The Armor of Elohim
An introduction to spiritual warfare
Whose Strength?
Ephesians 6:10
Finally brethren, be strong in our Adonai, and in the strength of His might.
Any attempt to build His Kingdom, or any attempt to walk in the strength of one’s own might, will only lead one away from having a share in the Olam Haba. Building anything in our own strength is not building His Kingdom! It is either building one’s own little meager empire or perhaps another human’s; but the bottom line is that it cannot stand, as anything built only by human endeavor is destined for destruction.
Furthermore, we cannot have even the slightest bit of hope of overcoming the enemy with anything that we possess in the flesh or soul of our beings. We must subjugate our fleshly bodies to His will and bring into subjection all our desires, thoughts, and emotions, to the movement of His Spirit. We must be filled with His Spirit to accomplish that which He has called us to do.
Please consider this passage.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 8:17
“Otherwise you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth.’”
YHWH warned us before He brought us into the land which He promised to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya’aqov, that we need to keep squarely in our minds at all times, that it is not by our own strength or power that we have taken control of the promised land.
A good example of what it means to walk in the strength of His might is Yehoshua (Joshua).
Yehoshua (Joshua) 1:7-8
7 “Only be strong and very courageous, to observe to do according to all the Torah, which Moshe my servant commanded you; turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success where ever you go.
8 This book of the Torah shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate thereon day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success.”
YHWH tells Yehoshua quite literally, that his strength and success is directly linked to his keeping and obeying all of Torah! Herein lies the true understanding of this entire passage of Scripture concerning the armor of Elohim. If we do not understand this elemental point, then we need not attempt to continue until we have a solid grasp of this truth! Obeying Torah is what gives us spiritual power!
If a person is not walking in all the light that YHWH has given to him, then he should make no attempt to confront the enemy, for he will be defeated! This is as sure as Yehoshua and the army of Israel was defeated at Ai because of sin in the camp. YHWH our Elohim will not extend His favor to us when we are walking behind light (walking in sin).
Zecharyah (Zechariah) 4:6
Then He answered and spoke to me, saying, “This is the word of YHWH to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says YHWH Tzava’ot.”
Here is yet another example in which YHWH is admonishing one of His people to walk in the strength of His might and not his own strength. Scripture is filled with many such examples. But, the reason that each of these great men of faith was able to accomplish the great acts of faith that they did, is because they did not do them in their own strength and power.
I have been in the ministry a very long time, and I can tell you that most church buildings are full of people walking in the strength of their own might. Of course, in most of those cases they would vehemently deny such a claim. But most of the people in churches today are not walking in the power of the Spirit (walking in loving obedience to YHWH, keeping His Torah).
Timothy Bet (2nd Timothy) 3:5
Wearing a form of Elohimness, but having denied the power thereof; from these also turn away.
The power of Elohim lies in the ability to take a broken and discarded life and transform it into something useful for His Kingdom. This is done from the inside out! But make no mistake about it; a true transformation on the inside will result in a transformed life on the outside for all to see. The struggle for each one of us is to be able to determine what we are seeing: is this person walking in the power and might of YHWH; or is that person walking in his own power? Only His Spirit can show us the truth. Sometimes this truth takes time to be manifested. But it will be manifested in some way!
The Whole Armor
Ephesians 6:11
Put on the whole armor of the Elohim, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Why should we put on armor in the first place?
Shemot (Exodus) 13:17
And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that Elohim led them not by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for Elohim said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war, and they return to Egypt.”
Please note that it is not a matter of “if” we see war; but rather, it is “when” we see war. There are two kingdoms locked in combat for domination of this planet. One side is destined to win and one side is destined to lose. Everyone is a player and there are no spectators. The default side is the side that will ultimately lose. In order to be on the winning side, YHWH’s side, one must willfully and with intent of heart and mind choose to be a part of His Kingdom through the acceptance of Yeshua as Mashiach. Once that choice is made, then training commences in which the “recruit” undergoes basic training. However, for the most part this training is sadly rather haphazard. Sometimes it occurs with purpose, but most of the time it doesn’t occur at all. The result is an ill-trained and ill-equipped army.
