Two Spiritual Weapons

Dannah Gresh: Two bicyclists were riding on a California mountain road when suddenly . . . a lion attacked one of the riders.

Judy Dunagan describes the scene.

Judy Dunagan: Her friend grabbed her legs and held onto her and started screaming. Other bikers came around and started throwing rocks at the lion, and he left. Of course she was injured, but she was saved. 

Dannah: We’ll find out what that scary moment has to do with the spiritual battle you and I are in, today on the Revive Our Hearts podcast for July 4, 2023. Our host is the author of Adorned: Living Out the Beauty of the Gospel Together, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: Here in the United States we’re celebrating our nation’s 247th birthday today. On July 4, 1776, representatives of the thirteen American Colonies signed what we know as the Declaration of Independence. That document, along with other foundational documents, forms the basis for our national sense of identity. 

If you live in another country, you have similar things you look to in your nation’s history—things you look to that help your country define who you are as a group.

But has it occurred to you that there’s an even more profound identity, an even more basic significance for all of us as human beings? It’s our relationship to our Creator God.

That’s what we’re exploring all this month here at Revive Our Hearts. Specifically, how we as Christians need to find our identity, our sense of purpose—our meaning—not in our affiliation with one group or another, not even in expressing ourselves as individuals, but in the person of Jesus Christ and His finished redeeming work. 

Judy Dunagan is helping us do that in a message she shared in a session at True Woman '22. The title of that message is also the subtitle of a book she authored: Living in the Unshakable Victory of Christ. Judy works for Moody Publishers, so she’s got a lot of recommendations for good books to read. You’ll hear her mention some of those today.

Yesterday on Revive Our Hearts, Judy reminded us from Ephesians chapter 6 that we’re in a spiritual battle. Our true enemy isn’t an oppressive political system. We’re not wrestling against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of darkness, against Satan and everything he stands for. 

Almost 250 years ago, the American Revolution was fought with cannons and muskets. But we fight this spiritual battle with what the apostle Paul called “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Here’s Judy, picking up with that all-important piece of our spiritual armor—using Scripture to fight off temptation.

Judy: I think Jesus modeled this better than anyone when He walked this groaning earth, when He went into the wilderness to fast. He was led there by the Holy Spirit and for forty days, it says, He fasted. 

He had to be exhausted and vulnerable. At the end of that, the enemy came at Him ferociously with three great temptations. As you read that, it’s almost like hand-to-hand combat. The swords are drawn. The enemy’s sword is full of lies and trickery, and Jesus’ sword is God’s Word.

So each time the enemy comes at Him, Jesus has, “It is written . . .” I’m going to read this because this is such a beautiful and powerful scene. 

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he [Jesus] answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

[Does that sound familiar? That’s from Psalm 91. I would like to say that he’s not very smart, because he quoted from such a powerful psalm, but he is crafty.] 

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 

Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, [So, the third time, Jesus said, “it is written,” “it is written,” “it is written”] ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” 

[And guess what happened?] Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.” (Matt. 4:1–11 ESV)

Don’t you just wish that you could see that or know what that was like? Someday, we will know. 

That’s the thing about the humanity of Christ, He’s exhausted, and He’s had this battle, and then angels came to Him. The same thing happened when He was in the garden, just hours before His arrest. He was desperate for His men, His three disciples to pray for Him. 

If you read that story, He went to them three times, “Really? You’re falling back asleep?” He needed His band of brothers, but God met Him. We’re told that angels ministered to Him there as well. 

So, I’d love to know how that encourages you, as believers, as humans who walk this groaning earth that even Jesus was tempted. Jesus had this coming at Him, the enemy thought he could beat Him. Of course, he’s going to come at us, but how can we have victory and how do we pick up the Sword of the Spirit? 

I encourage you to dwell in God’s Word, and I’m not talking about how you better have your quiet time every morning early. I know there are young moms in this room, and that is so hard. It’s not about legalism. It’s about loving Jesus and being desperate. Ask Him to make a way for you. 

