The wars in the past were won by those who had strong arms, later on by those who had good weapons. Today, it is enough if there is a control panel and someone who can operate it. He can see everything before him, and just fires missiles in one direction or another, exactly to the target they are intended to reach – for example, an underground bunker. The missile flies to a designated spot, and another one behind it with absolute precision... This is just simple technology controlled by the human mind behind which is the inventive human spirit. But there is another struggle – spiritual struggle.

The Word of God says clearly, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age – so-called kosmokratoras.” (Eph 6:12) Are we aware of it? If we want to fight with a sling or a bow against an army with tanks, it is de facto suicide. Similarly, if we want to fight against the kosmokratoras with our feelings or anything human only, for example with our cunning, the battle is lost in advance. First of all, we must realize that the spiritual powers are leading a spiritual struggle against us. In the spiritual struggle, as the Apostle Paul writes in the Ephesians, we must have spiritual weapons and spiritual armour: the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. The sword of the Spirit, i.e. the Word of God, is not a physical sword, but a symbol of a spiritual weapon. The Apostle Paul also constantly repeats and emphasizes that we should act “in faith”.

In the spiritual struggle, we need to be clothed in Christ. We cannot fight with our own strength; that would be a certain defeat. We also need to know the basic spiritual principles. The control panel in the atomic power plant cannot be operated by an unskilled person, or by an alcoholic or drug addict, for they would press whatever buttons they want and there would be a blast. So in the spiritual struggle, too, one must know which Bible verse to use, how to act in the given situation, whether to retreat or to stand in faith, what the will of God is and then to fulfil it, to take the steps of faith. The most basic spiritual principle at the beginning of every spiritual struggle and in spiritual life in general is to humble oneself before God, to confess one’s sin, to repent of it, and to receive purification by the Blood of Christ. It is also important to be able to humble oneself before another person. God gives victory to the humble, that is, to those who love the truth.

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