Spiritual Warfare

We began last Lord’s Day with
a reminder about our spiritual foes, just as with our earthly
foes, like it or not, we will have them. In the spiritual realm,
we certainly have our enemies, as we were reminded. Most of
you, even this week, have had a real-time reminder of the fact
that we do have enemies, the devil is very real. We likely
don’t even have to look beyond our own lives to see him earnestly
at work. In his temptation of our weaknesses,
in the stirring up of our anger, in the polluting of our thoughts
and conversations, we surely saw him at work in the near sphere
around us, producing friction and strife. And we absolutely
see his handiwork in the evil manifested in our world with
its hatred and cruelty and warring. No doubt in our minds the devil
is real and he is actively at work in the world. And we were
reminded last week also that our response to spiritual foes
is drastically different than the way we respond to our earthly
enemies. We began with a review last week
of 1 Peter 5, a reminder that not only do we indeed have spiritual
enemies, the devil and his minions, but that we are also not to deal
with them in the same gracious way that we do our earthly enemies. There is some overlap in the
way that we treat both kinds of enemies. There is First of
all, we do not pay back evil for evil to anyone, including
the devil. We simply cannot stand toe-to-toe
with Satan and seek to do him some kind of harm in the name
of revenge. Attempting to do so would be
foolish and dangerous. There is still another area of
overlap in the way that we treat our earthly enemies. what we
called reckoning, we are to leave room for the wrath of God, both
for our earthly foes and for the devil himself. God will take
care of the devil in time. Judgment is coming. Matthew 25
tells us that God has prepared an eternal fire for the devil
and his angels, the demons. Revelation 20 describes his certain
end, The devil was thrown into the lake of fire. God will vent
his wrath against the devil, but that’s God’s prerogative,
not ours. So even with our spiritual enemies,
we do not pay back evil for evil. We leave room for the wrath of
God, but that’s where the overlap ends. Based on the end of Romans
12, we learned how to deal with our earthly enemies. We do not
bless the devil like we do our earthly rivals. We do not ask
God’s positive blessing upon Satan and his demons. We do not
seek to make peace with the devil. We cannot seek to reason with
him or negotiate with him. We cannot and so we must not
seek to overcome evil with good. Satan cannot be won over. Those
responses, blessing and seeking peace and overcoming evil with
good, those are all good and godly responses when we employ
them with our earthly enemies. We can and must, by God’s grace,
deal with people who declare themselves to be our enemies. But we cannot employ these methods
with the devil. There is a completely different
protocol for dealing with Satan. And as the devil and the demons
are indeed spiritual foes, we need spiritual instruction on
how to deal with them. The first passage that we looked
at last Lord’s Day was 1 Peter 5, 8 through 11, where we gleaned
three encouraging reminders about dealing with Satan. The devil,
first of all, is not a myth. He’s not a fictional character.
He’s real, and he really is our enemy. The first thing that Peter
tells us in verse 8 is to be watchful, knowing that the enemy
is out there. And we learn, first of all, that
the devil is real. He’s not fictional. He’s our
personal enemy. Peter said the devil is your
adversary. And as such, he’s prowling about
like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. We are not under the
delusion that Satan does not exist. We know by firsthand knowledge
that he does. Secondly, Peter said, be steadfast
knowing that you’re not alone. Be steadfast for others around
you. And we also noted that not only
our instruction for dealing with the devil, is to throw up resistance. We don’t talk to Him. We don’t
talk to the devil. We don’t rebuke the devil. Essentially,
we talk to God and we give a cold shoulder to the devil. Thirdly,
Peter told us to be hopeful. Be hopeful, knowing that God
will use this for His glory. Whatever trial, whatever the
devil has thrown at us, the devil will come, but God will use it
for His glory. The God of all grace, Peter says,
not just saving grace, but sustaining grace as well. Our sovereign
and all-powerful God will surely get His children to glory. But Even though we are well aware
of the devil’s existence, his goal, which is to steal and kill
and destroy, and his methods, functioning as the perennial
accuser of God’s people, even though we know all of that, we
do not live under an unhealthy preoccupation with Satan. He’s
there, we know. But the devil must not be allowed
to become the center of our attention. Our focus is Christ and his kingdom. And so Peter instructed believers
about the proper mindset and demeanor regarding the devil,
that there really, truly is this spiritual battle taking place
at all times. And that being the case for the