When I was on staff at our church leading a ministry, I was so busy. I got so burned out, and I wasn’t spending time in prayer with Him while I was serving Him. I’m sure some of you in the room can relate. 

I heard a pastor once say he had been on a ministry trip. He spoke at a leadership conference, and he started out by saying (he just got back and you could tell he was weary and down), “When I first found Christ, He took my breath away, and now I am just worried I am out of breath serving Him.” 

I think that’s one of the tactics that the enemy uses for those of us who love Jesus deeply and are very, very busy for Him. It’s to distract us, to be so busy for Him that we don’t really know Him anymore or go deep with Him. 

I had to cry out one Sunday. I was between two campuses to try to make an announcement about a Bible study. I found tears in my eyes while I was driving. I just cried out to the Lord. I was in the car alone, and I cried out loud and I just said, “I miss You! I want more of You. I know there’s more of You. Will You capture my heart and make a way for me to just be with You and not make it about this ministry?” 

And He was faithful in that. He will be to you, because the enemy does want to keep you distracted to where you dry up and the Word doesn’t bring you life. And so that’s my heart’s cry for you. 

In my book where I write about the battle with the swords, this is what I wrote, “How stunning to see the Living Word use the written Word as His weapon of choice.” And that’s what we can do as well. 

And so, I want to talk about part of the battle plan. We’ve talked about the armor, but I also want to talk about the roar of God’s Word. As I’ve said already, Jesus modeled this for us to have Him awaken us to the Word. 

There are different ways you can do this, through memorizing it, through dwelling and lingering in it, to reading out loud, to journaling it, especially if you feel like the battle is fierce. Just journal. Just go to your favorite psalm and journal and get it down as a prayer. 

Also, part of the battle plan is prayer, the roar of prayer. And I have to say, I think this is one of the main ways the enemy tries to distract us. I used to teach about the importance of prayer in the ministry, and I wasn’t always really praying. I had a prayer partner who started to really speak over me in that and taught me a lot about prayer. It’s so, so important to be able to dwell in His Word in prayer. 

I have some ways to awaken our prayer life that I want to share with you. A lot of people don’t see prayer as part of the armor. As you read Ephesians 6, verses 10–17, it ends with the Sword of the Spirit, but then in verse 18, it’s all about prayer. I think the enemy tries to keep us from prayer more than anything because it threatens him so much. He knows we’re worshiping God, we’re standing in the truth, we’re in the throne room praying. 

So, I’m going to end our time with just what I call “the wonder of prayer.” These are all “w” words, so if you want to take notes, hopefully you can remember these ideas. My heart about these is that you can pick one or two of these ideas and just cry out to the Lord to awaken or revive your heart for prayer.

And so, the first one is “Worship Prayer.” I have a key verse for each of these, because I love God’s Word so much. 

I exalt you, my God the King,
   and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will praise you and
   extol your name forever and ever. (Psalm 145: 1–2)

I encourage you to go to Psalm 145, even this weekend or when you get back home, just dwell in this worshipful psalm. It’s actually a work of art. We’re told in Hebrew it’s an acrostic poem in Hebrew, so each verse is consecutive within the Hebrew alphabet. 

David wrote that. I imagine that he was most likely hiding in caves, and that’s how the Holy Spirit inspired him. He’s so gifted. So, I would encourage you to do that. Enter into His throne room with worship. 

Often, I would just dive into my prayer requests, especially when I felt under attack. My prayer partner is the one who taught me to begin in worship when we get together for prayer. We’d just lift Him up through His names and attributes and just even being quiet, maybe play worship music.

 

It just switched in terms of just my heart for prayer, but also, the enemy just has to flee when we worship. Worship is a weapon against him as well. 

And then we have “Word of God” prayers. Psalm 119:92–93,

If your law had not been my delight,
   I would have perished in my affliction.
I will never forget your precepts,
   for by them you have preserved my life.