Shaul admonishes us to be fully equipped before we enter into the fray. When a country goes to war, it would surely lose the war if it sent its soldiers into war without the proper equipment, weapons, and supplies. Likewise, a person has no business entering into the battle until and unless, he has been fully equipped with all of the armor and weapons which YHWH makes available.
We find a similar admonition in Yeshayah.
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 59:17
And he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a mantle.
This passage seems to be speaking of how Mashiach will clothe Himself before He returns to Tzion. But it seems that, at least somewhat, Shaul is telling us that these same implements of war are also available to each one of us. This very strong implication in verse eleven above, is that, without being properly clothed, one cannot, and will not, be able to resist the attacks of the evil one. This seems to be one of those major causes of why so many live a defeated life, rather than living in the victory that Yeshua our Mashiach has already won.
Yehudah (Jude) 1:9
But Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moshe, did not bring against him a railing judgment, but said, “YHWH rebuke you.”
The strongest defense and the strongest offense that we have access to, is the name of YHWH. When we rebuke the enemy in the name of YHWH, he has no choice but to flee. May we learn this truth and learn it well for what is coming in the days ahead.
Without the whole armor being donned, we will be exposing ourselves to a point of attack from the enemy, and will eventually succumb to that area in which we are lacking. The war that wages around us is mostly unseen; however, there are times in which the spiritual battle breaks through from that realm into the physical realm in which we live. When that happens, people generally die. It is a fierce battle.
Wrestling
Ephesians 6:12
For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
When Elohim created all that we know, He created it with order. When haSatan fell and swept a third of the malakim with him, there was still order amongst them. Even today, there are ranks and a chain of command amongst the dark forces of the evil one. For most of those who do battle in this realm, they will never face haSatan himself, but most likely only the lower level demons and imps. We have nothing to fear from any of these harbingers of darkness and despair, for Yeshua our Mashiach has already won the victory, if we will but walk in its fullness!
Qorintyah Bet (2nd Corinthians) 10:3-5
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh 4 (for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before Elohim to the casting down of strongholds), 5 casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of the Elohim, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Mashiach;
Let me make a very bold statement and then we will discuss it.
No human is ever the enemy!
There are some people who mistakenly take the position that we are their enemy, but they are sadly mistaken. Even those who kill and slaughter thousands are not really our enemy. Even if they successfully kill thousands of our brethren, or even us, YHWH forbid, our war is not against them! Many people fall into the hands of the enemy, haSatan, in which he is all too pleased to be able to use such as those to do his evil bidding, but they are merely pawns being used by the evil one and then discarded upon the scrapheap of life.
Matithyah (Matthew) 5:44
“but I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you;”
We need to learn how to see as He sees, rather than looking at things only with our physical eyes. The physical eyes can only see what is in front of them, nothing more. But there is so much more to see, if we would just look by faith.
Yehudah (Jude) 1:23
and some save, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
Unless we can love those who persecute us, then what hope do we have of turning them away from the darkness? What hope would there be of snatching them out of the fires of condemnation? It is not an easy task to love those who are presently hurting you! But we are commanded to love them. Can we do this in the flesh, or in our own strength or understanding? Not a chance! The only way we can do this, is by living His Torah in our hearts. That is where it starts! Anything less is going to get us less than what we desire: a portion in the Olam Haba.
Romans 8:26-27
26 And in like manner the Spirit also helps our infirmity; for we do not know how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered;
27 and He that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because He makes intercession for the set-apart ones according to the will of Elohim.
Here Shaul speaks about wrestling in the Spirit. When one goes into this type of intercession there are often no words to describe what is in our spirit. But YHWH knows! The Spirit of YHWH knows full well, and is present and active in the intercession, on our behalf, and on behalf of all, for whom we are interceding at that moment.
It is my learned opinion, that when we learn how to do this as a nation, there will be much less (if any) works of the flesh present in His body! May it be soon and in our day!
There is one other aspect of wrestling that we should address here as well. When our father Ya’aqov wrestled in the night watch, he wrestled with the Malak YHWH. We should not understand this as the enemy.
