God’s Spiritual Soldiers

In every age, God stationed intercessors on the very front lines to do battle against Satan’s principalities and powers. Today these spiritual soldiers can be found in every nation — and there is a reason they are called “prayer warriors.” Many who write to our ministry describe the intense spiritual warfare in their own lives.

A 91-year-old intercessor wrote the following: “I feel burned out, having served [the Lord for so long] with everything coming at me. I’m weak in body after years of suffering but I still have all the cares and trials of others constantly before me. . . Since I was four years old, I have loved and prayed for others. I’ve been an intercessor all these years. I take back the ground Satan tries to take from me by praying in the Spirit and I receive new strength.”

For an entire lifetime, this saint has taken seriously Jude’s exhortation: “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God” (Jude 20–21). The message to those in spiritual battle is clear: “Build yourself up in faith. Keep yourself in God’s love.” Note that Jude qualifies his words with an admonition to pray in the Holy Spirit.

It is utterly impossible to build ourselves up in faith through human strength or ability. Without the Holy Spirit, we are not able to keep ourselves in the knowledge and assurance of God’s love for us. We are absolutely no match for the powers of darkness! We cannot even take up the shield of faith to quench hell’s fiery darts by simply setting our minds to do so. We need God’s Spirit to empower us in all things.