I do not fight like a boxer who hits nothing but air.
(I Cor. 9:26)

The following is this author’s take-away and thoughts from the PCAF National Kingsmen Retreat, held last week in Wisconsin:

You are fighting a real opponent! It doesn’t matter if you are a teen or an adult! (In a sense, the battle starts in the womb and continues on until we become old and breathe our last breath!) Your opponent cares nothing about the fact that you may be weak, female, or elderly. Satan’s powers at work fight to destroy impoverished people as well as the rich. No one is exempt from fighting. If we don’t fight we become defeated! But, so many people are ill-prepared for spiritual war (Eph. 6:11-18)! They haven’t learned how to fight spiritually. They don’t have a working knowledge of the scriptures and they don’t have an intimate relationship with the Lord. Millions who do not pray are left defenseless! So many have not exercised themselves in spiritual warfare, and as a result, they are left vulnerable to an enemy who fights to destroy families, kill dreams, and suggests defeat, as well as suicide as a way of an escape.

We can use the apostle Paul as an example of overcoming and fighting until the end. Here are his words: “I have fought a good fight…I have kept the faith” (II Tim. 4:7).

The scriptures below can be used for spiritual warfare:

1. “Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7
2. “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4
3. “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith.” 1 Pet. 5:8-9
4. “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication is from Me,” declares the Lord.” Is. 54:17
5. “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Eph. 6:11-17
6. “In all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Rom. 8:37
7. So be careful. When you think you are standing firm, you might fall. You are tempted in the same way all other human beings are. God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted any more than you can take. But when you are tempted, God will give you a way out. Then you will be able to deal with it. I Cor. 10:12-13
8. “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor. 15:57
9. “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.” 2 Thess. 3:3
10. “Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.” Rom. 12:21
11. “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” 1 Tim. 6:12
12. “,,,On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matt. 16:18
13. “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Is. 40:31
14. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?” Rom. 8:31
15. “You are tempted in the same way all other human beings are. God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted any more than you can take. But when you are tempted, God will give you a way out. Then you will be able to deal with it. I Cor. 10:13.