B’reshit (Genesis) 32:24
And Ya’aqov was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
It was at this time that YHWH added the name “Yisrael” to Ya’aqov’s name. This was done because Ya’aqov wrestled with Elohim and man and has overcome. There are times in our lives when we will need to wrestle with Elohim through the night watch. These are not so much in an adversarial way, but rather they are times of strengthening and purifying of one’s character. These are some very important times, and quite likely these times are life-determining in nature and scope. It is not unusual for such times to reveal one’s true character. In the case of Ya’aqov, his true character was revealed, and as a result, YHWH changed his name.
There will be times in our lives when we are so troubled in our spirits about something, that we need to get alone with YHWH, and struggle through all those things that stand between us to the point that it is only He and I, and lay aside all those things that rise up against the will of YHWH our Elohim, and get to that place of complete consecration of His will in our lives, regardless of the personal cost.
Stand!
Ephesians 6:13
Wherefore take up the whole armor of the Elohim, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand.
We are to put on the whole armor of Elohim. We are not to leave any of it off! It is only in this way that we may be able to resist the evil one and be victorious in our daily living. But the wording of this verse is interesting. We are admonished to do everything that we can; but then the Ruach, through the pen of Shaul, admonishes, that once we have done everything to stand, we are, in fact, to stand. YHWH knows us humans so well, He knows we get busy with all the preparations, and doing this or that in the hustle and bustle of life, and sometimes we just simply forget to stand!
Ya’aqov (James) 4:7
Be subject therefore to Elohim; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
I have seen people go to seminars for one thing or another on how to live victoriously, or how to put on the whole armor of Elohim. The only problem is as soon as they get home, they forget. Here they are walking around in all this nice shiny armor in their own home. Now I ask you, was armor meant to be worn at home? No, of course it wasn’t. It was meant to be worn in battle. That means we put it on and learn how to use it and then we go to the battlefield.
Wearing armor at home would be like making a beautiful and delicious meal and calling everyone in the household to the table, praying and giving thanks for all the wonderful food and passing it around and smelling it and perhaps even filling each plate with all that wonderful food, but then not eating it. Instead, everyone would just sit there smelling it and talking about it. What good does that do? None!
We actually need to resist the devil. We need to resist temptation! Whoa, you mean put forth effort? Yes, that is it exactly! We need to stop playing around with living a victorious life and do it! And we need to do it today!
Shemot (Exodus) 14:13
And Moshe said to the people, “Fear not, stand still, and see the salvation of YHWH, which He will work for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall see them again no more forever.”
There are some battles that we need to be engaged in. There are others in which we just need to stand our ground and allow YHWH to do the battling for us. How do we tell the difference? Actually, there is no difference. Either way, it all comes down to hearing and obeying His Voice. Whether we stand still or move forward, it is by His word and His word alone.
Yochanan (John) 10:16
“And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear My Voice; and they shall become one flock, one shepherd.”
Here is a very good “two house” passage of Scripture. The main thing in this passage for us today is His sheep are to hear His Voice. It is the hearing of His Voice that ensures our victory. When we live, walk, and breathe only at His bidding, we cannot, and will not, fail! When we take the time to stop and listen at all times, it will actually be shorter than rushing headlong and beating our heads against the stone challenges and rock hard difficulties that life so frequently places in our paths.
Truth and Righteousness
Ephesians 6:14
Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
The first article of clothing one is to dress himself in is His truth. We are admonished to wear it in like manner as one does a belt. A belt can do many things. It can hold a weapon. A belt can hold up our pants, so we don’t get caught with our pants down, which would not be good! A belt can hold a money pouch. Belts are very useful and can be used for many other purposes as well. For example, if one is injured, one can use it to help stop or control the bleeding. Truth is equally as versatile.
Tehillim (Psalm) 25:10
All the paths of YHWH are lovingkindness and truth
Unto such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.
His truth guides us in the proper path to walk. With His truth girded on, we can walk the correct path without stumbling. But we must love the truth and be willing to pay the price to attain it.
Tehillim (Psalm) 25:5
Guide me in Your truth, and teach me;
For You are the Elohim of my salvation;
For You do I wait all the day.
