Wrestle

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]

This scripture is "popular" in western Christianity. But we tend to focus on part A of Ephesians 12, what we should NOT wrestle against. But part B is all about what we SHOULD wrestle against. We are called to Wrestle against the Devil, we are called to Fight the enemy of our souls. Anyone who has been involved in wresting as a sport understands this as a fierce, 100% focused, 100% prepared, fight to win. That is what we are called to.

2nd Corinthians tells us how to fight:
2Cr 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
2Cr 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2Cr 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
2Cr 10:6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

We don't fight with guns or fists, we fight with spiritual disciples, which are much greater than physical weapons. Ephesians 6 goes on to tell us what our spiritual weapons are: Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Faith, Salvation, and our offensive weapon - Prayer. Most prayers I hear nowadays don't sound much like a weapon! Like a wrestler prepares for a match, we need to get fired up with Jesus Christ before we prayer. Holy fire needs to come out of our mouth when we pray so that we can tear down strongholds by the power of Jesus Christ coming through our words. We need to be able to say like Jesus said: My words are not my own, but every word I speak comes from my father. And like the prophet Jeremiah who said is not my word like fire that breaks rocks into pieces?

Our enemy is pillaging our families and our flocks, and we are not stopping him like we are called to do. We are supposed to fight, and we are supposed to win... not lose. We end up loosing most battles because we don't show up for the fight. We are busy doing other things. Busyness is our enemy. Warriors don't go into a battle expecting to win without being prepared. The Word, Fasting, Worship, Fellowship, Prayer ... these are our preparation. We need to turn away from those things that easily distract us.