As the people of God, we need to understand correctly what the spiritual warfare according to Ephesians 6:12 i.c.w. Ecclesiastes 4:12 means. This is a time and a season, which is about spiritual warfare, eventually even more than it was in other times, as there is war in the spiritual realm.
Ephesians 6:12:
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Ecclesiastes 4:12:
12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
The Meaning of the Term ‘Spiritual Warfare’?
=> It is the term to describe conflict, immaterial harm and attacks that take place and emanate from and in the invisible realm of creation.
The statement of Jesus, which He made to His disciples by telling them that He gave them authority over all power of the enemy, includes spiritual warfare that takes place on three levels:
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basic level => the casting out of demons
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occult level => organized demonic units
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strategic level => confrontation of principalities and powers (cf. Luke 10:19 i.c.w. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5; Ephesians 6:12-13)
Spiritual warfare is centered on the invisible beings of God who fight with the help of the prayers of His saints, who are part of the body of Christ on earth (cf. Daniel 10:20-21).
The prayers of believers of the new creation, as well as resistance, envy, internal struggles in the kingdom, and carnal resistance can also awaken spiritual warfare in the invisible world. <= (The text set in ‘=>’ is based on the explanation of the term ‘spiritual warfare’ from the ‘Prophet’s Dictionary’ by Paula A. Price, Ph. D.; page 537)
It is important to know what kind of power we are currently dealing with as opponents in the spiritual realm. One of the opponents we are currently facing as the people of God is the spirit of deceit, fear and intimidation to prevent us from 1. breathing in the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of truth, and 2. speaking the truth mixed with power of revelation.
Based on Ecclesiastes 4:12, the basic principle of unity in spiritual warfare is revealed to us, which must be understood correctly. This unity carries the presence of Christ Jesus Himself (cf. Matthew 18:20).
Matthew 18:20:
“… 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
It is the plan of the adversary to pull us as the people of God out of our governing position of royal priesthood in Christ, so that we are prevented from establishing the righteousness of God on earth through our righteous acts (cf. Revelation 19:8).
Revelation 19:8:
8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)
In this context, apostolic warfare is needed, which includes the decree of righteous judgments that help to ensure that governmental structures supporting an agenda of darkness get consumed by the power of the ‘worms’ so that those who are trapped in them will know the truth or, if they resist, will be prevented from acting by the power of God (cf. Acts 12:21-23).
Acts 12:21-23:
21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people.
22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.”
23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
Apostolic Warfare
=> Apostolic warfare means that the impact of an apostle as a stratospheric minister is mostly felt on the spiritual plane. The density of his spiritual aggression is directed in the heavenly sphere. Paul's exhortation to Timothy to wage war with his received prophecies is explained with the Greek term ‘strateia’ or warfare as it is conducted by apostles (cf. 2 Corinthians 10:4; 1 Timothy 1:18). <= (The text set in ‘=>’ is based on the explanation of the term ‘apostolic warfare’ from the ‘Prophet’s Dictionary’ by Paula A. Price, Ph. D.; page 61 and 62)
In connection with this, apostolic praise as well as the application of the Word of God through the decrees of biblical passages is of great importance (cf. Psalm 149:6-9).
Psalm 149:6-9:
6 May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands (cf. Ephesians 6:17 i.c.w. Hebrews 4:12), 7 to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, 8 to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, 9 to carry out the sentence written against them – this is the glory of all his faithful people. Praise the Lord.
Apostolic Worship
=> Apostolic praise is worship that supports the government of God while God is enthroned on the praise of His people. It is worship that brings us into the process of the Lord's government on earth, just as it says: ‘Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ (cf. Matthew 6:10)
Apostolic praise means that worshippers give themselves to the purposes of God in their worship, which means that the Bride of Christ joins the invitation of her Bridegroom, who is also King, when He invites her to come with Him into His Kingdom (cf. Song of Songs 2:10.13). This is the moment when the Bridegroom enters into His apostolic function.