Do we really wait upon YHWH? Or, do we just give this lip service. Let’s face reality here: we are all very busy and we are getting busier all the time. And the busier that we get, the more important it becomes for us to walk in His Spirit at all times. What good is it going to do if we rush around all day, day after day, getting those things done in the flesh? The only way to properly prioritize our lives is to be able to hear and obey His Voice day by day, and moment by moment.
I wonder how true that passage is in all our lives. Do we really wait for YHWH before we move? Or, do we just rush to and fro like the heathen?
We need to slow down and be more in tune with His Spirit. Stop! Take a deep breath. Obey His Voice. Proceed, only after these other three things have been properly taken care of.
Next, we are admonished to put on a breastplate of righteousness.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 6:25
And it shall be righteousness to us, if we observe to do all this commandment before YHWH our Elohim, as He has commanded us.
Proper armor will consist of proper obedience to His commandments. If a person is not obedient to His commandments, then that person will not be able to put on a breastplate of righteousness. Anything less than full obedience will result in the armor wearer being deceived into believing that he is wearing a good piece of armor, when in fact He is naked and exposed.
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 64:6
All of us are like someone unclean, all our righteous deeds like menstrual rags; we wither, all of us, like leaves; and our misdeeds blow us away like the wind.
We need to make sure that we are putting on His garments and His righteousness. Our own garments are no better than the blood soaked rags of a woman’s monthly cycle. They do us no good at all!
Shalom
Ephesians 6:15
and having shod your feet with the preparation of the besorah of peace;
What’s on your feet? Perhaps you have never given it much thought. Let us give ourselves another verse to contrast the above verse in Ephesians with.
Mishle (Proverbs) 6:18
A heart that devises wicked purposes,
Feet that are swift in running to mischief,
There are two types of feet available to us. We can have feet that are quick to cause mischief between brothers. You know the type; this type of feet always knows the latest gossip about anybody and everybody. Furthermore, these types of feet can hardly wait to get to the next stop, so that they can “share” their newest tidbit of information. Oh, I almost forgot, these people are not gossiping, they are “sharing prayer requests.” Now there might be people who might believe this; but YHWH knows the heart and how deceitful it is above all things!
The other type of feet is those who bear peace and shalom between brethren.
Matithyah (Matthew) 5:9
“Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called sons of Elohim.”
What are you wearing on your feet? Is it time for you to change shoes? YHWH knows!
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 52:7
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, proclaiming shalom, bringing good news of good things, announcing salvation and saying to Tziyon, "Your Elohim is King!"
Faith
Ephesians 6:16
in addition to all that,taking up the shield of faith, with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one.
The Hebrew word for “faith” is “emun” or “emunah” depending on the usage. It simply means to support that which is established. All the words that come out of one’s mouth are establishing and supporting that which is in one’s heart. Some people are quick to believe the worst of anyone or any situation. This type of faith has little or no effect upon the fiery missiles the enemy launches in their direction. It is almost as if they have no shield at all to protect them.
However, the person who sees the hand of Elohim steadily at work in all things has a stout shield and a ready defense against the flaming darts of the enemy at all times.
B’reshit (Genesis) 15:1
After these things the word of YHWH came to Avram in a vision, saying, “Fear not, Avram; I am your shield, and your exceeding great reward.”
With YHWH as one’s shield, how could anything get through except that YHWH willed it so? With YHWH as one’s shield, we have nothing to fear in the least. The question is: do we trust YHWH?
Please note that this shield properly wielded is capable of extinguishing all the flaming missiles that the enemy can hurl. These missiles can come from any direction; i.e., they can be from one’s own family, they can be from non-believers, or they can be from those who are supposedly our brothers and sisters in the faith. This can be seen in the words of Mashiach spoken to haSatan when he was speaking through Kepha, but Kepha did not understand the significance of what he was saying to Yeshua our Mashiach at that time. Likewise, fellow talmidim also can be guilty of allowing haSatan to speak through them because they are not properly guarding their gates.
Ya’aqov (James) 2:17
Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead by itself.
