Way back in the Stone Age, when I was eighteen, I joined the Canadian Armed Forces. The first three months of my time in were spent at "boot camp" along with the other latest batch of new recruits. Basic training was a grueling experience that tested my limits physically, mentally and emotionally.

Strange new rituals, constant stress, heavy physical demands and new experiences became the norm. Learning to think differently and being prepared for anything was part of the process of taking inexperienced new recruits and making them into soldiers. Even though it was a time of peace, every soldier learned the basic skills he or she would need to face battle.

Christians are in a constant state of war.

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.
Ephesians 6:12 NIV

There is a battle raging in the spiritual realm. It's not for physical land but for eternal souls. We know the outcome, God wins, that was never in doubt, but there will be many casualties along the way.

Satan hates believers. He works overtime to hamper our witness and to keep us from living the victorious lives the Lord has planned for us. He tempts us, he messes with our minds and he afflicts our bodies. Not every illness is a direct attack of the enemy, many are simply the result of having a physical body in a fallen world, but much illness is caused by demonic influence or as a consequence of our sin.

A quick skim read of the Bible will confirm the scope of the battle we are in. Talk to a few mature Christians who have been through the fire and they'll tell you the battle is real.

The Christian army brings in raw recruits (new converts) but it often falls down by not giving them the basic training they need to face the battle. Sometimes the church even leads people to believe that all will be perfect and easy if they believe, and while for some that my be true, for most the opposite is the case. Victory is guaranteed for the Christian but a life of ease is not.

Believers need to learn the weapons of war that God has given us. We need to learn to pray, to give generously, to worship, to fellowship together, and to study His Word. We need to learn about things like deliverance and healing. We need to learn about intercessory prayer. God has given us many tools and weapons to use. Now is the time to get familiar with them and put them into practice. Just acknowledging there is a war on without putting the weapons into use is the same as surrendering without a fight.

Remember our battle isn't against people, we called to actively love even those who hate us. We need to love people and wage war in the spiritual realm.

Never confuse the two. Pray for the salvation and deliverance of the person who makes you crazy or the family member who always puts you down because of your faith. Pray that your own heart be softened towards them but that your eyes be opened to the spiritual war going on around and within them. Fight Satan and his minions, not the slaves they have taken.

It's time to put on the armor God has given us.