David's Spiritual Warfare

At the end of his life King David was able to say, "...the LORD...has redeemed my life from every distress."  (1 Kings 1:29)  That stunned me..  I would like to be able to say that at the end of my life.  Then it occurred to me that the LORD has delivered me from every distress - so great is His love.  His mercy endures forever and His steadfast love to all generations.  

Still, I had to be inspired by David's words.  The calamities, distresses, dangers, and hardships he faced were much greater than mine.  The thing that most intrigued me was the word "breakthrough."  I believe that David had a "breakthrough" to Divine power.  He faced deadly enemies.  The lion, the bear, the giant Goliath, the assembled host of Philistine armies, and worse.  At one point the armies of Israel were hopelessly outnumbered and surrounded by five foreign armies (2 Samuel 10:6) and yet they won that battle.  In fact, as far as I can tell from reading the Bible, David won all the battles he fought even though, humanly speaking, he shouldn't have won any.

In military terms a "breakthrough" happens when one army breaks through the lines of another opposing army.  When that happens the opposing army is defeated.  They must surrender - or die like flies.  Even retreat is not an option.  They will be routed if they run.  Knowing this, the opposing armies usually tried to instill fear into each other.  If one army would turn and run, they would be defeated.  On the other hand, if they didn't turn and run, some sort of breakthrough would be needed.  Under David's leadership it was always the armies of Israel that made the breakthrough.  

So how did that happen?  Were the armies of Israel really that superior, or were David and his generals just incredibly brilliant military commanders?  David was a formidable fighter, but even the best men die - and David himself knew that.  The answer to the reason for Israel's victories has to lie elsewhere.  

David was a man of God.  He studied God's ways and His Word.  Then he prayed accordingly.  David knew how to fight the fight we would call spiritual warfare.  He knew the battle had to be won in the air before it could be won on the ground.  Any military commander knows that.  In fact, it is an established fact of military doctrine that in order to overthrow a well defended position you may need a firepower advantage of five to one.  That is why military commanders turn to the air for their advantage.  In spiritual warfare the rules are the same.  Satan and his armies are often hunkered down in well defended positions.  But God wants us to displace them in every arena whether it be society, politics, music, sports, entertainment, medicine, or religion.  If we fail to do so, our children will be the casualties.

David knew that too.  That is why God made him king over all of Israel.  David won all his battles.  We have to know how to win ours.  Therefore it is a good idea to read the account to find out how David won his.  For that we turn once again to the book of Psalms.  I read it from front to back circling the verses that impressed me most.  I feel led to present them here in reverse order, for no particular reason.  It's just the way I feel led to do it.  There are in fact, quite a few surprises.  We'll save the best for last.

1.  David said, "He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.  The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy."  (Psalm 147:11)  This simple statement is probably the beginning of effective spiritual warfare.  David wanted to be on God's side.  Most of us have it backwards.  We want God to be on our side.  But David had it right.  He wanted to live a life pleasing to God.  He wanted God to take pleasure in him.  Then he would have God's favor.  He also knew that God would take pleasure in those who hope in His mercy, i.e. grace.  The Hebrew word in this passage is "hesed" which probably should be translated as "grace."  His mercy and grace is always our plea.  Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saves us.  God takes pleasure in those who have that attitude.  His face is ever turning towards them and smiling upon them.  Once we get this relationship with God right, we'll be O.K.

2.  Then David said, "The LORD upholds all who fall, and raises up all who are bowed down.  The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season.  You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.  The LORD is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works.  The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.  He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them.  The LORD preserves all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy.  (Psalm 145:14-20)  These verses speak of the restoration of those who have fallen.  David knew about that.  God is able to overcome our own bad "mistakes."  His love is so great that He simply computes a new path for us to get us to where He wants us to be.  He never goes to plan B.  He brings us back to plan A.  He never goes to second best.  He wants us to have the best.  He is insistent, and persistent.  

