Day 20 Bringing Our Thoughts Into Captivity!

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds ;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” 2 Corinthians 10:3 -5

As a child I loved to play the game Capture the Flag where you go into the enemy’s territory and take their flag. But in order to accomplish the mission we had to enter the enemy’s territory and fight our way to the flag. Once we captured the flag we had to fight to keep it! The memory of playing this game gave me a clear picture of how to take our thoughts captive as this Scripture teaches.

Notice the verse doesn’t say to first take our thoughts captive and then demolish the arguments. It says to demolish and then capture! In other words we have to engage in a battle for our thoughts if we are going to be able to capture them, and make them obedient to Christ. The first part of the Scripture shows us that this is not a physical battle, like the Capture the Flag game was, but rather a spiritual one. And in fact it isn’t a game at all, but a real battle, with a real enemy. And that enemy is satan and the demonic forces of darkness.

In order to gain the victory over our thoughts and make them obedient to Christ, we have to be willing to engage in the battle! Unfortunately, most people don’t engage in the battle because they have been taught that fighting is bad. Think about it: As children we are told not to fight because fighting is wrong and it hurts people. As we grow up we hear this over and over again. We learn to avoid conflict at all costs, because we know that if we engage in conflict, we will be punished.

While the Bible is clear that we should have a spirit of peace and that peace makers are blessed of God, it doesn’t say we are never supposed to fight! In fact this passage and many others tell us there are appropriate times where we need to fight and it tells us how!

Ephesians 6:10-18 gives us a clear picture of the war that is going on in the spiritual realm and what we are to do in order to be prepared for the battle. It even tells us what our armor and weaponry is and how to use it! But as I said, throughout our lives we have been conditioned to think of war and fighting as bad. From song writers like John Lennon to peace activists, we are told to imagine a world without war. War veterans have suffered from ridicule when they have come home from battle and made to feel like their tour of duty was futile. This gives the enemy ammunition to use against us by telling us there is no honor in being a soldier.

Therefore, when the Scriptures tell us we are in a battle and we need to fight, most people freeze! They don’t want to fight! They don’t know how to fight! And they are ill-equipped to fight! Just the thought of fighting causes them to experience great fear and anxiety. But in order to demolish the arguments and pretensions that come against the knowledge of God we have to fight! Here are ten things to do in order to be equipped for the battle:

1. Demolish false beliefs about fighting and war. Refuse the world’s perspective, and only look at it from God’s perspective.
2. Accept the truth that you are in a spiritual battle and can only gain victory using spiritual weapons.
3. Spend time in prayer and meditation on God’s word so you know how to fight.
4. Remind yourself that Jesus took away satan’s power to destroy us at the Cross, and the only time satan is victorious is when we throw up the white flag of surrender and quit fighting.
5. Remind yourself that as you resist him he has a command to flee that he has to obey.
6. Imagine the victories you will have in life when your thoughts are in alignment with God’s truth.
7. Begin to picture yourself as a victor and remind yourself of it daily.
8. Refuse to accept the enemy’s lies.
9. Stand firm in the armor of God and use the weapons of God’s word to fight against the lies.
10. Spend time praising God for your victory because praise is one of your most powerful weapons of warfare.

Prayer: I acknowledge today that I am in a spiritual battle for my thoughts. I refuse to accept the enemy’s lies any longer, and I choose to believe Your truth! I believe by faith that as I meditate on Your word I will be equipped to fight and I will be willing to fight. I believe by faith as David did that you will teach me how to fight. I praise you for the victory Jesus won for me at the Cross and I will stand victorious in my thoughts and they will become obedient to Him as I fight to take them captive. I believe by faith that victory is mine and I praise you for leading me in triumph Amen.