When you sang, "I'm in the Lord's Army," did the
words ring applicable to you?
According to definition, an army is a fighting force. And,
like Ron Hutchcraft wrote, "If you know Christ, you are in His army."
In fact, John makes a point of this in Revelation 17:14,
where he writes the angel's words, "These [God's enemies] will make war
with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and
King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.” If
you are His, you are one of those with Him.
The word Jesus used in the Book of Revelation often
translated overcome is the Greek word nikaō,
which means to conquer… to conquer. There is something required of anyone who
desires to conquer. Conquerors fight! Conquering only happens as a result of
war, of battle.
An Open Doors International worker said, “…the battle is
real but also…victory only belongs to those who participate. So often I hear
Christians say ‘we are more than conquerors!’ You can only say that if you are
part of the battle.”
And the truth is, we either conquer or we are conquered, we either
pursue or are being pursued. That is the kind of enemy we have. That is the kind of enemy our children have!
Tony Evans wrote, "Doing battle with Satan requires
more than a dose of will power. All warfare requires weaponry. Spiritual warfare
requires spiritual weaponry."
That is what David knew. When David faced an enemy, it
wasn't through his own weapons he expected victory. It wasn't with the stones
and the sling he expected to beat Goliath. It was with the name of the Lord of hosts. Jim Cymbala wrote, "That was David’s
whole posture, his instinct, and especially his approach to warfare. It doesn’t
matter what the Philistine armies have. If we call out to God, He will give us
the victory."
Lisa and John Bevere in their book, "Girls with Swords,"
wrote—"I believe God has awakened His daughters to be more than soldiers.
He is calling us to be warriors."
Praying moms, being intercessors, we are, as Os Hillman
wrote, "the front-line warriors raised up to do battle for the saints."
That is because "intercessory prayer is the secret weapon of Spirit-led
activity."
Intercessors are the victorious warriors in the work of the
Kingdom, which is the spreading of the Gospel—God's
good news of salvation—to all people. You are the
offensive army on the battlefield over the "land" of the next
generation. You participate action by action, pushing back the enemy until
triumph occurs. That's who you and I are!
We need to wake up and switch into war mode. As Christ's
own, the purity and fire of His love should motivate us to action. This is love-motivated warfare.
Linda Mealiff, the Moms in Prayer Kansas State Coordinator,
wrote, "How do you want to be remembered by your children? … for being
kind or loving, supportive, involved, accessible, fun or wise. I aspire to be
all those things, but I’ve come to believe that THE most loving thing I can do
for my children and grandchildren is to pray for them. I want to be known as a
praying mom. I’m not talking about “God bless Jimmy” prayers. I’m talking about
intense intercession for salvation
and godly character and specific areas of weakness that Satan is
attacking. I’m talking about getting into “war mode,” which even the sweetest
mama is capable of when her child is being threatened or assaulted."
This is love-motivated warfare AND peace-motivated warfare.
Paul said in Romans 16:20 that it is the God
of peace who will crush Satan under our feet. Peace will only come through
conquering evil. So, as warriors of the Kingdom we need to stay ready! We've
been called to join our Lord in the battle of intercession with authority, His
authority. We must follow Him into the fight! We must follow His example and
speak "It is written" over our enemy on behalf of our children.
I think of Joshua standing overlooking Jericho. Moses was
gone. Perhaps he was thinking of all that had gone before. And now… But when Joshua looked up, he saw the
Commander of the Army of the Lord with His sword drawn.
Listen to Deuteronomy 20:1-4, Moses' words to Joshua and the
Israelites.
When you go out to battle against your
enemies, and see horses and chariots and
people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God is with you,
who brought you up from the land of Egypt. So it shall be, when you are on the
verge of battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people. And he
shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with
your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble
or be terrified because of them; for the Lord your God is He who goes with you,
to fight for you against your enemies, to
save you.’
Sing it, prayer warrior—"I'm in the Lord's Army…"
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