War

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12).

I've read and memorized this verse and the verses surrounding it about the armor of God a lot in my life, but until this morning, I never thought about them in the context of war. If our struggle is not against flesh and blood, then our struggle is not against Muslim terrorists; it is against the spiritual forces working in and through those people. If that's the case, then us using human resources to defeat a spiritual enemy will not be effective, nor will it further the kingdom of God. Guns, bombs, and missiles will not defeat Satan's work there. Rather, God has given us two weapons with which to defeat the spiritual enemy that we're up against... "And take...the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak" (Eph. 6:17-20).

So, we have two weapons (which I'd have to say none of us are using to their full potential, me especially)--the word of God and prayer. If we really want to defeat this enemy (which we call Muslim extremists but is really spiritual evil forces), then we must be sharing the word of God with these people rather than killing them. We must be praying for them and with them. God, replace the military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan with your church. Replace the guns, bombs, and missiles with your word and prayer. Change our perspective on war, and use us as peacemakers that care more about your kingdom than our earthly rights and freedoms. That will lead to true victory.