Christian, the battle readiness is not an option. Battle readiness is not an option,
it’s an absolute must. The attacks of this enemy are
constant and unrelenting. They extend no favors and show
no mercy. And so we must be instructed
on how to wage this spiritual battle in which we find ourselves. And for this instruction, we
need to go back to a passage that Paul wrote to the Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 6. Ephesians chapter 6, and when
you get there, scroll down to verse 10, and I will course down
through verse 20 in my reading. Finally, be strong in the Lord
and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God
that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the
devil. For our struggle is not against
flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers,
against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual
forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the
full armor of God that you may be able to resist in the evil
day. and having done everything to
stand firm. Stand firm, therefore, having
girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate
of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation
of the gospel of peace. In addition, taking the shield
of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the
flaming missiles of the evil one, and take the helmet of salvation
and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, With
all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the spirit, and
with this in view, be on the alert. With all perseverance
and petition for all the saints. And pray on my behalf that utterance
may be given to me in the opening of my mouth to make known with
boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador
in chains that in proclaiming it, I may be able to speak boldly
as I ought to speak. The particular context of this
writing is just so fascinating. This is the kind of study that
wakes me up in the morning. We know of the epistle to the
Ephesians as part of that body of four letters that Paul wrote
during his first Roman imprisonment. Now I say first, Roman imprisonment,
because I do believe Paul endured a number of imprisonments. His Roman imprisonment is just
the most famous. Paul mentions imprisonments,
plural, on a number of occasions, and so we know that Paul was
imprisoned on multiple occasions, but I say, secondly, that it
was his first Roman imprisonment Because I believe, and on good
authority, that Paul enjoyed a relatively brief release from
his house arrest in Rome. He traveled about for ministry
purposes. He was eventually rearrested
and ultimately suffered martyrdom. This is his first Roman imprisonment. His first Roman imprisonment
was unique because it was not a harsh incarceration. He was under house arrest. Luke
tells us at the end of the book of Acts that he lived there two
years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him,
proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus
Christ with all boldness without hindrance. That doesn’t sound
like your standard imprisonment. That sounds more like a Christian
camp than prison. But during this period, Ephesians,
Colossians, Philemon, and Philippians were all written. And it’s that
particular context that I think comes into play, especially in
this passage. Paul, as we saw, lived in his
own rented quarters, but he was guarded, even if loosely, by
Roman soldiers. And Paul must have had occasion
to witness the guards putting on and taking off their military
equipment because that is effectively the illustration that Paul develops
here, especially building to a crescendo in verses 14 through
17. Paul draws upon this image of
a Roman soldier’s physical battle armor. leggings, a breastplate,
boots, a shield, a helmet, a sword. And he uses that image to masterfully
present an illustration of the believer’s spiritual armor. But before we get ahead of ourselves,
we need to consider the buildup to those verses, because here
in this passage, more than just providing us with this incredible
illustration, Paul is mustering believers to battle readiness,
and he does so with three admonitions. Paul has likened the Christian
life to war, and so it’s not surprising to see Paul utilize
soldier and war references frequently in his writings. 1 Corinthians
9.7, who at any times serves as a soldier at his own expense,
likening the life of ministry to the life of a soldier. He
calls Epaphroditus my fellow soldier. He likens He uses this
likeness of the soldier richly in schooling young Timothy, second
Timothy, to, he says, suffer hardship with me as a good soldier
of Christ Jesus. And Paul uses the comparison
of military readiness frequently in his writings. 1 Thessalonians
5.8, having put on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet
the hope of salvation. Romans 13, put on the armor of
light. And so let’s learn what this
spiritual general would say to us in his call to spiritual readiness. Spiritual readiness, the first
thing that he tells us is that In his call to mustering
believers for battle readiness, we must develop spiritual fortitude. We must develop spiritual fortitude.