Can anyone relate to that? I know part of my story that honestly, I could have died or had spiraled out, like I shared in China, emotionally without the Word of God. One way, if you’re really distracted, struggling with anxiety, or feeling really under attack, is read Scripture out loud. I mentioned Psalm 145. I’ll do that sometimes. I just begin my prayer time and my time of worship in reading out loud. It’s amazing how your mind stays captive to the truth of God’s Word when you do that. It’s part of your worship, and it helps you not spiral to fear. And again, the enemy has to flee.

And then, turn Scripture into prayer on behalf of those who you are worried about. I shared a little bit in the last session about how many moms and fathers are dealing with prodigal children. It seems like more and more are leaving the faith, and it’s a huge burden. You can cry out to the Lord and the worry or the fear you have and turn it into prayers on their behalf. 

The next one is “Written Prayers.” And the verse is, Psalm 62:8,

Trust in him at all times, you people;
   pour out your hearts to him,
   for God is our refuge.

I think one of the best ways to pour out your hearts out to Him is to journal your prayers. I’m not saying that you have to be a good writer, just pour out your heart. Again, it helps your mind not wander. It can be an act of worship, an act of surrender. 

And then there’s a sacrifice of prayer, of praise and thanksgiving when you pray. When I went through a really dark season of my life, the Lord just really impressed on my heart that I needed to turn to praise, even in the midst of that. The Psalms talk a lot about a sacrifice of praise. 

And so, what I would start to do in my journal is at the top of the page, I would just write “Sacrifice of Praise.” Then I would just start writing the things I could be thankful for. There’s something about thanksgiving that I also think makes the enemy stand down. 

Under “Written Prayers” I wanted to mention, though, there are prayers written by others that you can read. Not everyone is probably comfortable with that, but my father for years has had that in all of his books. He writes doctrinal, scriptural prayers.

I also decided to do that in my book. At the end of each chapter I have a short prayer related to the topic that I’m teaching. But in the back I have my dad’s prayer that he wrote on Psalm 91. I wrote a prayer on Psalm 139, and then one to pray for your children as well. 

Now, I’m not trying to sell you my book, I promise. I am all about these resources getting into your hands. But the idea is praying prayers that are already written by others. And another thing are prayers written by God’s Word that you can pray for your own family or yourself. 

I do that with the High Priestly Prayer in John 17 that Jesus prayed over the disciples. It also said that He was praying for us, those who were coming after them. There’s parts of that prayer that I pray for my children. So, dwell in that. 

You can pray some of Paul’s prayers, just pray them out loud or write them out for yourself or for your children. 

We have a Bible study based on that called “On Bended Knee.” That’s a phenomenal study. I’m sure they’re selling it this weekend. It’s by Crickett Keeth, “On Bended Knee,” where she looks at different prayers. It’s such a great way to dwell in Scripture and to borrow the prayers of those who have gone before us. Then I want to talk about “Weeping or Wrestling Prayer.” The core verse for that is Psalm 13:1–2,

How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?
   How long will you hide your face from me? 
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
   and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
   How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Do you hear that, that lamenting prayer? That was David. “How long?” I wonder how many of you in this room have had “how long” prayers? Maybe you’re in the midst of them. 

I know I have. How long, Lord, will this go on?

So, I encourage you to run to Him with your sorrow. I hadn’t really been taught that until that season where our family was hit so hard, and I was in counseling with a biblical counselor. She said, “I’m not sure that anybody has ever talked to you about the suffering Savior.” 

We’re told in Isaiah that He was a Man of Sorrow acquainted with grief. He stood at a friend’s grave and wept. He wept over the city of Jerusalem. He grieved. He sweat drops of blood in prayer. He had “how long” prayers before His arrest. He’s such a compassionate Savior, and He wants us to come to Him with our lament, with our weeping prayers and also our wrestling prayers. 

I know many are struggling with hard questions. Jesus wants us to come to Him with those and cry out to Him—which again can be an act of worship.

