The BattlePrøve

The Sword of the Spirit By Amy Cook The sword of the Spirit—the Word of God—is your core weapon for defeating the enemy. You use all the other pieces of armor to help you survive the attacks of the enemy, but the sword of the Spirit is the only weapon you need to make Satan flee. This sword isn’t a physical weapon you wield in your hand; it’s one the Spirit wields through your mouth. The Bible clearly states that all Scripture is God-breathed and anointed by the power of the Holy Spirit’s breath (2 Timothy 3:16). When you speak God’s words aloud, they give life and accomplish exactly what He sends them to do (Isaiah 55:10–11). The power isn’t in your voice; it’s in the Spirit’s anointing upon God’s Word spoken in faith. Jesus said, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life” (John 6:63, NIV). When you understand this, you’re able to speak God’s Word in faith and see results, because your focus is on the power of His Word instead of the weakness of your flesh. A careful look at Ephesians 6:10–18 reveals that every piece of spiritual armor, including the sword of the Spirit, is intended to be used within the context of prayer. Speaking God’s Word in faith energizes your prayers with power. Hebrews 4:12 (KJV) explains it well: “For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” God’s Word separates what’s coming from your spirit versus what’s coming from your soul, and it discerns between your thoughts and the true motives of your heart. The literal meaning of the word “sword” in these two passages is actually “knife or dagger.” The truth of God’s Word is like a powerful surgical knife that helps you extract the heart of a matter from all of its surrounding details and centers your prayer around God’s wisdom so that you can see His results. Like a laser used for eye surgery, the light of God’s Word pierces through any tissue obstructing your spiritual eyes and brings a sharper, clearer vision to your prayers (Psalm 119:130). When your prayers are Spirit-led instead of soul-driven, you gain a tremendous advantage in overcoming the enemy. The more you know God’s Word, the greater your results will be. When Satan misquoted God’s Word in an effort to ensnare Jesus in a trap, Jesus used the sword of the Spirit to resist Satan’s deceptions and make him flee. Jesus knew that God’s Word wasn’t merely a bunch of words written on the pages of a book. He was able to discern the intent of God’s words, because He knew God’s heart. Jesus’ life illustrated the truth that the ultimate purpose for knowing the Word of God is to know God Himself. > And take … the sword that the Spirit wields, which is the Word of God. ### Memory Verse And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. Revelation 12:11