Spiritual Warfare, Writing, and Prayer

“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.  Therefore 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.” Ephesians 6: 10-13

In the past four months, I have read widely on the topic of spiritual warfare.  After all of that reading and research, I am completely persuaded that I have something new, fresh, and needed to say on the subject.  November 1 begins my concentrated time of writing on the topic.  I signed up for the "write a book in a month" initiative, and the month is November.  I believe I am ready for the effort, but I really need some help!

What type of help?  Well, C.S. Lewis declared that the worst six months of his life were during his writing of The Screwtape Letters.  This book concerning the ways of spiritual warfare and the “devil’s schemes” is a classic on the subject.  If he has such a difficult time, what can I expect?

Since I began studying this topic, I have learned much.  I have come to value even more the power of prayer and walking in dependence upon the Holy Spirit as I have wrestled with Satan's schemes and attacks against my family and church.  So far, these attacks have not been directly at my health, mind or walk with God (thanks to your prayers!).  Instead, they have been directed at the "weak links" in my life that are easy targets of temptation, lies, and unbelief.  Unfortunately these schemes take much of my time and energy!  

Please join me in praying for God's protection and grace as I write.  Pray for peace and purity in my life, the life of my family, and the life of my church.  Pray for the Lord's hand to be upon me and my family as I write.

I also pray for God's wisdom and grace to guide my thoughts and writing.  This topic is broad and the writing on the topic is full of strange twists and turns.  Please pray that I avoid these strange tangents!  

Pray that I write with clarify, power, grace, and a gospel-centered approach to an important but neglected topic.

I begin by saying that in this world, we occasionally see glimpses of the spiritual realm, though most of us do not know what we are really seeing.  In other parts of the world, spiritual warfare is much more intense and out in the open.  In America and the West, it is much less visible though just as prevalent.  The truth is that we live in a spiritually alive universe.  

There is only one God, and His power, majesty, and sovereignty are not in question.  The evil one is not another God, though he seeks to take God’s rightful glory.  He is a usurper who steals glory and praise not due him.  He is a fallen angel given the earth as his home range  until Christ comes back to set all things aright.  He lives on a short lease: a lease held by the sovereign Lord.  He has under his command an assortment of fallen angels (demons) who seek to destroy God's work and Kingdom.  We know that these evil beings will not prevail!  Yet, in this life, we need to be aware that we have an enemy seeking both our destroy our life and to keep us out of Kingdom work.

In the midst of the working out of God's victory in Christ, I ask again, would you pray that the Lord will protect my walk with Him, my family, and my Church.  Please pray that He will give me clarity as to what the scriptures say on the subject.  Joining with Paul’s words, please pray that I be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.  Pray that I would put on the armor of God, which is Christ’s righteousness, so I can take my stand against the devil’s schemes.  Pray for clarity of mind to write well and quickly.  Pray that I would cut through the many knots found in this subject to compose something worthwhile and helpful.  As Jesus told us to pray, ask the Lord to “not lead Dr. Greg (his family and his church) into temptation, but deliver him from the evil one.” (Matt. 6:13)

This blog has been so helpful to me!  I do appreciate my readers from around the world.  Please join me in prayer and share these thoughts with your friends and colleagues.