There Will Be War by Janell Martin
June 30th, 2018
Have you ever seen the movie, "The War Room?” This 2015 faith based film focuses on the power of prayer. My favorite character in the film is Miss Clara. She is a woman of prayer, the kind of strategic prayer that brings down heaven and kicks the devil’s behind. Miss Clara spends hours talking with Elizabeth, a distraught women whose marriage is falling apart and who is struggling to forgive her unfaithful husband. The elderly Miss Clara gives her powerful and godly counsel.
Every time I watch this movie, these words from Miss Clara always ring true in my heart. She tells Elizabeth, "It's time to fight the real enemy. That enemy that is hidden. The devil who comes to kill, steal and destroy. It's time to fight for your marriage. But do your fighting in prayer." I get goose bumps, Holy Spirit ones, every time I watch the excerpt from this movie that contains these words. Why? Because these words are TRUTH! You see Satan wants to keep us from engaging in the real war--the war on our knees in prayer! He tries to convince us people are our enemy, pushing us to fight our husband, our teenager, our coworker, our church staff, our neighbor. Do you get the picture? The enemy of our soul, the adversary, wants us to fight flesh and blood when the Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:12 that "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."
In life there will be war. It is inevitable, and the Bible tells us to expect it. Right now in our world, physical wars are taking place. The Word of God even says in Matthew 24:6, "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come." There will also be spiritual wars, wars that don't result in physical combat, but fighting that takes place in the heavenly realms. Right now you may be experiencing war--war in your marriage, war over the heart of your child, war in your church or war in your workplace. There will be war!
I find myself in a war right now as I write this. The enemy is trying to steal my joy, kill my faith, and destroy someone I love. So many times I get angry and am tempted to fight the individual. I want to scream and yell, "Don't you see how you are being deceived and tricked? Don't you see how your choices are affecting you?” Then the Holy Spirit reminds me of Miss Clara. And I remember who the real enemy is and then make the choice to take the battle to prayer. It is in this season that the Lord has called me to fast as well. So when the enemy is out to get the ones we love, it's time to rise up and get in the game. It's time to fight and keep on fighting in prayer till the victory comes.
What war do you find yourself in? Are you fighting the wrong enemy? I want to encourage you to seek the Lord for your battle plan. It might include fasting. For sure, it will center on prayer. It might be posting up scriptures and confessions of faith to declare out loud every day — maybe many times a day — that your trust is in God. Be faithful to fight the fight the Lord calls you to. One of the many great things about our God is that we know He always wins, and since we are on His team, we win too! Don't lose hope or grow weary in well-doing, my dear sister. Whatever battle you find yourself in, you will come through it. Yes, there will be war, but you will have the victory!
Janell Martin
