Read time: 5 minutes 12 seconds
*Note: This is the second in a two-part series
This article originally appeared on Curt Landry Ministries here.
Understanding your identity is key in spiritual battles. It is the first thing you must do. It is only because of your identity in Yeshua that you can come boldly into the throne room of God and know that you are a victor and that your gifts and armor are already paid and prepared for you.
When you seek God first, He honors you. Part of seeking Him is to understand who He says you are and believe His Word about you. Go into the Courts of Heaven and know you are washed white as snow.
As you learn more about spiritual warfare, here are some questions to ask yourself.
- Question 1: What is my understanding of spiritual warfare?
So, for me, 33 years of being around spiritual warfare, I’ll answer it this way. I see a real lack of understanding, even in the body of Christ. There is a lack of understanding of the gift, the authority and the power of spiritual warfare.
One place you see this is in a prayer meeting or some type of intercessory meeting. Very few people attend versus big sensational events. This is because people lack the understanding that if you want to get a breakthrough in an area in your life, then it will come from prayer and doing spiritual warfare in prayer.
- Question 2: What are the pieces of the armor in Ephesians 6, and what do they mean?
Well, basically the armor is Jesus. You are putting on Jesus and all the things that He represents.
One thing about God’s full armor is that you must think about it consciously. When you’re praying, understand that you’re protected, you’re provided and you’re taking on that identity of Yeshua. I want you to focus on the fact that it’s a way to say, “Okay, I’m putting on Jesus,” but I want to go to a deeper level of it.
Start in Ephesians 6:10: “Finally, brethren, be strong in the Lord and the power of His might.”
And then there’s a command: “Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. So we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers and darkness of this age, rulers of darkness of this age against spiritual hosts of wickedness and heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you’ll be able to stand in the evil day, stand therefore having gird your waist with truth.”
So how do you experience/pray for that?
The belt/identity…
So you say, “Father God, I gird my waist with the truth that I am a son or a daughter. My identity is in Christ Jesus.” And then put on the breastplate of righteousness. In Hebrew, it’s called an ephod. It’s a breastplate with 12 stones. That breastplate means that you are covering your heart’s intention. Your heart’s intention is to be on the side of God’s 12 tribes, to be on the kingdom’s side. So you are a Kingdom identifier. You identify with His kingdom.
The shoes/authority…
And then it goes on to say, “Having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” Your feet are symbolic of authority. So you can say, “Father God, every place my feet tread, thank You, Lord, that I am going to bring the gospel of peace.” So what does that really mean, “the gospel”? The gospel of peace means by the blood of Jesus, our sins are expunged so that the enemy can’t attack us for our sin. So we walk in righteousness.
The shield, helmet and sword…
Ephesians 6:16, “…above all, take the shield of faith.” And, of course, the shield of faith is (faith in) the Word of God. The shield of faith quenches every fiery dart coming against us from the wicked one.
Then we put on the helmet of salvation. The helmet of salvation is the mind of Christ. The scripture says, “Let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” So, we put on the mind of Christ.
Then we take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and we decree it.
The armor of God is walking in the wholeness of Jesus.
So that’s really what the pieces of the armor are. It’s the wholeness of walking in Jesus in Messiah before you go into an intercessory prayer or spiritual warfare.
- Question 3: What is the hardest thing for you to remember when you are feeling attacked?
I would say the hardest thing for us to remember is to seek first the kingdom of God. Let’s say let’s wake up after having a bad dream that made you feel uncomfortable. The first thing you should do before you even start your coffee or whatever you do in the morning is say, “Father God, I’ve had a bad dream. I plead the blood of Jesus over me, and my house, and my family, my spouse,” if you have a spouse. “And Lord, I thank You that any residue from that bad dream, any spirits that tried to attack my family last night, I cancel them and cast them out of my house in Jesus’ name.”
Do this immediately when you’re feeling the spirit of oppression. Ask God what’s happening, and cast it out, and come out of agreement with it immediately.
- Question 4: What do you hope to better understand when studying spiritual warfare?
What I want you to do by partnering with me on this spiritual warfare journey is to understand the grace of God to answer your prayer. I want you to understand who you are in Him. Because here’s the thing, you’re either going to be spiritually minded or fleshly minded.
What does that mean?
If your identity is in your accomplishments, your success at your job, your physical looks, your materialism, your money or man’s opinion or the worker service that you provide, this false identity opens the door for you to start worshiping them or serving them, and then you get into toxic relationships.
So, before we understand anything about spiritual warfare, we must have confidence in Him, understand His identity and then we can understand ours.
The key to spiritual warfare is claiming, believing and decreeing your inheritance and then walking and living in a lifestyle that expects it to manifest. I hope you like these ancient principles because they are modern principles for a successful, happy, healthy life and I hope they’ve blessed you. God bless you and shalom. {eoa}
Click here to view Rabbi Landry’s book on spiritual warfare!
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Curt Landry, founder of Curt Landry Ministries, and his wife, Christie, travel extensively, preaching and teaching about the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. Together, their passion is to empower families to live and leave Kingdom legacies and understand their own personal heritage.
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