayer.

By Tom Houston

Prayer is an all pervasive theme in the bible and a very widespread practice in all religions and especially in the Christian faith.

"Spiritual warfare" as a phrase does not occur in the Bible at all but has sprung into widespread use in the last ten years. Lausanne held an International Prayer Assembly in Korea in 1974 with 4,000 people present and the book of the assembly does not show a single paper devoted to spiritual warfare.

A Hermeneutical Principle

Perhaps the best way to account for the very great interest in spiritual warfare is to say that circumstances have conspired to expand it for many sections of the church, into what theologians call a hermeneutical principle.

A hermeneutical principle is a major theme or metaphor which is consistently used as a way of understanding and explaining as much as possible the contents of the Bible. At the time of the Protestant reformation, that theme was "justification by faith alone". Following the 1859 revival, for nearly a hundred years in some evangelical circles the theme was "salvation". At different periods the overarching theme was "the kingdom of God". Now it seems it is helping some people to relate everything to "spiritual warfare".

There are three cautions about hermeneutical principles. They are never comprehensive enough and leave great tracts of truth that do not fit the framework. So it is important:

1. Not to try and make everything fit.

A Natural Theme

Spiritual warfare, even if the phrase does not occur in the Bible, is a natural theme to be used as a hermeneutical principle. Its basis is the concept of the two kingdoms in conflict - the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. From the fall in Genesis all the way through to Revelation, these kingdoms seem to be in mortal combat for the allegiance of human kind.

In the Old Testament, of course, there are many actual military battles because God's purpose involved a nation state. God is called "the Lord of Hosts" and is seen to fight on behalf of his people. This takes place in time and space but there are also hints of it happening at an unseen level as well. (eg. 2 Kings 6:16-17). It is interesting that the four times Satan is mentioned in the Old Testament, they have nothing to do with such battles.

In the New Testament, as soon as the kingdom of God arrives in the person of Jesus Christ, Satan or the devil or the evil one as he is variously called, counterattacks intermittently. The areas of conflict are Jesus' understanding of himself and his mission, the loyalty of the disciples, notably Peter and Judas, demon possessed people, and the hardness in the religious and political authorities. Satan and his minions are cast out by the cross and resurrection of Jesus. Conflict is present everywhere but the language of warfare is used only twice. (Mt. 12:24-30, Mk. 3:20-27, Lk. 11:14-23, 14:31-33).

In Acts, the progress of the gospel is countered from within the church by Ananias who allowed Satan to fill his heart with a lie and externally in the palace, by Elymas, the sorcerer, said to be a son of the devil. Demons and evil spirits are still cast out. Conflict is still present but not the language of warfare.

The language of warfare is scattered throughout the book of Revelation but all the initiatives and the victories here are solely originated by God himself.

In Paul's letters we have a few references to warfare and armour. The best known are Ephesians 6; 10-17, Romans 13:12, 2 Corinthians 10:4-6. Paul also adds to his references to Satan and the devil, six or seven words for which we use the shorthand "principalities and powers". So, if we want to know about spiritual warfare and armour, this is the place to learn.

The object of spiritual warfare is to "stand" in the evil day when Satan and his forces attack us. It is a defensive operation. (Eph. 6:11,13). We do not need to be afraid in this conflict because Christ "disarmed principalities and powers, made a public spectacle of them and triumphed over them in his cross." (Col.2:15).

The armour of God or the armour of light that enables us to do this has to do with the development of moral and ethical facets of character that are the only defense against Satan. These are truth, righteous justice, peaceful relationships, faith and faithfulness, the knowledge of salvation and the comprehensive equipment that we get from knowing the word of God in the Scriptures.

We are getting somewhere in spiritual warfare, when:

• We can open the eyes of people and turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. (Acts 26:18)
• We know, can identify and avoid the devices that Satan uses to bring us under his power.
• We can pull down proud obstacles raised against the knowledge of God. (2 Cor.10:5).
• We take every thought captive and make it obey Christ in ourselves and others in our circles. (2 Cor.10:5).

Prayer

Now, obviously, none of this can be done without prayer. Paul says, "6:Do all of this in prayer, asking God's help." (Eph.6:18) Prayer is not mentioned anywhere as a spiritual weapon or as a piece of armour. I think John Bunyan was responsible for the phrase "The weapon of all prayer" either in "Pilgrims Progress" or in his "Holy War". So the link between spiritual warfare and prayer is strong, but prayer is much more than spiritual warfare.

On the other hand if we are paying attention to the disciplines that are involved in putting on the armour of God, we are in a much better position to enjoy all the benefits of prayer. It is the person who has clean hands who can ascend onto the hill of the Lord. There we shall know communion with God which we can only hint at in the space that is left.

• Prayer is praise, worship and thanksgiving to God.
• Prayer is the unending conversation with God about everything that concerns us and ours.
• Sometimes prayer is arguing with God about life's mysteries.
• Prayer is interceding on behalf of others near and far, high and low, rich and poor, weak and strong.
• Prayer is meditating on the working of God in history, the greatness of God in nature, the goodness of God in his providences and the promises of God in Scripture.
• Prayer is being totally honest with yourself in the presence of God.
• Prayer is recovering from the brink of despair, the depth of failure, the isolation of loneliness.
• Prayer is intensive care in acute suffering and sickness.
• Prayer is refining our dreams about the future in the light of the will of God.
• Prayer is waiting on God when he is long in coming.
• Prayer is the cry for justice when it does not come.
• Prayer is walking with God all day and every day.