This book was born out of frustration - the frustration that comes from desiring to reach into our lives through prayer and tough, hard places that are far beyond our control. We know that prayer works, but at the same time, we experience prayer that becomes superficial and routine. Too often we ourselves say, Lord bless our lives. It is my desire to go deeper to claim the victory and promises that God has for us in his word, and to literally pray these promises into our lives, children, and loved ones as well.
SPIRITUAL WARRIOR BASIC TRAINING
A Guide to Victory Over the Demons and Strategies of SatanBy Loretta A. JohnsonAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2010 Loretta A. Johnson
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4520-1769-3Contents
Warning..................................................................................1Helmet of Salvation......................................................................3Breast Plate of Righteousness............................................................5The Sword of the Spirit..................................................................7Belt of Truth............................................................................9Feet Shod with The Gospel................................................................11The Shield of Faith......................................................................13Shield of Faith..........................................................................15Praying in the Spirit....................................................................16Powerful Weapons of Praise, Worship and Thanksgiving to Defeat Satan.....................24The Lord's Prayer........................................................................27
Chapter One
Warning
1. Warfare is serious business. A good soldier knows that they never go into battle unprepared. 2. Proper preparation, with the necessary equipment for combat, can mean the difference between victory and defeat - life or death. 3. The same is true for spiritual warfare; it's serious business. Yet we get Christians who tend to underestimate or over look completely the spiritual shield and armor for combat God has provided for his saints. 4. We choose to go into battle unprepared. No wonder so many of us gets battered, bloodied, and run when Satan attacks.
Satan is a coward, and he does not fight alone. His army includes these five divisions, which are:
1. Spirits or demons 2. Principalities 3. Powers 4. Rulers of the darkness of this world. 5. Spiritual wickedness in high places.
As you read in this chapter, the conflict is not that we wrestle with flesh and blood, this battle is in the realm of the spirit. Spiritual battles are won on the battlefield of praying and prayers. When we pray in Jesus' name, there are angels that are dispatched by the power of the Holy Spirit. There are some divisions of angels that are taking action and destroying the forces of darkness and the enemy.
We have those that are ready to get dressed and fitted with the armor and they do not have any fight in them. They don't know the first thing about God's word, the blood and name of his beloved son Jesus Christ. Knowing nothing of the power of the Holy Spirit. Christians today had better attend a spiritual warfare boot camp in basic training. Most people need to get in the word of God and get it in their hearts as the book of Ephesians 6:10 says, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might." This book will teach you how to stand and learn to stand.
Chapter Two
Helmet of Salvation
The first armor is the helmet of Salvation. There were a variety of helmets worn by soldiers of different armies and different centuries. In hand-to-hand combat it was distinct advantages for a soldier to have a helmet, which protected not only his head but also his face and especially his eyes. A blow to the uncovered head would immediately disable the soldier; therefore, this was one of the most important pieces of armor. In the language of the Old Testament, the word salvation means deliverance. In fact salvation and deliverance are interchangeable terms. Satan and his demons attack Christians three ways.
Through afflictions, making us sick or creating terrible circumstances that afflict and debilitate us. But God has given us the helmet of salvation; and we can trust him to set us free from whatever affliction the devil lays upon us. Through bondage, habits, sin, tradition, resistance to change. Bondage is those things that control us and motivate our behavior when we ought to be lead by the Holy Spirit. Through temptation, the world is full of pleasures and enticements that can draw us away from God. But the Bible tells us not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Renewing our minds is critical if we are going to win in spiritual warfare. We live in a world of thoughts, many evil and immoral. They come into our minds, our senses, eyes, ears, nose and mouth. The helmet covers. One of Satan's most devastating tactics is to disable us with fear. If he can bring us fear to our minds, we will take our focus off of the power and protection of the Lord Jesus and lose our will to sustain the battle. Get this: by rising early in the morning and having a communion time with the Lord, we renew our focus on God's power and purpose for us through the day. Look what David wrote: Psalms 5:3, "My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord, in the morning I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
Chapter Three
Breast Plate of Righteousness
A roman soldier wore a large breastplate to provide front and back coverage for his heart, and bowels, those vital organs, which if struck by an enemy sword, could be fatally wounded.
To the Jews of that day, the heart represented the mind, what we think. The bowels represented the emotions, what we feel. Just as our heart and digestive organs are critical to the bodily functions required for life.
So our thoughts and our feelings are critical to who we are and, how effective we are in Christ Jesus. God has provided us with perfect protection. The Bible says in Proverbs 4:23, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it them are the issues of life."
The disciples related to the breastplate of righteousness. Memorizing the word of God.
The ability of the word of God to protect our hearts is explained in Psalms 119:11 "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." As we memorize God's word in our hearts we are sanctified and clean, according to John 15:3 "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you."
Here are a few notes on righteousness:
1. The definition is the character or quality of being right or just. 2. It is the quality that puts us in a right standing with God. A righteous man is one who does everything God requires him to do and who is everything God requires him to be. 3. It simply is this: Not guilty! Our Lord Jesus Christ paid the price for our sin by the shedding of his blood no matter what the accuser whispers to the contrary, Not Guilty.
Chapter Four
The Sword of the Spirit
The sword is to be used as an offensive weapon. The other five pieces of armor are defensive. The two edged sword was essential in battle because the soldier could wield it in either direction. The effectiveness of the sword depends of the hardness of the metal and the sharpness of the edges. A peculiar feature of the sword was a groove channel a "blood channel" forged into both sides of the blade. The blood channel broke the suction so the sword could be withdrawn. Blood is an unavoidable factor in battle. The shedding of blood means death for the victim and life for the victor....