The King's apostolic call to go with Him implies that the worshippers should come to an understanding of how they can support His apostolic function in their worship. Worship should not be limited by tradition, culture or personal imagination.
The purpose of apostolic worship is not to remove the place of passionate and intimate worship, but to follow Him as king into His kingdom from the intimate relationship with Jesus Christ as Bridegroom, which enables worshippers to release His apostolic decrees on earth from the governmental perspective of Jesus.
Apostolic praise brings all aspects of worship to full expression. <= (The text set in ‘=>’ is based on an explanation of the term ‘apostolic worship’ from the book ‘Worship as it is in Heaven’ by Chuck D. Pierce & John Dickson; page 25)
We find a principle of apostolic praise in Exodus 17:8-16, where the people of Israel had to face the battle against Amalek.
Exodus 17:8-16:
8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.
9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”
10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill.
11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.
12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up – one on one side, one on the other – so that his hands remained steady till sunset.
13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.”
15 Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner.
16 He said, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord, the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.”
Here Moses decided to go as ‘Shaliach’ (note: type of apostle in the Tenakh, Hebrew Bible) with Aaron and Hur to a high place, in order to transmit from there apostolic strategy to the people of Israel, who were in battle in the valley under the leadership of Joshua.
The strategy included the revelation of the structure of ‘apostolic worship’ and staying in the government of Christ Jesus (note: Moses had raised his hands and sat on a stone; cf. 1 Peter 2:6-10).
This apostolic revelation contributed to the fact that the Lord made Himself known to the people of Israel as YAHWEH-NISSI (note: ‘The Lord your banner of victory’) before the eyes of the enemies.
This principle is also evident in the scriptures from 1 Corinthians 16:17-18, which emphasizes the importance of the necessary apostolic alignment in the form of apostolic activity in the right place with the right saints, resulting in strength for leaders in the body of Christ and for the people of God.
1 Corinthians 16:17-18:
17 I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you.
This apostolic revelation contributed to the fact that the Lord made Himself known to the people of Israel as YAHWEH-NISSI (note: ‘The Lord your banner of victory’) before the eyes of the enemies.
This principle is also evident in the scriptures from 1 Corinthians 16:17-18, which emphasizes the importance of the necessary apostolic alignment in the form of apostolic activity in the right place with the right saints, resulting in strength for leaders in the body of Christ and for the people of God.
1 Corinthians 16:17-18:
17 I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you.
18 For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition.
These verses reveal that it is about the presence of the governmental rule of God (note: Stephanas), His grace (note: Fortunatus) as well as spiritual birthing in the form of travailing prayer (note: Achaicus), which is connected with pain, so that God's plan or His high counsel can establish itself on earth.
These verses reveal that it is about the presence of the governmental rule of God (note: Stephanas), His grace (note: Fortunatus) as well as spiritual birthing in the form of travailing prayer (note: Achaicus), which is connected with pain, so that God's plan or His high counsel can establish itself on earth.
Spiritual Travailing
=> Travailing prophecy or spiritual travailing is the spiritual opposite to a natural birthing of life coming into the world. It applies to the prophetic because of its similarity of seed in regard to the natural process. For the word of God is life. The prophet or prophetic vessel is pregnant with the word of God in the spirit and can have experiences similar to that of a pregnant woman.
When the word of God as the seed has matured over time in the prophetic vessel, it is birthed forth in the spirit. This can become apparent through spiritual contractions.
