As I was having lunch with friends several months ago, we started talking about the reality of the spiritual battle we’re engaged in as God’s children. Each of us shared about some of the challenges we were facing and how we needed prayer. One friend looked at me after I shared and in a serious tone asked, “What’s your battle plan?” The question stayed on my mind throughout the weeks ahead and providentially converged with my quiet time one morning as I was reading 1 Chronicles 5. Through this seemingly obscure passage, God revealed his prescribed battle plan which involves preparation, prayer, trust and doing what he’s called us to do.
Preparation
Amid a genealogical list of the tribes of Reuben and Gad, God records a battle that occurred when the Reubenites, Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh, waged war against four other leaders and their armies (1 Chronicles 5:18-22). The Israelite army consisted of 44,760 men, who were ready and prepared for service. They were “able bodied men who could handle shield and sword, who could use a bow and who were trained for battle” (1 Chronicles 5:18). They had been preparing for upcoming battles and were adept at using all the necessary weapons so that they could win, and not just fight, the war.
This principle of preparing for physical battle can be applied to our lives as believers. The apostle Paul reminds us that we have a fierce enemy and are engaged in an ongoing epic battle, which is primarily a spiritual one that requires preparation (1 Peter 5:8; 2 Corinthians 10:3-6). Paul exhorts us to “be alert”, to “be on guard”, and to be prepared to “resist [the devil] by standing firm in our faith” (1 Peter 5:8-9).
In several key passages he outlines our weapons so that we know how to prepare for the battle. The weapons we are given to fight with are spiritual “weapons of righteousness” to be ‘held in the right hand and left” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Ephesians 6:10ff; 2 Corinthians 6:4, 7). He then provides a complete list of the weapons we will need in Ephesians 6, beginning with the offensive ones and ending with the defensive weapons – the sword of the Spirit and prayers.
The double-edged sword we’ve been given is the spoken Word of God (Hebrews 4:12). The Bible implores us to prepare by meditating on the Word day and night and memorizing it, so that we can live and speak it at all times (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 119:11). It is only as we prepare each day by suiting up in the whole armor of God and making use of his weapons of righteousness that we can stand firm and keep standing when the day of the evil, fierce battle comes (Ephesians 6:13).
Prayer
The writer of Chronicles does not document the details of their battle against the opposing armies but includes the important reality that “They [the Israelites] were helped in fighting them, and God delivered the Hagrites and all their allies into their hands” in answer to their prayers (1 Chronicles 5:20).
While there is no record of the troops and the commanding officials leading them in worship and prayer as we see with Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20, we know that they offered prayers that God both heard and answered. In humility, the army and its leaders daily prepared for war but knew that ultimately the battle belonged to the Lord, who is the captain of all the great armies of the earth (Deuteronomy 20:4; Joshua 5:13-15). He alone can break a bow of bronze and deliver his people from the jaws of the enemy, causing wars to cease (Psalm 46:9).
As we prepare for the spiritual battle by daily meditating on and memorizing the Word, we also need to remain watchful in prayer. Paul writes about the essential role of prayer in his armor passage, where he exhorts believers “to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Ephesians 6:18). Throughout his epistles, Paul records specific prayers that further reveal how we should pray. Among these, he exhorts us to keep praying earnestly and at all times.
As we pray according to the Word of God, the Holy Spirit strengthens us, gives us wisdom from on high and fills us with his power, love and soundness of mind (Ephesians 1:17, 3:16-17; 2 Timothy 1:7). Through these prayers he prepares us to withstand the lies which the enemy sends like fiery darts – seeking to accuse God and malign his Word so that we cease trusting him (Ephesians 6:16). He reminds us of our own identity in Christ and the role we have as soldiers in his army – that we are more than overcomers in Christ (Romans 8:31-39). And he assures us that all our future battles have already been won at the cross. This confidence enables us to remain in his peace and trust him for victory in the battle (Colossians 3:15).
Trust
The next and most important aspect of the Israelite’s victory is recorded in the last part of verse 20: “He answered their prayers because they trusted him” (1 Chronicles 5:20). Scripture doesn’t say he answered them because they merely prepared or even prayed, but because they trusted in him. This crucial position of their hearts was somehow necessary for them to experience God’s prevailing victory over their enemies.
We see in the Bible that trust is the heart position that resolutely declares that God alone is God and that he is able and willing to do everything he promises (Job 42:2). Not only that, but trust believes that God desires our best and is a “rewarder of those who diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). As our younger daughter likes to remind us when we face insurmountable obstacles by human standards, “God can, God does, and God will.”
Trusting God does not mean that he will do all things according to our understanding or wisdom or that he will deliver us from every evil attack the way we envision deliverance (Isaiah 55:8-9). Sometimes he delivers us into the lion’s den to show us his greater glory or he delivers us into a prison to teach us to trust him in the darkness and to prepare us to lead others out of their prison. But he delivers us, nonetheless. He is with us in resurrection power in the lion’s den, giving us courage to stand firm as the enemy roars relentlessly and seeks to devour us. He is with us in the prison cell, where there are sparse supplies of everything we thought we needed to survive and yet we find ourselves content, singing hymns of praise at midnight (Acts 16:25-26; Philippians 4:11-13).
Do
After preparing, praying and trusting, the Israelites stepped out in faith and fought the battle. God gave them victory, enabling them to seize livestock, take captives and occupy the land. It’s likely they felt fear and maybe even dread about what could happen, but instead of allowing feelings to dictate their actions they stood firm and advanced against the enemy.
Like the other three principles, this one applies to us in the spiritual battle. If we prepare, pray and trust but then shrink back in fear we will not move forward. True faith always moves us to listen to, trust and do what God has asked us to do. We may not see, sense or feel God’s presence during times of intense battle, but we can be certain that he is with us and will not forsake us (Hebrews 13:5-6). Our feelings may try to tell us that what he’s calling us to do is too hard, the battle too intense, and the odds too high, but we can be sure that if God is calling us to this battle it is one we are equipped in Christ to fight – as we remain in him (Philippians 4:13; John 15:7).
Summary
Standing in God’s victory in the spiritual battle requires the golden chain of preparation, prayer, trust and then doing what God has asked us to do. As we begin by submitting to him each day and releasing everything we are and have into his holy hands (Romans 12:1-2), we are able to stand in a position of humility to receive his marching orders for that day (James 4:7). He promises to train our hands for war and teaches us to walk in the Spirit so that our lives bear much fruit for his glory (Psalm 144:1; John 14:26; John 15:8).
As we remain in him and use our gifts and talents to prepare for the battle, we can pray confidently – knowing that if we ask anything according to his will, he will do it (John 14:14). With each promise we pray, our confidence grows stronger in the Lord, so that we begin to trust him with all our heart, refusing to rely on our own understanding (Romans 10:17; Proverbs 3:5-6). This kind of authentic trust always moves us to bold action (Hebrews 11;). Like David when he heard about Goliath, our seasons of preparing, praying and trusting will give way to victory for the glory of God. And just as he delivered Israel from the hands of their enemies in the battle, he will deliver us and take care of us. “The one who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:24).
“The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (2 Timothy 4:18).
