The Sword of the Lord!

Do you realize that we have a right to defend ourselves and our circle of influence? Do you know that God provided a way for the believers to take the land without shedding blood? How many of us are sitting around frozen in our fear not knowing God supplied a way to combat the chaos around us?

Most of the weapons mentioned in Ephesians chapter six are defensive or protective coverings. The helmet of salvation, which is knowing you are God’s kid because of the price Jesus paid, is used to cast down the lies the world system throws at us. The shield of faith is not based on our great faith but faith in a big God who loves us. This type of faith protects us by causing the lies meant to paralyze us in fear to bounce off our trust in the Lord.

Ephesians 6:16-19TPT “In every battle, take faith as your wrap-around shield, for it is able to extinguish the blazing arrows coming at you from the evil one. Embrace the power of salvation’s full deliverance, like a helmet to protect your thoughts form lies. And take the mighty razor-sharp Spirit-sword of the spoken word of God. Pray passionately in the Spirit, as you constantly intercede with every form of prayer at all times. Pray the blessings of God upon all his believers. And pray also that God’s revelation would be release…”

The Spirit-sword, which is the word of God, is our offensive weapon. One of the meanings of an offensive weapon is “making a physical or military attack” and “giving painful or unpleasant sensations; nauseous.” In 2 Corinthians explains how to use the word of God.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 “For although we live in the natural realm, we don’t wage a military campaign employing human weapons, using manipulation to achieve our aims. Instead, our spiritual weapons are energized with divine power to effectively dismantle the defenses behind which people hide. We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One. Since we are armed with such dynamic weaponry, we stand ready to punish any trace of rebellion, as soon as you choose complete obedience.”

Does this mean we can pray anything we want when we get mad or hurt? No, the word of God is the sword. There are stipulations in using God’s sword. Faith works by love. In 1 Corinthians 13:1, it says that if we don’t walk in love our words are “reduced to hollow sounds and clanging cymbals.” Even faith filled acts without love may set the captive free because God loves people, but we are counted as nothing in God’s kingdom.

To be fruitful, we must stay connected to Jesus who is the gateway (vine) to access heavens riches. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, directs us to what God is telling us to do. Our authority comes from the price Jesus paid and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to accomplish God’s mission on earth as it is in heaven. Then we can use the Sword of the Spirit to demolish strongholds and set the captives free.

Sample Prayer

Here is an example of taking the Word of God and making it into a prayer or declaration.

Father God,

You are my Father, because of the price Jesus paid. That make me a King’s kid. I choose to walk in Your love and desire to expand Your kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. I lift up my circle of influence (the people you interact with) and stand-in-the-gap for them. I cast down lying imaginations and thoughts that have blinded their minds to Your truth. I ask for blind eyes and dull ears to be open to hear Your voice. Give me the words to speak when you want me to speak. Keep me quiet when I need to be quiet. I put on the full armor of God and trust in Your protection. Help me to be sensitive to know what to pray and when to pray. I want to be used by You to overthrow this world’s system of deception. Keep me on Your path and let Your voice and peace guide me.

Because of Jesus and empowered by Holy Spirit, amen!

Scriptures

Ephesians 6:10-20, John 15, John 14:6, John 5:19, Matthew 6:10, Ezekiel 22:30, Mathew 18:18 The Passion Translation or TPT