Would you go back to verse 10? Finally, be strong in the Lord
and in the strength of His might. We should at least acknowledge
the way that Paul begins this section, verses 10 through 20.
He says, finally. And that’s because he’s wrapping
up this very dynamic epistle. He has provided a wealth of instruction
to the Ephesian churches, both doctrinal and practical, and
he has begun his closing remarks to them. It’s not the last thing
that he will say, but it’s close. In his opening admonition here
to his troops, he just says, be strong. And we can easily
understand this because of what we observe of so many Christians
And at times, even of ourselves, we’re weak, spiritually weak. Unfortunately, that is a word
that describes many, if not most Christians. The weakness is seen
in our Bible knowledge, in our spiritual disciplines, in our
lifestyle, in our devotion, in our commitment, even in our tendency
to sin, we’re weak. And so Paul starts here at a
crucial point, and he just says, be strong. But it’s important
to understand that Paul here uses a passive verb. Literally,
be made strong. His point is that this isn’t
anything that we do to or for ourselves. We are to be strengthened. And that points us directly to
divine resources, doesn’t it? Paul drives this point home with
those two prepositional phrases. Just glance at the passage again.
We are to be made strong in the Lord and in the strength of his
might. Those two phrases essentially
communicate to us the same thought that spiritual strengthening
is produced by God alone. Earlier in this letter, Paul
prayed for the Ephesian church. Would you just turn back to chapter
1 for just a minute? Ephesians chapter 1. And there
in chapter 1, as I said, Paul tells his church that he has
already prayed for them. And he prayed for them for three
specific things. Would you glance down at verse
18? I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that
you may know what is the hope of his calling. Secondly, what
are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints?
And what is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us who believe? These are in accordance with
the working of the strength of his might. It’s that final line
that I want to call your attention to, the working of the strength
of his might. That is the exact same wording that Paul uses in
Ephesians 6. And it’s an impressive accumulation
of words in those two statements, power, strength, might, all of
which point to the truth that it’s God’s power, not our own. Back please, if you would, to
chapter 6. Paul wants believers to know just how powerful God
is, and specifically he tells them here in chapter six, he
wants them to experientially know God’s great power in their
lives. He wants them to be made strong
in the Lord because that is the kind of power that the Christian
must have in order to survive this spiritual battle. Paul himself was always quick
to declare that his ability did not come from within, it came
from Almighty God. Christ Jesus strengthened me,
he told young Timothy. And in turn he urged his young
servant to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. So spiritual
strength for a Christian is found only in the Lord. And isn’t this
exactly what Jesus communicated in his illustration of the vine
and the branches? The branch cannot bear fruit
of itself unless it abides on the vine. And so strengthening
is not something that we accomplish, it’s the Lord strengthening us
by his spirit as we commune with him through his word and prayer
and fellowship. If we would win the battle of
the Christian life, we must develop a spiritual fortitude, secondly.
Secondly, if we would win the battle in the Christian life,
not only do we need to develop a spiritual fortitude, we need
to know our spiritual enemy. And this is what Paul tells us
in verses 11 through 13. And it’s here in verse 11 that
Paul first introduces this illustration of a soldier’s armor. He’ll mention
it again with urgency in verse 13, But he won’t elaborate on
what this armor is until verses 14 through 17, as we’ll see in
a moment. But he does introduce it here,
put on the full armor of God. And this word put on is a favorite
word of Paul’s. About half the time that it’s
used in the New Testament, it’s used by Paul. And this image
that it elicits is a metaphorical donning of a garment, like a
coat or a jacket. And Paul uses it in a wide variety
of ways. Just listen. Romans 13, put on
the armor of light. Two verses later, Romans 13,
14, put on the Lord Jesus Christ. He says the same thing in Galatians
where the the metaphor is pressed even further, clothe yourselves
with Christ, Galatians 3.27. It tells the Corinthians that
we will put on immortality, 1 Corinthians 15. Earlier in this same epistle,
Ephesians 4.24, Paul says, put on the new self. Similarly, two
verses later in Colossians 3.10, he says, put on a heart of compassion,
kindness, gentleness, patience. And so here, when Paul says put
on the full armor of God, he’s addressing us as believers to
put on the attire of a spiritual soldier. Interestingly, the word
all, as it’s rendered here in the New American Standard, put
on the full armor of God, that superlative there, is not in
the Greek text, but I still think it’s not a bad translation. Let me explain that. There’s
an old Charles Wesley hymn. You probably remember the tune
as I begin to read the word, soldiers of Christ arise. And it seems to be derived from
this very verse. In the second stanza of that
hymn, it says this, stand then in his great might with all his
strength endued and take to aid you in the fight, the panoply
of God. Now, most of you have sung that
hymn, but if I were to take a show of hands, I’m relatively certain
that few of us knows what a panoply is. Right? Well, this word in the English
is what we would call a transliteration because it sounds exactly like
the Greek word. That is the Greek word, transliterated
into English. But that Greek word had a very
particular significance, the panoply. They referred to the
closet where the weapons were kept. We might think of it as the gun
safe. So when Paul refers to the full
armor here, he tells us as soldiers to go to the closet. Go to the
gun safe and get everything and put it on. Empty the closet. because you’re gonna need everything.
