The Kingdom of God Within: Understanding Spiritual Warfare

Based on Luke 17:20-25

The God of War

Our God is a God of war indeed as scripture tells us (Psalm 24, 144).  However, His secret weapons are stealth and silence.  In today’s Gospel Jesus warns us that we can’t see the slow steady overthrow of Satan and that God’s winning of the war will not be visible like an army of tanks rolling over the horizon.  He tells us that we won’t be able to even observe the signs of the coming of the Kingdom.  The question then is, why not?  Why won’t we be able to see the coming of the Kingdom?  Why won’t we be able to point to the signs?

Jesus gives us the answer and it is a hard one to accept.  Why will there be no way to point to the Kingdom of God as it approaches here or there?  “…for behold, the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you.“

The Battlefield

The battlefield is within.  The war rages upon the battlefield of our souls.  Our souls are either occupied by the Lord or the enemy, there is no unoccupied ground in this battle.  Our adversary does not sleep.  Happily, neither does our King.  He is ever at our side ready to lend us aid and help us fight.

But here again lies the difficulty.  We are physical beings.  It is extremely difficult for us to keep up the desire to fight when our weapons are largely invisible.  The very thing that keeps us alive and holding our ground is invisible; prayer.  Very often I’m talked into laying down my weapon and picking up the remote or a sandwich.  This sort of battle is not easy.

The Weapons

What other weapons are at our disposal?  The sacraments.  These at least are visible but still: bread, wine, water, words, and oil certainly don’t have the same feel as an machine-gun or even a sword and shield.  Yet, these are the weapons for a battlefield like none other.  These “weapons” would be worthless on any battlefield as we know it in our world and would only serve to aid the body in some way.  Yet can’t we say the same thing about modern weaponry.  Bullets and bombs are worthless on the battlefield of the soul.  The martyrs can attest to that!  Shooting bullets on this battlefield of the soul would have the same effect as throwing bread on the worldly battlefield.  God’s ways and weapons are certainly not ours!

Care for the Wounded

We know who wins in the end.  In fact, the war is over. Christ won His and our victory on the Cross. However, Satan refuses to admit defeat and so “minor” skirmishes will rage until the end of time. Our job is to continue to fight on this invisible front and help others to do so.  However, we must be careful.  Since this battle is largely invisible, our call to arms for our brothers and sisters must also be largely invisible.  With those of little faith, those who do not recognize the battle, we must “tend and protect” using not weapons but the healing balm of love, compassion, instruction, patience, prayer, sacrifice, fasting, and personal witness. We must do battle within our owns souls and become a mobile field hospital when dealing with the souls of others.

 I, for my part will strengthen my brothers and sisters through prayer and good example.  I will love them as though they were Christ Himself.  If the battlefield of their soul is enemy territory, I will be a spy and infiltrate it with love and compassion. Let us all pray for the grace to be the greatest warriors the world has ever known in the greatest battle the world has ever known…or not known.

How to get better at prayer battle.

1. Set a prayer appointment – Set a time on your calendar each day to meet and speak with God.
2. Slowly increase your prayer time. – Don’t jump in with an hour right from the get-go.  Build up your “tolerance” so to speak.
3. Commit – to praying and slowly increasing your prayer time for 30 days.  Mark off the days on your calendar.  If you miss a day, jump right back in, don’t give up.
4. Pray – praying is talking to God, it’s spending time with your attention focused on Him.  I enjoy spending time with my children regardless of their level of development.  God is the same way.  Spend time praying as best you can.  Use formal prayers if you want or simply speak in conversation.  Don’t forget to listen
5. Journal – My revised 4 Simple Steps to Better Scripture Meditations: Guide, Workbook, and Journal walks you through 4 easy steps that will help you go deeper in your prayer life.  It includes 31 days of workbook and journal pages too!
6. Read other good books about how to pray better – Prayer Primer, Deep Conversion, Deep Prayer, Time for God, The Spiritual Life: A Comprehensive Guide to Catholics Seeking Salvation.