Listed here are 8 Principles of Spiritual warfare based on the life of Gideon.
(Based on the teachings of Apostle Nebby Gomez – Abba Ministries)
1. The Calling
Judges 6: 12 (NKJV)
12 “And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!’”
Every believer who enters into spiritual warfare needs to know their calling. There are different callings. Every believer, once they accept Yeshua as their Messiah, enters into a spiritual battle, but not everyone is called to the take up the same position. Just like the natural military of our nation, there are different positions. Depending on your calling from the Lord, you may be called to be a “commander” in your family, or maybe a “lieutenant” to your friends, or maybe even a “general” for your city. Whatever your calling it is important that you know and understand it and the assignment the Lord has given you. Not every person is called to take up the same post or position, but all believers are called to some level of warfare.
In addition, there are different season with the Lord, and each season has its own calling. Gideon was called to his position during a specific season. Just as it is important to know our personal calling, it is equally important to know the season of the calling and what the Lord is wanting to do in that season.
2. The Offering
Judges 6:18 (NKJV)
18 “Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You.”
One of the first principles that needs to be applied to gain authority for spiritual warfare is to learn the power of the offering. When we present offerings of our lives, our time, our gifts, worship, thanksgiving, and even at time our finances, we are gaining authority in the spiritual realm over our adversaries. Yeshua gained the ultimate authority over death when He gave the offering of Himself for all humanity. His offering took back the authority that had been given to Satan in the garden. If we want to gain spiritual authority, we must learn the principle of the offering. In each battle it is important to seek the Lord for the specific offering to present to Him that will gain you the authority in that specific battle. Every battle has its own offering. Every offering releases specific authority in the spiritual realm.
3. The Altar
Judges 6:24 (NKJV)
24 “So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it The-Lord-Is-Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.”
Another powerful weapon in our arsenal in spiritual warfare is the altar. It is important to list up alters to the Lord as we engage in battle. We need altars or praise and worship, altars of prayer and intercession, and altars of thanksgiving. Each of these altars move the heart of God in our favor and calls forth His heavenly angels to join in the battle in the spiritual realm. In Daniel 10:12-13 we see Daniel presenting an altar of prayer to the Lord and the angel Gabriel was dispatch to go to him and there was a great battle in the spiritual realm. Also, in 1 Samuel 16:14-23 we see how David worshiped by playing the harp and the tormenting spirit left King Saul.
4. Removing Wrong Alliances
Judges 6:28 (NKJV)
28 “And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, there was the altar of Baal, torn down; and the wooden image that was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was being offered on the altar which had been built.”
In order to have authority in the spiritual realm we need to remove all the wrong alliances in our lives. What the wrong alliances? Anything in our lives or our generations that is contrary to God’s Word and our covenant with Him. Gideon’s father and his relatives had made an alliance with Baal. Before Gideon could have authority, he first had to tear down the altars and severe from the alliances with Baal. There are many things in our lives and in our generations that could rob us of our authority in the spiritual realm. It is important seek the Lord to reveal any and all wrong alliances we may have in our lives.
5. The Confirmation
Judges 6:37 (NKJV)
37 “look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said.”
Before entering into a spiritual battle, it is important to seek the Lord and ask for confirmation of His directions and instructions. If we receive instructions, but don’t receive the confirmation we could end up getting out of timing, out of season, or out of balance. If we don’t seek confirmation, and wait on it to appear, we could open ourselves up to attacks and damage from our adversary Satan. If the Lord is calling you to battle, then He will always send the confirmation.
6. The Strategy
Judges 7:2 (NKJV)
2 “And the Lord said to Gideon, ‘The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, “My own hand has saved me.”’”
The Lord gave Gideon a specific strategy for his battle. Every battle has it’s own strategy from the Lord. It is important to seek the Lord in prayer and fasting to see what strategy He has for every battle He calls you to.
7. The Exploration
Judges 7:9 (NKJV)
9 “It happened on the same night that the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand”
There came a point when Gideon was feeling fearful, so the Lord sent him to spy out the camp of the Midianites. Through that exploration of the camp of Midian Gideon was encouraged, he was assured of God’s direction, and the Lord showed Gideon what He was doing to prepare the battlefield. In spiritual warfare the Lord will call us to spy out the camp of our adversary. He may reveal new dimensions of His plans. He may show us how He is already moving in the middle of the battlefield. Or, He may just show us something to encourage us an motivate us to move forward into engaging in the battle. What ever the reason the Lord has He will lead us on missions of exploration before He leads us into the battle.
8. The Battle
Judges 7:20-21 (NKJV)
20 “And he said to Jether his firstborn, “Rise, kill them!” But the youth would not draw his sword; for he was afraid, because he was still a youth. 21 So Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise yourself, and kill us; for as a man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.”
In every battle of spiritual warfare there comes a time when we must engage. The battle is the Lord’s (1 Samuel 17:47), but He will call us to engage our adversary through prophetic prayers, prophetic decrees, strong rebuking, or prophetic actions. If we hesitate, or allow fear to stop us from doing what the Lord has called us to do, then we run the risk of not gaining complete victory, or even opening ourselves, our families, or our cities to harm, both in the spiritual realm and the physical realm.
We hope these 8 principals of spiritual warfare will be a blessing to you and help you navigate every battlefield you find yourself in.
Shalom.
We all need a Strategy from God!