Please note, it is the full armor of God,
not our own weapons. Once again, Paul makes the point
that our strength lies not in ourselves or in our own resources
or in our own capabilities or in our own intelligence or in
our political connections. It’s God’s grace alone. These are those offensive and
defensive weapons that God provides. And Paul tells us why we’re dressing
for battle. It is that you might be able
to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. This is war. We have an enemy. And we’re dressing
for battle and our foe is formidable. There is no, this rather, is
no thrown together army of mere humans that we face, as we’ve
already learned. And as this is the devil himself,
he comes with tactics that he has perfected, schemes, Paul
says. Not just physical force, but
cunning, trickery, evil strategy. And this is captured in the third
chapter of Genesis, isn’t it? The serpent was more crafty than
any beast of the field which the Lord had made. And so the
plural here, schemes, just indicates that the devil has a long list
of strategies. The devil may tempt, harass,
bring about discouragement, whisper blasphemy, persecute, cause doubt,
bring accusation, produce pain and suffering, build pride, stir
up sinful desires like lust, envy, greed, just to name a few. And then in verse 12, would you
look down at verse 12, Paul begins a presentation on the nature
of this enemy. It’s not an enemy against flesh
and blood. Our foe in this battle is not
human. Instead, Paul details, it is
against the rulers, the powers, the world forces of this darkness,
the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Oh, that enemy, you say. It’s
not even an enemy that we can see. And now we begin to see
the seriousness of this battle. The classic translation here
is that we wrestle not against flesh and blood. And I think
that word wrestling is a good one because really what it points
to is hand-to-hand combat. Only it’s not a mere wrestling
match for sport. This is a fight to the death.
And the various classes of our opponents, rulers, powers, forces,
is really all one same spiritual foe. It’s Satan and his demons.
Hand-to-hand combat with Satan and his demons. And you signed
up for that. Rulers just references the various
ranks of Satan’s minions. Powers indicates demonic beings
having some measure of authority. Satan, of course, is the most
powerful, as he is the prince of the power of the air, as Paul
calls him earlier in this epistle. The world forces just refers
to all the earthly political powers and ideologies present
in our world that are hatefully at odds with the holy God. The whole world lies in the power
of the evil one, says Peter, says John, rather, 1 John 5,
19. He is the ruler of the world,
John 14, 30. He is the God of this world,
2 Corinthians 4, 4. Paul’s point here is that these
are not PFCs fresh out of boot camp. This is the most intimidating
army in all the universe, the devil and his innumerable hosts
of fallen angels. No wonder Paul returns to his
metaphorical admonition in verse 13. Therefore take up the full
armor of God. Leave nothing in the closet.
This is the only means, Paul tells us, that we will be able
to resist in the evil day. We consider this God-ordained
means of resistance last Lord’s Day. It’s the consistent counsel
presented in the New Testament for dealing with the devil. Peter
says it, Paul says it, James, they all say the same thing.
