Examining the Weapons of Christian Spiritual Warfare

Christian spiritual warfare deserves a look when exploring the elements of prayer. So today, in part 5 of our series on prophetic intercession, we're going to examine two of the weapons in our spiritual arsenal.The Word of God, as the sword of the Spirit, stands as the arsenal of all Christian spiritual warfare. A modern-day soldier may use guns, tanks, missiles, battleships, or aircraft. The Holy Spirit issues spiritual weapons and ammunition to intercessors as needed for the type of battle they face.Sometimes these are as simple as a “Holy Spirit grenade.” Other times, we might be issued a “spiritual missile.” The weapons vary, but they all reflect some aspect of the sword of the Spirit—the Word of God.Representing truth against deception, these weapons render powerless those demons that hold people captive to lies. Paul states it like this:

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NIV1984).

The blood of Jesus in Christian spiritual warfare

As warriors, we stand in triumph, reminding evil spirits of their defeat by the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who shed his blood on a cross to free us from sin and Satan (Revelation 12:11).As supplicants, we stand before the throne and base our appeals on the blood-bought victory of Calvary.Either might be accomplished by reciting Scriptures about the blood or singing about the blood. During spiritual warfare, my intercession team often waves red flags symbolic of Christ's blood. The Holy Spirit is very creative in how we present the blood of Jesus before the throne and against the enemy during intercession.

Our voices in Christian spiritual warfare

Our voices play an important role in intercession. They can powerfully impact the unseen realm.A person's voice initiates spiritual weapons such as binding and loosing, or speaking the name of Jesus. The following Scriptures offer a variety of other ways we use our voices as spiritual warriors, supplicants, and watchmen.Proclamation “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’ Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy” (Isaiah 52:7, 8 NIV1984 italics added). An intercessor often proclaims aloud the intentions of God in a situation. Proclamations are spoken to the people of God or declared to the Enemy.Praise We are ordained to praise . . . to give thanks . . . to pray with understanding and in the Spirit (Psalm 8:2; Psalm 28:7; 1 Corinthians 14:15).Spoken or in song, praise will silence the enemies of the Lord. This type of praise comes from both your mind, with understanding, and from your spirit, which you may not comprehend.Singing The Lord uses songs of praise before a battle to set up ambushes against the forces of darkness (2 Chronicles 20:21, 22).Singing is also expressed after a victory in battle as a sign of triumph (Exodus 15:21; Psalm 68:20-25).During a battle, singing is a weapon used for protection and deliverance from the Enemy: “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance” (Psalm 32:7 NIV1984). There are times I've walked around a person singing a prayer of deliverance over him or her. Odd, I know, but when directed by the Holy Spirit, it works.Shouting Both Joshua and Gideon used shouting as a spiritual weapon against their foes. Intercessors also use shouting as a verbal recognition of the Lord’s defense (Psalm 5:11-12).The telling of your testimony The spoken testimony of the saving work of Jesus Christ in your life is one of the most powerful weapons of a warrior (Revelation 12:11). This verbal recitation is effective even if you are in your prayer closet and no one but the Lord and demons can hear you!Faith and confession Faith mixed with a verbal confession carries influence and acts as weapon (Mark 11:23-24). Intercessors can impart either life or death, depending on what they are speaking (Proverbs 18:21). Therefore, it is important that our words speak life instead of critical or fearful thoughts.The name of Jesus and our voices are just two of the weapons in the arsenal called the Word of God. There are many more. All represent the Word in some way, and all weapons are used at different times as led by the Spirit. Not every intercessor will use each weapon, but many do.(For more weapons, details, and stories of Christian spiritual warfare, please see Chapters 13 and 14, "The Legal Library and Arsenal of an Intercessor Part 1 and 2," in Intercessors, God's End-time Vanguard: How to Pray Effectively For the Things That Matter Most.)On Monday, we'll do a little reconnaissance on our enemy so we know who we are up against with these weapons. Thanks for stopping by, SusanQuestion: What expressions of the Word of God in Christian spiritual warfare have you experienced? I'd love to hear your story.Related posts:What Does It Mean to Be a Supplicant, Warrior, and Watchman in IntercessionGetting Comfortable With Prophetic Intercession and Prophetic ActsWhat to Wear to the Next Prophetic Prayer GatheringHow to Recognize 3 Types of Demonic Attacks"Jesus likes it when we share." -Adelaide, age 3: Pass this along to everybody and their brother. OK, maybe not everybody's brother, but you know, all of your friends would be nice.