There’s a wonderful book on lamenting called The Sacred Sorrow by Michael Card. I found that years ago when I was in the midst of all that. He looks at how Job, Jeremiah, David, and then Jesus lamented. He teaches you how to write lamenting prayers. 

You know, there are almost more lamenting psalms than praise psalms. And so, it’s a rhythm that I don’t think we’re taught enough about and that can really bring great, great comfort. 

And then the last one I wanted to mention was “Woman to Woman” prayer partners. And the verse for that is, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matt. 18:20 NIV) 

I mentioned my prayer partner, Joanie. She has been such a gift to me. We no longer live near each other. She’s about fifteen years older than me. She’s the one who taught me the rhythm of worshiping the Lord in prayer and in confession and then praying for others. 

She came to me once when our family was under it. She heard a story that had just happened in California, where two friends, two women, were biking in the mountains. One of them got attacked by a lion. They had stopped to fix something. This lion got a hold of her and he had her in his mouth. Her friend grabbed her legs and held on to her and started screaming. Other bikers came around and started throwing rocks at the lion, and he left. Of course, she was injured, but she was saved. 

I’ll never forget it, Joanie said to me, “That’s me right now. I’m hanging on to your legs through prayer that our enemy, the roaring lion, can’t get you, can’t have you.” I’ll never forget that.

And so, I want to encourage you, if you don’t have a prayer partner, start asking the Lord for one. Or be brave and ask a friend who you know is a prayer warrior to come along beside you. 

I had just started a leadership position, in the women’s ministry at my church in Michigan, and knew I needed a prayer partner. I started praying. Joanie asked for a meeting and said, “I’m looking for a prayer partner. Do you know anyone who understands warfare?” 

And twenty years later we’re still dear friends. I text her when I’m speaking like this. She’s just very, very precious to me. So that community in prayer is so important. 

Well friends, I wanted to end our time with one more prayer. Actually first, I wanted to ask you as you look at all of these different ways to pray—“Worship,” “Word of God,” “Written,” “Weeping or Wrestling,” and “Woman to Woman”—to take some time, whether it’s at the end of this or tonight. Ask the Lord, maybe choose one or two of those. If it’s something you’ve not done, just start to explore that and make that part of your prayer life. 

I’m going to close with a prayer, it’s a Puritan prayer. We don’t know, it’s probably a 200–300 year-old prayer. I found it in a book called The Valley of Vision. It is a powerful prayer about the armor. It’s just amazing. And so, I’m going to speak that over us as we pray, and then I’ll close at the end of it after this prayer.

O LORD, I bless thee that the issue of the battle
   between thyself and Satan
     has never been uncertain,
     and will end in victory.
Calvary broke the dragon’s head,
   and I contend with a vanquished foe,
     who with all his subtlety and strength
     has already been overcome.
When I feel the serpent at my heel
   may I remember him whose heel was bruised,
     but who, when bruised, broke the devil’s head.

My soul with inward joy extols
   the mighty conqueror.

Heal me of any wounds received
   in the great conflict;
     if I have gathered defilement,
     if my faith has suffered damage,
     if my hope is less than bright,
     if my love is not fervent,
     if some creature-comfort occupies my heart,
     if my soul sinks under pressure of the fight.
O thou whose every promise is balm,
     every touch life,
   draw near to thy weary warrior,
   refresh me, that I may rise again
     to wage the strife,
   and never tire until my enemy is trodden down.

Give me such fellowship with thee
   that I may defy Satan,
     unbelief, the flesh, the world,
   with delight that comes not from a creature,
   and which a creature cannot mar.
Give me a draught of the eternal fountain
   that lieth in thy immutable, everlasting love
     and decree.
Then shall my hand never weaken,
   my feet never stumble,
   my sword never rest,
   my shield never rust,
   my helmet never shatter,
   my breastplate never fall,
     as my strength rests in the power
       of thy might.