The prophet Jeremiah spoke of such an event during a time of prophesying (cf. 1 Kings 18:42; Isaiah 21:3; Isaiah 26:17-18; Isaiah 37:3; Isaiah 66:7-9; Hosea 13:12-13; Romans 8:26-27; Hebrews 5:7; John 11:33 = The Greek word for ‚sigh‘ means ‘embrimaomai/ enebrimésato, derived from enebrimaomai’, which is explained as follows: ‘to snort in rage, like horses; a hard, loud sound caused by the hard intake of breath through the nostrils’). <= (note: analogously quoted from the book ‘The Prophet’s Dictionary’by Paula A. Price, PhD.; page 95)
Birth Pangs
=> Barbara Yoder, an apostolic leader, defines ‘birth pangs’ as follows:
Birth pangs are a special type of prayer that is both powerful and warlike (cf. Isaiah 66:7-9 I.c.w. Isaiah 42:12-14). A person who enters such a phase will experience it as a heaviness, a weight, a burden, a deep concern or anxiety over a situation that he or she cannot shake off. Sometimes this extends over weeks and months, especially when a person receives the burden from God for a nation.
‘Contractions’ are defined as a state of childbirth, powerlessness, exhaustion, agony and distress. In Latin the word also stands for an instrument of torture consisting of three stakes to which a person was tied. Birth pangs mean suffering, sorrow, distress, intense pain and agony, complaint, plague, toil.
In other words, it is not a pleasant experience. Very often at the beginning, people interpret ‘travailing prayer’ as emotional and check themselves because they think they are wrong. But it is not a feeling, it is the burden of the Lord, the voice of the Lord, which comes to a person as a burden to bring him into a partnership with the Lord, in order to cause something to be born or to fight through.
The Release of Birth Pangs
The only way ‘contractions’ are released is through prayer.
The person who is seized by spiritual contractions will feel weighed down by burdens and discomfort until he or she receives relief through prayer. During labor pains, the affected person often experiences a ‘Romans 8:22-26 time’.
Romans 8:22-26:
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
Birth pangs are a special type of prayer that is both powerful and warlike (cf. Isaiah 66:7-9 I.c.w. Isaiah 42:12-14). A person who enters such a phase will experience it as a heaviness, a weight, a burden, a deep concern or anxiety over a situation that he or she cannot shake off. Sometimes this extends over weeks and months, especially when a person receives the burden from God for a nation.
‘Contractions’ are defined as a state of childbirth, powerlessness, exhaustion, agony and distress. In Latin the word also stands for an instrument of torture consisting of three stakes to which a person was tied. Birth pangs mean suffering, sorrow, distress, intense pain and agony, complaint, plague, toil.
In other words, it is not a pleasant experience. Very often at the beginning, people interpret ‘travailing prayer’ as emotional and check themselves because they think they are wrong. But it is not a feeling, it is the burden of the Lord, the voice of the Lord, which comes to a person as a burden to bring him into a partnership with the Lord, in order to cause something to be born or to fight through.
The Release of Birth Pangs
The only way ‘contractions’ are released is through prayer.
The person who is seized by spiritual contractions will feel weighed down by burdens and discomfort until he or she receives relief through prayer. During labor pains, the affected person often experiences a ‘Romans 8:22-26 time’.
Romans 8:22-26:
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.
24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?
25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
It is the Holy Spirit who knows how to pray under this particular burden.
When the person starts to pray, the Holy Spirit takes over and starts to press in and through him with a sigh that cannot be expressed in our language. <= (The text set in ‘=>’ is based on an explanation about the term ‘travailing prayer’ from the book: ‘Prayers That Outwit The Enemy!’ by Chuck D. Pierce & Rebecca Wagner Sytsema; ISBN-10: 0800796969.)
In order to overcome our present adversaries, whom we as the people of God are confronted with, such as the spirit of lies, fear and intimidation, we need our understanding of the greater context of the church of Christ as the bride who is at the side of a king.
Our devotion, which we show by centering ourselves in the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Truth, helps us to move forward in the strategy revealed by Him (note: to breathe) and in prayer to set God's thoughts free in decrees as well as to reach others with the message of salvation (note: to speak the truth connected with the power of revelation freely).
Amen and Amen.
In His Wisdom,
Daniel Glimm