Resist the devil when he attacks in the evil day, as Paul calls
it. Whether it comes in the form of some temptation, some trial,
some mental assault, resist. There’s only one way that the
believer can resist, and that’s by taking up the full armor of
God. So what is it? That’s point three. If we’re
going to win this battle, this spiritual battle in which we
find ourselves, we have to develop a spiritual fortitude, know our
spiritual enemy, and thirdly, equip ourselves for a spiritual
battle. It’s what we find in verses 14
through 17. In his call to battle readiness,
Paul urges us to develop this spiritual fortitude, know our
spiritual enemy, but here, to equip ourselves for a spiritual
battle, he comes back to that metaphor of the armor. Paul has twice driven home this
metaphor. Observe from his daily routine,
watching his Roman guards dress and prep themselves for work,
put on the full armor of God, take up the full armor of God,
verse 13. Christians, he tells them, are
to prepare themselves for spiritual warfare. They’re to be steadfast. Standing firm is his third direct
command here. Be strong, put on the full armor
of God, and stand firm. And the soldiers are to dress
themselves for battle, and in keeping with the metaphor, these
are not the dress uniforms of our military, whether blues or
green or bright white. These are battle fatigues, complete
with all the necessary protective elements for war. We’re not going to a parade.
The Christian is not heading for a parade, he’s heading into
battle. And a soldier who values his or her life wouldn’t conceive
of heading into a conflict without both defensive and offensive
gear. And before we even consider the
particular elements of a soldier’s battle attire, note that as he
stands, he’s already dressed for battle. He or she has already
put on the various pieces of gear. This is Paul’s great illustration,
and he begins with the waist. Stand firm there for having girded
your loins with truth. There’s little doubt that Paul
is drawing on the Old Testament metaphor of girding up one’s
loins. We have it about 10 times in
the Old Testament, either literally or figuratively, and it’s It
just speaks of deliberate and careful preparation. In ancient
Israel, the long gowns that were worn could be gathered up and
tucked into one’s belt for running or for work, girding up your
loins. Here are a few illustrations
to give you the idea of the use of this phrase. The Jews were
commanded for the Passover meal to have their loins girded. It was a metaphor of being ready
to escape Egypt. 1 Kings speaks of a literal girding. The hand of the Lord was on Elijah
and he girded up his loins and outran Ahab to Jezreel. Job 38 speaks of a metaphorical
girding. Gird up your loins like a man,
God says, and I will ask you and you will instruct me. And
so he uses the same image metaphorically. Same thing in Jeremiah 1, gird
up your loins, arise. Well, here in Ephesians 6, utilizing
this well-known phrase to call them to readiness to battle in
the spiritual realm, he says, having girded up your loins. The characterization of this
initial piece of gear as truth certainly points, it would include
sincerity as opposed to hypocrisy, but Paul’s point here is the
foundational aspect of truth as opposed to error. Christianity
is truth. God’s word is truth. And for
the Christian soldier, an absolute confidence and faith in God’s
astounding plan of redemption is vital for this battle. Doubt here renders the soldier
helpless and weak and vulnerable in the midst of this fight. Look
pleased at the next piece of equipment there in verse 14,
having put on the breastplate of righteousness. There is simply
no other way to take this piece of equipment other than the righteousness
of Christ. This, of course, is the amazing
gift of justification bestowed on a Christian at salvation. To enter into battle without
body armor, without the breastplate, is to court certain death. To
think to approach heaven without the righteousness of Christ is
worse. When a soldier stands, not in
his or her own righteousness, but in the righteousness of Christ,
he or she is literally unassailable by even the devil himself. There
is therefore now no condemnation. For those who are in Christ Jesus,
the devil has nothing on you. No weapon formed against us will
stand. The devil’s taunts and accusations
are nothing to the justified sinner. This is why Paul in Philippians
3 was ready to cash in every element of his man-made righteousness
only for the righteousness of Christ. Paul had long given up
the idea of cultivating a righteousness of his own. He desired only the
righteousness of Christ, and he demands the same of his Christian
soldiers. Look now, please, at verse 15.