How powerful is that? Written by someone probably 200 years ago, who was in a mighty fierce battle and ran into these truths. I do have that prayer in my book. I got permission from the publisher to do that, and it has been life-changing. I just encourage you to get a copy of the prayer and read it out loud when you feel that the battle is very fierce. 

Nancy: That's Judy Dunagan speaking at our recent True Woman conference in Indianapolis. She'll be back in a moment to pray. Her book is called The Loudest Roar: Living in the Unshakable Victory of Christ. You'll find information about that book linked in the transcript of this program at ReviveOurHearts.com. You can read that prayer from The Valley of Vision in the transcript, as well. Again, our web address is ReviveOurHearts.com.

Judy mentioned the two weapons Christians have at our disposal— God’s word, and prayer. 

Not long ago we heard from one of our listeners, a woman named Susan. She had made a donation and received the Revive Our Hearts resource called Finding the Words to Pray. She wrote to thank us for the book and to order more copies to share. She said, 

This book is so spot-on for me personally. It points us to praying God's words back to Him! Praise Him for your wisdom and ministry! … I'm in the process of reading through the Bible for the first time, so much of the Psalms are fresh in my mind. I can't express my joy enough, at listening to Revive Our Hearts daily, and the conviction I feel every day. I'm so blessed by your ministry!

Thank you to Susan for listening, for your encouragement, and for giving to Revive Our Hearts. We rely on the support of our listeners to keep our various outreaches going, and these summer days are no exception. 

How about you? Would you pray about supporting Revive Our Hearts this month?

This week, in appreciation for your donation of any amount, we’ll send you a copy of Allie Beth Stuckey’s book You’re Not Enough (And That’s Okay). I read this book when it first came out. Allie Beth is engaging, she's straightforward, she's wise, and most important, she's biblical. She talks about how to escape the toxic culture of self-love..

In fact, I posted about this book on social media after I read it. I said, "I wish I could give a copy to every younger woman I know . . . and a bunch of older women too!" So I want to encourage you to get a copy. Just request it when you make your donation and we'll be sure to send you Allie Beth's book call You're Not Enough (And That's Okay). Just visit ReviveOurHearts.com, or call us at 1-800-569-5959. 

To my fellow Americans, Happy Independence Day! And wherever you live, I hope you can take a moment to pray for the United States at some point today. We desperately need it. Pray for our government leaders. Pray for our citizens. Pray that evil would fail and righteousness would prevail. 

And then join us tomorrow on our program. We’re going to continue our theme of our identity being found in Christ by reminding ourselves of that intimate relationship believers have with Jesus. Please be back for Revive Our Hearts.

Now, let’s pray along with Judy Dunagan.

Judy: Oh Father God, again we thank You for the armor. Jesus we thank You that You do cover us with Your armor, Your righteousness, Your peace, Your truth, Your salvation, Your faithfulness. Help us to be mighty warriors, because of the victory You have won for us. 

Thank You that as believers, we don’t for victory, we fight from it. Victory has already been won. We just need to pick up our sword and wield it like You modeled it, Jesus. Make us prayer warriors. Just burn it in our hearts to want to come into the throne room and pray. Your Word tells us in Hebrews that is the throne of grace and mercy. 

Help those who are in the room who are struggling with sin in their lives that they can’t get free of. Help them to run to Your throne of mercy and confess and just be made whole again through You. 

We thank You. You died for those sins. Lord Jesus, we thank You that we can walk in sandals of peace even in the turmoil of this world. We thank You that ultimately the enemy is a defeated foe. We’re told in Your Word that his future is a lake of fire. He has a lot of power now, so teach us how to stand firm against him. Teach us to be a light in this dark world. 

Thank You that You are our protector, defender, our shield, our fortress, our rampart, our redeemer, and our Savior. In Your mighty and holy, holy, holy name we pray, amen. 

Revive Our Hearts with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth is calling you to listen to the loudest roar and discover freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.

All Scripture is taken from the NIV unless otherwise noted.

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