Ya’aqov asks the question what good does it do to tell someone to go in shalom but he is sent away hungry with nothing to eat? It does no good at all. The person who uttered such nonsense has no faith or at the very least his faith is dead and useless. If our faith does not propel us into righteous action, then that person’s faith is useless.
The most effective shield against the attacks of the enemy is a daily life lived for YHWH. When we live His commandments each and every day of our lives, then He stands between us and the enemy, protecting us.
Tehillim (Psalm) 115:11
You that fear YHWH, trust in YHWH;
He is their help and their shield.
Notice the element of trust in the above passage. Trust, while not identical to faith, is very closely related to it. When our faith and trust are properly placed in YHWH, then He is our shield.
Tehillim (Psalm) 5:12
For You will bless the righteous;
YHWH, You will compass him with favor as with a shield.
Notice in this passage, that YHWH will bless the righteous with His favor, which serves to shield the righteous from the onslaughts of the enemy. We should point out, that the righteousness that is being referenced here, is not of our own making or doing. Rather, it is a righteousness based upon the work of YHWH in our life. When we choose to obey His commandments, He instills righteousness in us through these right actions. That is not to say that a person living right according to His Torah commandments earns his way into righteousness; rather, because YHWH brings us into a right relationship with Him through Mashiach, this frees him from the bondage of sin and allows him to choose properly to obey His commandments. Once this is done, then we can live in His constant protection.
Yochanan (John) 10:28
“and I give to them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.”
When YHWH is our shield by faith, then truly we are protected by the Protector Himself.
Salvation and the Sword
Ephesians 6:17
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of the Elohim;
I find it very interesting that in the attire that Shaul describes which we should put on, he includes a helmet. The Hebrew word is כובע (koba - which means high or rounded). This reminds us of the “caps” that YHWH commanded the priesthood to wear. This Hebrew word is מגבעה (migba’ah - which means hemispherical). The basic meaning of both of these pieces of headgear is the same; which should not surprise us since they are both worn upon the head and the meaning of each is describing the shape of the top of the head.
Remembering that what Shaul is describing for us are articles not to be used in a physical confrontation, but rather articles of spiritual warfare, it should not surprise us then, that perhaps what he is actually describing, is the clothing of the priests who stand before YHWH. YHWH was quite explicit in His description of what He commanded His priest to wear. One of those articles of clothing was a piece of headgear.
Vayyiqra (Leviticus) 8:13
And Moshe brought Aharon's sons, and clothed them with tunics, and girded them with girdles, and bound caps upon them; as YHWH commanded Moshe.
Another name that is commonly used to describe a male’s headcovering is the Hebrew word kippah (כפה), this comes from the root word כפר (kaphar), which means to cover or to protect. It is from this root word that the word Kippur comes from, which we all should recognize when coupled with the word day; i.e., “Yom Kippur” or “Day of Atonement.” Basically, to wear a kippah upon one’s head is to show that he is under the protection and atonement of YHWH. It is a sign of submission to His will rather than our own.
When a person is properly attired to do battle in the spiritual realm, then, he will have upon his head the helmet of salvation or a kippah, showing submission to the One in authority over Him. In Scriptural times, servants wore something upon their heads to show that they were, in fact, servants. Sovereign citizens of Rome typically did not wear a hat or headcovering. Since we desire to show submission to Him, we place this symbol of humility upon our heads for all to know that we serve the One true Master!
Now there may be those who object to the wearing of a male headcovering, saying that this is only symbolic and not literal. However, may I point out that each of these terms have both a symbolic meaning and a literal counterpart? For example, the breastplate of righteousness could easily be linked to the linen tunics that YHWH commanded Moshe to put upon Aharon and his sons. If we were only to understand the breastplate of righteousness as symbolic, then would you suggest that we should never wear a shirt? No, of course you wouldn’t. What we need to see is that Shaul is taking literal articles of clothing that the believer is already in the habit of wearing and placing additional spiritual significance and meaning to them. Thus, the helmet of salvation is a reference to the kippah, which by its very name indicates salvation. Can you not see the connection and the significance of this?
Up to this point, Shaul has dealt with only defensive articles. However, now he turns to the one offensive article, a sword. In this case the sword of the Spirit, which is hadavar YHWH (the word of YHWH).
