Ephesians 6:10-12
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 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.
It is natural to think of our struggles as just being a matter of disciplining ourselves, of just stopping a certain behavior. But there is a spiritual dimension to our struggle that we need to be aware of. As Paul says in verse 12, "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". The grim truth is that Satan wants us to fail, wants us to remain trapped in our sin. So there are spiritual forces against us that we need to battle against. To do this, we need to "put on the whole armor of God" (verse 11) so that we can withstand the enemies attacks.
Lord, help me to stand strong in the spiritual battle.
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 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.
It is natural to think of our struggles as just being a matter of disciplining ourselves, of just stopping a certain behavior. But there is a spiritual dimension to our struggle that we need to be aware of. As Paul says in verse 12, "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". The grim truth is that Satan wants us to fail, wants us to remain trapped in our sin. So there are spiritual forces against us that we need to battle against. To do this, we need to "put on the whole armor of God" (verse 11) so that we can withstand the enemies attacks.
Lord, help me to stand strong in the spiritual battle.