The Kingdom of Light vs. the Kingdom of Darkness
Life and death are in the power of our words. We are in a spiritual war, whether we recognize it or not.
There are confirming forces at work for us (the Lord Jesus who prays for us and the angels who minister to and for us) and there are opposing forces (the devil and his co-horts) at work against us.
There’s the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness. When our Lord taught the disciples to pray, he used military language. He said to pray, ‘Our Father who is in heaven, holy is your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily provision. Forgive us of our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us. Lead us not into trials and troubles but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever. Amen.
So, now that you recognize we are in a spiritual battle, if not already, you should take a minute and get your weapons of warfare in order. Get ready to go with me to Ephesians six.
But before we go there, I have to tell you a little story of how the Spirit of God got me started. Now, I know most of you have heard how he started me with my daily reading. It is important that we eat the word of God. Remember, man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.
In another instance, Jesus, when the disciples tried to get him to eat the food they brought him from town. He responded with I have food that you know not of… So, yes, I seek to daily read/eat the word of God. I don’t know how it works, exactly. In a similar way, you eat natural food daily and how anemic and starved you would be if you didn’t feed your natural body, regularly.
Now, with a similar analogy, we must regularly put on our spiritual weapons of warfare. How silly and undisciplined would it be to see a natural soldier run out to battle without his gear and armor.
When I was young in the faith, I kept having these re-curring dreams where I was being overcome in battle against the evil one. In the dreams, the enemy looked like all sizes of snakes. There were small short snakes, medium snakes and dragon-sized snakes.
In each battle, the result was the same, I lost. I would make attempts at fighting with what I had, mostly brooms, sticks and little rocks or whatever I could grab, a frying pan. (I’ve never hit anyone with a frying pan. The Holy Spirit was just showing me how useless natural elements are in fighting a spiritual ancient enemy.) It was all ineffective. I would end up wrapped up and bitten by the enemy I was fighting.
I know many of you know, exactly, what I’m talking about for what you’ve been using to fight the enemy has been just as useless. Anyway, one morning, after a dream like the one I just described, the Holy Spirit said, “Get up and read Ephesians six, this is what you should do.” Do you know what it says? Yes, most of you do. Unless, you were like I was. I was perishing for lack of knowledge. I didn’t know what the word of God said.
Ephesians 6: 10-18 says, put on your weapons of warfare: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
After I obeyed, the Holy Spirit, and put on the full armor of God, I started having victorious dreams. Periodically, I’ll see myself in the spiritual battle that we are all fighting. But this time, I would see myself through the spirit of Lord and with the godly weapons of warfare, ripping the enemy’s head off or chopping it to pieces with my sword. Can I shout right here? Hallelujah!
Now, there’s one thing left for you to do. You have to begin to do the word. Regularly, put on your weapons of warfare in prayer. For ministers of the gospel and teachers, I recommend, daily putting on these items.
Pray: Father, I put on the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness; I gird up with truth and shod my feet in the gospel of peace. I pick up the sword of the spirit which is the word of God and use it faithfully. I raise the shield of faith that quenches every fiery dart of the enemy. I pray in the spirit today as the spirit of God leads. I stay alert and keep on praying for God’s people. Amen.
It’s your turn. Go do what the Lord has commanded. But be strong in the Lord and his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God. The victory is yours through Christ.
Victorious In Christ,
Earma Brown
P.S. I’ve not only learned but experienced new meaning for this part of our Lord’s prayer, ‘your kingdom come, your will be done on earth even as it in heaven.’ Since the phrase, ‘your kingdom’ is speaking of God’s way of doing things. When we seek God’s kingdom, we seek His way of doing things. So when we pray, ‘Father, your kingdom (your way of doing things) come, your will (word of God) be done. We’re, essentially saying, let it happen in my life. In light of that understanding, we shouldn’t be surprised at things changing up in our life, because we just prayed not my way, Father, but your way. Our life usually has to shift to align with God’s way and his will.
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Earma Brown, twelve book Christian author and founder of WOW! Women Global inspires women around the world to become women of destiny, purpose, and victory through speaking engagements, her books, Bible curriculum and studies. She is author of the trilogy of Wow! Women books: Women of Worth, Women of Destiny and Women of Legacy, the Armorbearer Training Series, Prayer Fulfilled Life book set and Writing A Book God’s Way book and course. She currently lives in Arkansas.