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 33:29
Happy are you, Israel;
Who is like you, a people saved by YHWH,
The shield of Your help,
And the sword of Your Excellency!
And Your enemies shall submit themselves to You;
And You shall tread upon their high places.
It is at the word of YHWH that we live or we die. He is the Sovereign of the universe! We live and breathe only at His pleasure. His word is all powerful.
Ivrim (Hebrews) 4:12
For the word of Elohim is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.
If a person will take the time to saturate his life, mind, and heart with His word, then the Ruach has something to use when needed. When we take the time to sharpen our swords and keep them sharp, we can be properly used in the Master’s hand.
Romans 6:13
neither present your members to sin as weapons of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to Elohim, as alive from the dead, and your members as weapons of righteousness to Elohim.
Notice, that in this passage, we are to present ourselves to Elohim as a weapon. We can choose to be a weapon of unrighteousness or a weapon of righteousness. Those are the only two choices available. Obviously, each one would want to be a weapon of righteousness in His hand. It should also be obvious that we need to be as sharp as possible in order to be as effective as possible.
When we walk in the Spirit and use the sword of the Spirit according to His leading, it can be wielded with all the precision of a scalpel in the hand of a highly trained surgeon. The passage in Ivrim above indicates to us that His word is sharp enough to divide the soul and the spirit of our being. His word is the determining factor in one’s motives. Please carefully consider this question. Why are you doing what you are doing? It is by His word this question is properly answered! It is by His word one’s true motives come into the light of His truth. It is by His word all things are revealed as they truly are.
Prayer
Ephesians 6:18
with all prayer and supplication praying at all seasons in the Spirit, and watching therefore in all perseverance and supplication for all the set-apart ones,
Yeshua taught when we pray we are to enter into our secret place of prayer to come before the Father in heaven.
Matithyah (Matthew) 6:6
“But you, when you pray, enter into your inner chamber, and having shut the door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret shall reward you.”
Now here is the main thing that Shaul is getting at in this short discourse concerning the armor of Elohim: it is about intercessory prayer. This is where the battle rages most fiercely in the spiritual realm.
Let us consider one particular example from Scripture.
Daniel 10:12-13
12 Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel; for from the first day that you did set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your Elohim, your words were heard; and I have come for your words' sake.
13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me for twenty-one days; but, behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.”
This surely is quite a picture of the war that raged for those twenty-one days in getting the answer from the throne room to Daniel. Surely, Daniel struggled and wrestled and he prevailed in his prayers. This is what it truly means to be involved in spiritual warfare, to reach into heaven and grasp a hold of the horns of the heavenly altar and not let go until the answer is received. Notice that the answer was dispatched immediately upon the request being received. However, it took twenty-one days for the answer to arrive as the prince of Persia withstood the messenger from Elohim to Daniel.
There is nothing overly glorious about spiritual warfare. It is hard and oftentimes lonely work. Many times no one will ever know, this side of Eternity, the good that one does, in interceding for His people. Because of this, there are not a lot of true intercessors, those spiritual warriors who truly know and understand what it means to pray in the Spirit.
Yochanan (John) 10:27
“My sheep hear My Voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”
Perhaps one of the most important aspects of intercession is praying in the Spirit, praying only according to His will. May I be so bold as to suggest, that as a talmid of Yeshua, we never have any excuse for praying for anything outside of His will? Now, lest you think that too bold of a statement, let me show you why that is true.
Yochanan Aleph (1st John) 5:14-15
14 And this is the boldness which we have toward Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us;
15 and if we know that He hears us whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of Him.
But here is the problem with this whole passage of Scripture: laziness. What?! Yes, laziness; because it takes time and effort to actually find out what we should be praying for, before we pray it. The first step of intercession is frequently forgotten or skipped, that being, to ask YHWH what we should be praying.
Luqa (Luke) 11:1
And it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, that when He ceased, one of His disciples said to Him, “Adonenu, teach us to pray, even as Yochanan also taught his disciples.”
