Going Behind Enemy Lines
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they many have life and have it in abundance.” John 10:10 CSB
Hey friend,
We kicked off our Armor of God series last week in our “Walking with God” blog posts that go out on Tuesday of each week and I can’t express just how much this topic means to me. However, it’s one thing to discuss topics like the Armor of God, it’s another thing to put what we are learning into practice. Over the next several weeks as we go through this series, we will take what we are discussing in our “Walking with God” category and discuss practical application methods for how to apply these truths in our marriage as a wife and in motherhood as a mama. I hope you will join us!
This past Tuesday, we discussed the strategies of the enemy. If you missed that post you can find it here.
In that post, I listed ten strategies of the enemy that was discussed in Priscilla Shirer’s Armor of God study. In this post today, we are going behind enemy lines to discover the strategies the enemy has used and is currently using in our marriage. We will tackle all things of mama/children in a few days so don’t skip ahead. Over the next couple of days, I just want us to focus solely on our marriage and our relationship with our spouse.
As we go behind enemy lines to expose the enemy and his battle plan, the first thing we do is pray. Prayer must always be our first line of defense. Without the help of God, our fleshly eyes will still see fleshly problems. We must ask for divine help to open our spiritual eyes in order to see the spiritual battle raging.
As we begin with prayer, grab your journal and write out your own prayer or you can use the one listed below. Ask God to open your eyes and ears to show you how the enemy is attacking your marriage. As you talk to God, meditate on the questions listed below. Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit as He answers or directs you to something that isn’t listed below.
I encourage you to take a moment to just be still with God. As God reveals the enemy’s schemes, write out a battle plan of prayer of your own asking God for His help in these areas. It’s important to lay this foundation as we move forward in the coming weeks.
Dear God,
Your Word shows me right from the beginning in the book of Genesis that Satan is the father of lies. He seeks to destroy the family unit starting with the husband and the wife. He creates doubt, confusion, fear, restlessness in every person’s mind and soul. And he stops at nothing to kill, steal, and destroy. His lies and activity in my life and my marriage have gone on long enough and today, in the name of Jesus, Satan must flee. I know that because of the consequences of sin, we live in a broken world and it won’t become unbroken until you return and make all things new. I’m looking forward to that day Lord. But in the meantime, I believe your Word to be trustworthy and true. I believe that you have given your children exactly what we need to live victoriously in Jesus this side of eternity. Lord, open my spiritual eyes and ears to see the spiritual battle raging for my marriage. Expose the enemy and his lies and schemes between me and my husband. Holy Spirit, illuminate the problem areas that Satan and his dark forces are behind. Forgive me Lord of any unconfessed sin in my life – wash me clean so that there isn’t anything hindering sweet fellowship with you. Open my eyes to see any attitudes, actions, emotions that I have towards my husband that doesn’t bring you glory. As you reveal these things to me Lord, give me a humble heart to know that you are showing me these things in love. Remind my heart that you truly know what is best for me and whatever I’m doing or my husband is doing that is giving Satan a foothold in our marriage, please give me and him eyes to see it and a soft and humble heart to surrender everything to you. I know the chisel of change may be uncomfortable, but I trust You as the Master artist and author to know you have my best at heart. Strengthen the weak areas and help me to love the way you love. Help me to take what you show me and give me action steps to walk this out in my daily life. In Jesus name, Amen.
Reflect:
Out of the ten strategies listed previously (Click here for a quick reference), where do you think the enemy is attacking you and your spouse the most?
Here are some questions to get you thinking:
Where and when do you feel the most unrest with your spouse? What do you feel is your #1 issue right now?
When you have fights or disagreements, what topic do you argue about the most? Why?
What struggles do you have in your communication with each other?
What topic or hotspot causes divisions between the two of you?
What outside influences (things or people) cause conflict?
Have you noticed certain attitudes/emotions you are feeling towards your spouse?
In the coming weeks, we will take our written prayers and answers that God revealed about the enemy’s activity in our marriage and we will learn how to apply each piece of armor to it. Stay tuned!