The Bible is full of warriors who fought for the peace and freedom of their nations. Warriors were important because they formed the defense forces that protected their nations from their enemies. There is a lot we can learn from these warriors that we can apply in our lives. As we are called to be warriors in the spirit realm.
The Word says that the Lord is a warrior, and this means that He is the one who gives warriors the strategies to win in battle.
The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name. – Exodus 15:3 NIV
1. King David
But God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood.’ – 1 Chronicles 28:3 NIV
One man who was a great warrior was King David. God called him a warrior, and he was instrumental in defeating the enemies of Israel. He is unique in the sense that he wasn’t just a warrior, but a king, prophet, worshipper, and more.
2. Gideon
When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” – Judges 6:12 NIV
Gideon was a mighty warrior, who defeated the Midianites. They had oppressed the Israelites for seven years. They would come at harvest time and take off with their harvest from the farmlands. Gideon did not see himself as a warrior at first because he thought that he was the least in his family. BUT GOD…. He saw a different side of Gideon and knew He could use him.
3. Naaman
Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. – 2 Kings 5:1 NIV
Another great warrior was Naaman, who was the commander of the army of the king of Aram. Through him, God had given Aram victory in battle. One thing that Naaman battled was leprosy, and he was cured when he went to see the prophet Elisha for healing.
4. Samson
You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines. – Judges 13:5 NIV
When Samson was born, an angel of the Lord told his mother that she would give birth to a son who would begin the deliverance of Israel from the Philistines. He once killed a thousand men with the jawbone of a donkey, but that’s just one story out of countless ones.
5. Jephthah
Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. – Judges 11:1 NIV
He was driven away by his stepbrothers because of his mother. When Israel was under attack from the Ammonites, the elders of Gilead went looking for Jephthah to be their commander and lead them in battle.
God doesn’t give the hardest battles to his toughest soldiers; he creates the toughest soldiers through life’s hardest battles”- Unknown
Seeking God before a battle. King David usually inquired of the Lord before He went into battle (1 Samuel 23:4-5). When He did, God would tell him to go ahead and fight because he would be successful. Before we start an assignment, attend a meeting, or engage in spiritual warfare, we should always seek the Lord first so that we will succeed. We must learn to pave the way in prayer.
God has equipped us for the battles in our lives. When God called Gideon a mighty warrior, He knew that He had equipped him to fight and defeat the Midianites. Although Gideon did not have the confidence within himself, God gave it to him. In the same way, God will show us how He has equipped us for the battles we must fight in our lives so that we can succeed. And if you lack confidence you can lean on Him as Gideon did.
We should be careful who we tell our secrets. Samson was brought down by Delilah when he told her of the secret to his supernatural strength. Delilah had the Philistines shave his head, and his power went (Judges 16:19). We must be wise with whom we bring into our inner circle. This is where the term a wolf in sheep’s clothing comes to mind. If our enemies get to know private things about us, they can use them against us and interfere with the plans God has for us.
We all have a weakness. We are warriors in the Kingdom of God, yet we have our weaknesses. God does not disqualify us because we are weak in certain areas. Naaman was a great warrior who battled leprosy. The disease did not stop him from the great work of fighting his nation’s enemies. God healed him and restored his skin to be like that of a young boy (2 Kings 5:14). God will heal and restore us to wholeness. Gideon is also a mighty warrior who battled weakness. It wasn’t physical weakness like Naaman but a mental/emotional one.
We should not make vows to the Lord so that He can do something for us. Jephthah made a vow to God that if he won the battle against the Ammonites, he would sacrifice the first thing that came out of his house. This happened to be his daughter, and he was devastated. He sacrificed her as he had promised God (Judges 11:39). God will do for us what we ask of Him and that which is in line with His will. We don’t have to make vows to Him that are meant to make Him do what we want.
God prepares us for our calling. King David was a shepherd before he sat on the throne of Israel. In the wilderness, he killed bears and lions, and this prepared him to kill Goliath and become a mighty warrior (1 Samuel 17:36). In what we are currently doing, God is preparing us for the calling He has over our lives. It may not always seem so, but if we trust God with the process, we will one day see what he has been doing behind the scenes.
We don’t fight battles in our strength. When Gideon went to attack the Midianites, God made him leave behind the majority of the army that had accompanied him. He fought with three hundred men and overcame the Midianites. You can read the story in Judges 7. We don’t fight battles in our strength because God is there to fight for us. He delivers the enemy into our hands and shows us how to fight using His strength and wisdom. Always turn to God for help and strength when faced with the daily battles of life. He will give you strategy and wisdom needed to conquer or overcome.
As believers, we are always fighting a war with the enemy of our souls. Fortunately, we have God on our side, and He helps us fight until we win the battle in His name. Remember our victory is in Him! He has equipped you for the battle and will never let you fail.
They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. – Revelation 12:11
Sources
Pulling Down Strongholds – Derek Prince
How to be a Bible Warrior – Catherine Mc Kenzie
Think about such Things Blog
God’s Mighty Warriors – Sheila Walsh
Born of God – David Martyn Lloyd Jones
Prayer Warrior – Timothy Gracie
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