When we are asked to pray for someone or some situation, the first thing that we should do is to ask our heavenly Father what to pray for in regards to a person or situation. Then we should listen and wait upon Him for the answer. Once we receive an answer, then we are ready to proceed.
Once He has impressed upon us what we are to pray, then we know without any doubts that what we are praying for is His will. And when we know it is His will, for He is the one who directed us to pray in this fashion, then we know He hears us and we will receive what we have asked for. But this is all predicated upon that we are praying according to His will, which we can only do if we actually seek His face in any given matter!
Boldness
Ephesians 6:19
and on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in opening my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,
You know, we should all pray this more for each other! It is becoming more and more increasingly hostile to proclaim Yeshua in the open markets of this world. As this trend continues to increase, many people will cower in the shadows, afraid to speak His word to others in fear of reprisals by those in power.
Our safety is not the issue of paramount importance. What is important is our obedience to His Spirit. If we walk in obedience to His Spirit at all times, then YHWH will hold Himself responsible for whatever happens to us.
Matithyah (Matthew) 10:19
“But when they deliver you up, be not anxious how or what you shall speak; for it shall be given you in that hour what you shall speak.”
When we need unction it will be given to us! We do not need to be concerned about that.
Matithyah (Matthew) 10:28
“And be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gihennom.”
True boldness is born out of a proper respect and fear of one’s Creator. When we fear Him rather than man, then we will be able to deal with man in the fashion that YHWH leads us to without concern of what mankind could possibly do to us.
Ambassador
Ephesians 6:20
for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
I find this rather intriguing. Shaul was already under arrest for speaking and teaching in the name of Yeshua as Mashiach. Yet, he was still seeking intercessory prayer that he might have even more boldness. His freedom had already been taken away. The only thing left for those in authority to take away was his life. But we know that he had already counted that as lost.
Philippians 3:8
Yea verily, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Mashiach Yeshua my Master; for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but refuse, that I may gain Mashiach,
An ambassador is a person who goes on behalf of another, representing the other person and not himself. If we are going to properly represent Yeshua as our Mashiach, then we cannot be representing our own personal interests. We must be completely dead to any “self” agenda. If we are not, then we would be guilty of misrepresenting Mashiach and come under condemnation. But this is not what He has for us; rather what He has for us is life and that more abundantly. We cannot afford the life that He makes available to us; He is paying the bill as He is the one who has sent us.
As an ambassador of Mashiach, He has given us the authority to speak in His name. We have the power and authority to accomplish His will in this physical realm. It is upon this foundational principle that Shaul has taught upon this subject, that as intercessors, we are His ambassadors. But to be a proper ambassador, we need to be rock solid on what His will is that He desires to be accomplished in this world. If we do not know it, or we just kind of “shoot in the dark,” “guess and by-golly” style of representing Him, then we will be guilty of squandering His time and resources.
Luqa (Luke) 4:18-19
“The Spirit of YHWH is upon me,
Because He anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovering of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty them that are bruised,
To proclaim the acceptable year of YHWH.”
This is what Yeshua was sent to do (in part). Likewise, He has sent us out to do the same, in particular to set the captives free! If that is not good news, I don’t know what is.
Matithyah (Matthew) 10:8
“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons; freely you received, freely give.”
Mashiach has pardoned us in abundance! We are now called to go and do the same. Not that we are the ones pardoning anyone. Rather, we are delivering the message, as an ambassador of Mashiach to those in captivity, that there is freedom in His name. It is by His name that the captives are set free. It is by His name that the lame are made to walk again. It is by His name that the blind see again. It is only by His name that His Kingdom is built!
Spiritual warfare is about prayer. Spiritual armor is about being properly equipped when entering into our prayer closet to do battle to set the captives free. Spiritual warfare is hard work!
Ya’aqov (James) 5:16b
The effective prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much in its working.
Spiritual warfare is surrendering completely to His will and allowing His Spirit to have complete control over our existence. Spiritual warfare is about being in submission to Him.
ABBA YHWH, teach us to pray only according to Your will for each person and in each situation; in the name of Yeshua our Mashiach, Amein.
Shabbat Shalom
Zerubbabel ben Emunah
www.onetorahforall.com