The war is raging. I’m not talking about the US involvement in Iraq - although the peace in Baghdad has been replaced with increased violence. I’m talking about a spiritual war. The spiritual war rages on. To see it, we have to look at the events of our times through the lens of the Holy Scripture.

Ephesians 6 tells us that we are in a war. We are battling the rulers of darkness. But, we do not have to fall – instead, these Scriptures record the keys to success. As Christians, we can defeat the adversary and stand against his attacks by putting on the whole armor of God.

I find that is where we mess up. Sometimes, we run out to attack the enemy with no battle gear. The result? We come back wounded. Sometimes, we run out to do battle with only one piece or two pieces of our battle gear on. The result? We come back wounded in the area we neglected to protect. So, you see where I am going.

God has provided for us everything that we need to stand against the fiery darts of our adversary. We have access to everything. But, we have to put it on. The war is a certainty. Our putting on our proper gear so that we are prepared is not guaranteed. We have to do better. We have to be the example for this sin-obsessed world.

When we put on the whole armor of God, we are able to stand. We are able to accurately use the sword – which is the Word of God and we are able to pray confidently knowing that the battle has already been won.

This is indeed a praying time. One has only to watch television to come to this conclusion. It is my prayer that as this war rages, that we, as Christians, will come to the place where we never leave home without our spiritual battle gear.