Prayer is one of the most powerful ways we engage in “spiritual warfare”. But in order to be effective we must see the battle we’re engaged in correctly. With God’s help we can see and know what we’re truly up against. Human beings who bear God’s image and for whom Christ died are never our true enemies. Instead, our true enemy is what the Bible calls “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” These forces are sometimes embodied in “rulers,” “authorities,” “principalities,” and “powers.” Through prayer, the eyes of our hearts and minds can be opened to the spiritual reality that is mostly hidden from our five senses. We must also recognize that the battle has already been won by Jesus through his incarnation, ministry, teaching, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. The struggle we’re engaged in is “mopping-up operations.”

To resist the devil in this spiritual struggle, we submit ourselves to God. This means relinquishing our whole selves to God—but especially our fears. Ha-satan (“the satan”) is the “accuser” and “adversary.” If we allow ourselves to be filled with the spirit of accusation, our fears can be used to fuel scapegoating of groups or individuals. Our fears can lead to rage, violence, and war. But, if we submit our whole selves to God, the spirit of accusation is expelled from among us.

Jesus not only modeled perfect vision of the true spiritual battle, and perfect submission to God, he also modeled powerful spiritual warfare through his radical forgiveness and love of people caught up in the systems of oppression and injustice that are fueled by the powers and forces of evil. Therefore, he commanded his followers to pray for those who our true enemy would try to use to oppose us. We pray for those who know not what they are caught up in, and even those who persecute us. In this way, we are becoming more like Jesus and dropping “shalom bombs” on the kingdom of ha-satan.