Warfare Resolutions

Many American men and women serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other battlefields in the War on Terror enjoyed a well deserved two week break during the holidays. Thousands more had to stay in the line of fire. We are thankful for their service to us and our country.

Our Christmas season would’ve been very different if suicide bombers were attacking regularly at the malls!

I don’t know if any of our soldiers were able to bring one of their walkie-talkies or other battlefield communication devises home for the holidays, but if they did, imagine the differences in how they would have treated them here in Georgia as opposed to when they are in the Middle East! It might’ve been fun to show some interested boys and girls how they work, and maybe he or she could’ve used it to talk to someone nearby, but on the field of battle walkie-talkies could be a means of life and death!

John Piper, author and pastor, wrote in his book Let the Nations Be Glad! that prayer to a Christian ought to be viewed as a walkie-talkie in a battle.

The reason that concept may seem too strong to assert is we are so comfortable as Christians in America we forget that we are at war! Prayer is not putting a quarter in the cosmic candy machine and hoping to get a blessing. Prayer is vital communication with our Father in the field of battle.

Perhaps as the New Year came along, you made some fresh resolutions. Maybe one of your resolutions was to do a better job in your private prayers. That is great. The Bible says that prayer is a wonderful privilege and responsibility for a Christian. My challenge to you is to think of prayer resolutions as a critical part of the spiritual battle that you will be waging in 2008.

The Bible is filled with warfare imagery for the Christian life. Paul told Timothy to “wage the good warfare” (1 Timothy 1:18), and to “fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12). He compared Timothy to a soldier in 2 Timothy 2:3, 4, which says, “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.”

Paul compared his own ministry to a soldier in 1 Corinthians 9:7 when he asked, “Who serves as a soldier at his own expense?” He describes his work as not waging war according to the flesh, and using weapons of preaching and teaching to destroy Satan’s arguments and opinions (2 Corinthians 10:3-6).

The Bible clearly teaches that Satan is not a passive foe. “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

The world we live in is hostile ground. “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17).

Ephesians 6:10-18 is all about the believer’s armor. In Christ, with faith in his gospel, and with God’s Word, we are fully equipped to fight the spiritual battles that we will encounter.

The question for you is: are you engaged in the battle? Do you even realize you are at war?

I have heard many stories from World War II about the amazing sacrifices that Americans back home made to help defeat the Axis powers. Citizens were called on to donate metals for ammunition. Families planted Victory Gardens to conserve food supplies. Other products were rationed. It seems like the war was on most everyone’s mind.

Many families are making tremendous personal sacrifices in this war as well. But I think there are plenty of families that are living as if the war wasn’t even going on. Our president has told us that a great way to help with the war is to go to the mall and spend money so the economy will continue to prosper.

My point is only to say as Christians we are also in a war. Although much of it is invisible, it is none the less real. It is a spiritual battle that we cannot afford to ignore.

As you make your resolutions about praying remember that the stakes are probably higher than you realize. You are in a battle. You desperately need God.

You need his grace to obey and be the man or woman that he wants you to be. You need him to protect you from Satan and his schemes. You need him to help you shine out in a dark world, as opposed to falling into the darkness of the world.

Your friends and family who are still blinded by their sins need God to intervene. If the Lord doesn’t supernaturally open their eyes to the truth, do you think another clever argument will do the trick? Pray, my friend! Pray like you mean it. Pray like you are in a war, because you are in a war. Prayer is your battlefield walkie-talkie for divine air support!

Let’s begin 2008 with a fresh resolution to pray. Better to pray a little every day, than a lot today and tomorrow and then not again until 2009! How much will you commit to? Where will you do it? When will you do it? Why not get a notebook to write down a few key warfare prayer requests, and then leaven room to write down the date that God sent the air support from heaven!