To win any battle, two important things must be taken into consideration: your strength and strategies and those of the enemy. These remain the same even in our battle with the enemy of our souls- The Devil. The bible makes it clear that we are in a war with the kingdom of darkness, however, the word of God makes clear our position in this battle, as well as our tools for gaining victory. The bible also does not leave us in ignorance of the enemy, his position and strategies. This already makes the first key for winning any form of spiritual battle apparent; we must spend time to study the bible.
If the bible indeed contains all the information that guarantees victory in this conflict with the kingdom of darkness, any individual that intends to achieve and sustain victory must spend quality time studying the manual for victory. Any action that must be taken will be gotten from studying the manual, any information concerning the enemy will be gotten from studying the manual; to attempt to take on spiritual battles without getting information and knowledge from the Word of God is to prepare for defeat. Every other key is derived from this one key- Study of the word
The next key that guarantees victory in spiritual battles is the Key of Prayer. How do we know this? By checking out the manual for victory!
Ephesians 6 from verse 10 is an instruction guide on the subject of warfare and Apostle Paul takes the pain to both define the scope of the opposing camp and list out the tools that have been allocated for our victory (Every believer ought to carefully read, meditate, and apply the tools highlighted in this scripture). Among the many tools that scriptures give, he mentions the unique and powerful tool of prayer and supplication, particularly, prayer in the spirit {Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints}.
Prayer is a powerful tool for warfare as it serves to make the power of God available to be utilized in diverse manners. Apostle James gives us insight into the effectiveness of prayer when he stated that the effectual and fervent prayer of the righteous makes much power available {James 5:16}. Power is definitely a vital tool for the prosecution of spiritual battles, and prayer helps the believer access the power of God.
Jesus Christ perhaps gives the most accurate statement on the importance and effect of prayer in Luke 18, when he says that men ought always to pray and not faint. In this simple statement, he captures two vital lessons. Firstly, that the requirement of praying is something that should be done by anybody that qualifies as a human being. This implies that you will be excluded from praying as long as you are not human, if you are human however, then you should pray! Secondly, he points out that the absence of prayer equals to the scenario of fainting. If you are not praying, you are fainting, and fainting is deadly on the terrain of battle!
The last key to be discussed is that of alertness and watchfulness. Watch and Pray it says, for your enemy roams about looking for whom to destroy {1peter 5:8}. Every believer must realize that there is an adversary and that he is a cunning and deceitful adversary. Watchfulness by the help of the spirit is therefore important. You cannot watch by your own power and strength, the arm of flesh will definitely fail. The watching must be by the aid of the Holy Spirit that dwells within you. He is after all the one that searches all things {1 Corinthians 2:10}.
You want to be an undefeatable opponent against the host of darkness and their wiles, the keys are simple: study and meditate on the word, pray, and be alert by the spirit!
Jesus is Lord, we win!