Yet another piece of the soldier’s equipment, basically boots. Having
shod your feet with a preparation of the gospel of peace. It is
a wonderful overall illustration, this illustration of the believer’s
armor, but this is such a beautiful image here. It pictures the soldier
stooping to tie on his boots, the feet being the active means
of travel. And the image is almost certainly
derived from Isaiah 52 7. How lovely on the mountains are
the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace, happiness,
salvation. that we enjoy peace with God
is the motivation for us to go and tell others. What a glorious
opportunity the Christian soldier has, the opportunity to proclaim
the gospel, salvation by faith alone in Christ alone. The image
provides a dramatic contrast because here is the soldier dressed
for battle, and yet he or she comes in peace. Would you glance down at verse
16 for another piece of the soldier’s protective armor? In addition
to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will
be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil
one. The shield of faith is the most aggressive of this defense
system. The breastplate and the helmet
are last resorts. If the arrow zings past the shield, The helmet and the breastplate
should catch it, but the shield can be moved and directed in
the deflection of Satan’s missiles. The ancient image is likely the
view of arrows that would have been dipped in pitch and then
set apart and shot at one’s enemy. It’s a very deadly weapon. These
are the kinds of slanderous lies that the devil slings at us without
warning. We didn’t see it coming. This
is what one man of God called unholy, blasphemous, skeptical,
and malignant. Paul says that what is needed
is a shield of faith. a settled confidence in Almighty
God, so that as the arrows fly, the Christian deflects such debilitating
insinuations. There are no uncertainties with
this soldier about his God, his ability, his provisions, his
kindness, his grace. The believer has placed his or
her faith in Christ and will not be moved. even in the face
of violent assaults by the evil one. The soldier is almost fully
equipped. Would you look at verse 17? Take
the helmet of salvation. The helmet is the last of the
defensive weapons and it summarizes the significance of all the others,
truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation. Salvation is itself, of course,
established on the truth of God’s word, bestowed by God’s declaration
of Christ’s righteousness, resulting in the restoration of peace with
a holy God, all of which is secured by faith in Christ’s work of
redemption. What a powerful verse. Without
the mental confidence of salvation by grace, our heads would soon
be swimmy. Our thought life would be unstable,
our thinking would be muddled, and our confidence would be shaken. Head knowledge does not save
us, but the right thinking about the things pertaining to God
in salvation gives the believer a mental steadfastness. As Paul
begins to complete his list, I would have you make one observation
of all the components of the soldier’s attire All of them
are defensive thus far. The girding, the breastplate,
the boots, the shield, the helmet. They’re all defensive elements.
There’s only one offensive weapon. It’s that good. Look at the latter half of verse
17. Take the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. This
is powerful. The soldier of God needs no tanks,
no bazookas, no missiles. All he needs is the sword of
the spirit. which is the word of God. Paul is not saying here
that the Christian wields the Holy Spirit as a sword, but that the word is a product
of the Spirit. God’s word was written down,
2 Peter 1 tells us, when men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke
from God. The Bible is the Holy Spirit’s
work. So that in the hands of the humble child of God, the
soldier in Christ’s army, He has the wisdom and the sure guidance
of God himself in the midst of battle. And so the believer,
the believer is Christ’s shoulder, the soldier is dressed, equipped,
ready for battle. And someone may say, when do we fight? How do I get to the front lines?
Paul tells us this in verse 18. What does this spiritual warfare
look like? Pray. Be on the alert. Be on the alert
in prayer, be spiritually vigilant. Grammatically, this is not a
separate exhortation by Paul. Instead, this is what it means
to stand firm. This is what it means to wage
spiritual warfare, pray. With all prayer and petition,
pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on
the alert. This is a dynamic and wide-ranging
exhortation. We are to pray with all kinds
of prayer. All kinds of prayer at all times, always in the Spirit. Because this is spiritual warfare.
Prayer is routinely Paul’s remedy for the Christian life. First
Thessalonians 5.17, pray without ceasing. Romans 12.12, be devoted
to prayer. Philippians 4.6, be anxious for
nothing but in prayer, everything by prayer and supplication. With
thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Devote
yourselves to prayer, Colossians 4.2, keeping alert in it with
an attitude of thanksgiving. We are to fight. We are engaged
in a spiritual war. We’re dressed for battle, but our tactic is prayer. Would you do that now in his
presence?