I don’t usually watch the news and if I do, it’s for the weather forecast. My husband, on the other hand, likes to know what is going on in the world so he gets his news from other countries because the news from America seems biased.
The news these days seems so crazy and unbelievable that it has to be a spiritual battle going on. It doesn’t make sense for people to disobey law enforcement, for so many system outages to happen, or for teenagers to be shooting in their schools. When things don’t make sense, I say that it’s a spirit thing.
There are good spirits and bad spirits. The bad spirits don’t want God’s kingdom to spread so they’ll do whatever they can to cause people to turn away from God. I’m not saying that evil spirits are the reason for all the bad that is happening because we humans can make a lot of bad choices without the help of the evil spirits.
Would Eve have taken a bite from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil if the serpent didn’t tempt her? Would Cain have killed Abel if he wasn’t angry? Our choices have consequences. We live in a cursed world because of sin, but God had a plan from the beginning. With Jesus, the battle has already been won but there is still mopping up to do.
We do our part by being alert and standing strong in our faith by putting on the full armor of God. We need the belt of truth, breastplate of Righteousness, the good news, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. At all times praying and petitioning.
We can pray for the universities where students are having their minds filled with knowledge when they need wisdom. We can ask for God to protect and be with those that are affected by natural or man-made disasters. We can pray for our school administrators and board members so that they have wisdom to know how to run the schools so our children are safe and not abused.
Sometimes we can do more than just pray. Here in America, we can vote for those who will be making rules in our community. We get to vote for the school board members and city councilors who agree with our values. So let’s do our part this voting season.
Prayer
Almighty God in heaven,
Thank You for being faithful to strengthen us and protect us from the evil one. Help us to take every thought captive to make it obey Your Son. May we submit to You and resist the devil so that he flees from us.
In Jesus’ name, Amen
Verses
Ephesians 6:12 Our struggles are not against flesh and blood
Genesis 3:1-6 Eve is tempted by evil
Genesis 4:6-8 God reminds Cain to do right but he doesn’t listen
Genesis 3:15 First mention of God’s plan
1 Peter 5:8-9 Be alert and stand firm in your faith
Ephesians 6:11-18 Put on the full armor of God
2 Thessalonians 3:3 Our Lord will protect us
Song
“Faith is the Victory” by John Henry Yates was chosen over songs with “battle belongs” in the title because this one mentioned the pieces of the armor of God.
Call to action
If you have already prayed, read the verses, and listened to the suggested song, then go and listen to “Battle Belongs” by Phil Wickham and then “The Battle Belongs To The Lord” by Jamie Owens-Collins. Let us know if you would have chosen one of these songs instead.