Daily Journal- The Battle is Spiritual

Hello friends(and wife Natasha), today is monday and I'm doing super good! Why? Because I'm learning to love my wife the way Jesus loves the church! Its an awesome thing that I never thought was actually possible. Now, I'm far from perfect, but something is changing and I love it! I'm realizing that a great deal of our problems are caused by me and my attitude. What an amazing concept! Anyway, have a good monday. God bless you!

SCRIPTURE:
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

OBSERVATION:
Ok, many of us know this verse as the "go to" verse whenever talking about spiritual warfare. And it is the "go to" verse, because it shows us upfront that our battle is not with people(flesh and blood), but with spiritual forces. Sometimes I like to take these verses and just break them down.

So... If not flesh and blood, who do we actually wrestle with?:

1) Rulers
2) Authorities
3) Cosmic Powers
4) Spiritual forces of evil

These are the enemies, and they are all spiritual enemies. It makes sense that if your going to fight a spiritual battle, you need spiritual weapons.

APPLICATION:
There are a number of spiritual weapons that the Bible talks about, but I just want to mention prayer in general. Prayer(along with the Word) is the key to all spiritual battles. It is our communication line to the King of the Universe. The Holy Spirit that dwells in all believers is greater than any spiritual force and greater than Satan himself. I don't pray nearly as much as I should! That's the bottom line. I read plenty of Bible, I read plenty of books, but I can't say I spend plenty of time in prayer. Who knows how many spiritual battles I'm losing because of my lack of prayer. I spend so much time battling in the flesh against flesh, when I should be in the spirit, fighting the spiritual battle.

PRAYER:
Dear Lord, thank you for filling me with the Holy Spirit! Thank you for the gift of eternal life! Thank you for sending the Comforter. Help me to fight my battles on my knees, in the power of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus name, Amen!
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