3.  And David wrote, "Cause me to know the way in which I should walk. For I lift up my soul to You."  (Psalm 143:8)  There's that phrase again, "Cause me..."  That phrase occurs many times in the Bible.  God said He would cause the backsliding nation Israel to repent.  He said He would cause them to return them to their own land.  (Jeremiah 33:7)  He said He would cause them to enter into the bond of the covenant with Him, even though they didn't want to!  (Ezekiel 20:37)  Jesus said He would cause His followers to become fishers of men.  God said He would subdue the iniquities of Israel.  (Micah 7:19)  God said He would cleanse His people of their sins.  (Jeremiah 33:8)  This is amazing grace.  How very sweet the sound of it!   Only God can do the heavy lifting.  David made his appeal on that basis.  God could cause him to know the way in which he should walk.  David had the right humility and attitude.  He wanted God to cause him to go the right way.  And David said, "Cause me to hear Your loving kindness in the morning."  (Psalm 143:8)  So David would be prepared to meet every new day.

4.  And David spoke to God saying, "You are my portion in the land of the living."  On that basis he prayed, "Deliver me from my persecutors for they are stronger than I."  Psalm 142:5  I was puzzled about the meaning of the word "portion" until the Lord showed me something.  "Portion" means " food !"  For example... "They shall be a portion for foxes."  (Psalm 63:10)  In that light we read Psalm 119:57-58  "You are my portion, O LORD; I have said that I would keep Your words.  I entreated Your favor with my whole heart.  Be merciful to me according to your word."  I'm sure that David entreated the favor of the LORD by reminding Him that He was his portion - his food and drink.  The word "favor" in this passage is "Paniym."   That same word is usually translated as "face."  It means that part of the face that turns.  David wanted God to turn His face towards him.  He wanted His favor.  He said, "For His anger is but for a moment.  His favor is for life."  (Psalm 30:5)  God's favor is everything.  "Paniym" is sometimes translated as God's presence.  If we have his presence, we have everything.  Without it we have nothing.  Jesus said it this way,  "Apart from me you can do nothing."  We need to make God our food and drink, or ask Him to cause us to do that.

5.  David said, "My prayer is against the deeds of the wicked."  Psalm 141:5  Notice that he is not praying against the wicked, but merely against their deeds!  We have to learn this spiritual warfare!  God is the One Who judges.  David knew that, and that is why he did not kill King Saul when he had the chance.

6.  But there are one or two instances when David in fact cried out for the complete destruction of his foes.  In both cases I believe he was conducting spiritual warfare against demonic spirits for he said, "As for the head of those who surround me, Let the evil of their lips (accusations?), cover them; Let burning coals fall upon them; Let them be cast into the fire, into deep pits, that they rise not up again."  (Psalm 140:9-10)  (italics mine) (parenthesis mine)  It is common in many Evangelical circles to try to rebuke demons.  But in truth it is only God who has the authority to cast them into hell.  We can ask Him to do that.  We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers.  David knew that.  There were hordes of ungodly men surrounding him at times, but someone else was at their head leading them.  David recognized that when he prayed, "As for the head of those who surround me, Let the evil of their lips cover them...  Let them be cast into the fire..."  We can pray that way too.  In the Psalms we find at least one other time when David prayed against demonic forces.  We shall take a look at that later on in this lesson.

7.  Then David said, "You have covered my head in the day of battle."  (Psalms 140:7)  We need to ask God to cover our heads in the day of battle.  

8.  Then there are some things that perhaps David did not say, nevertheless they are in the book of Psalms and we need to look at them.  There is this famous one...  "Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.  He who goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."  (Psalm 126:5-6)  Intercessors should know this verse well.  Those who weep for the souls of men will also rejoice to see them saved.

9.  Here's another verse that we delight to claim and pray, especially for our children.  "For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous."  ( Psalm 125:3)  If we are the redeemed, then we are the righteous.  We can claim this verse.  But it helps to repent of all known sin first, and then claim it.  This is especially true of group sin and group repentance.  If there is group sin that has been done, perhaps group repentance is needed.  Spiritual leadership would point that out.  Hezekiah, Josiah, and others led the way for group repentance.  I think the United Sates is cursed because of abortion, but even more so because of divorce.  God hates the violence of one human being towards another one.  That was His specific reason for destroying the earth with a flood.  So what am I to do?  I can't repent for everyone else can I?  Well no, but I can confess corporate sin and pray that God will cause repentance.  He can do that heavy lifting.  I believe He did that when Daniel confessed corporate sin and prayed for the people of Israel.   In any case I can pray that myself and my children will not have to live in a land ruled by wickedness.  At the very least I can pray that the wickedness will not rule over us.  

10.  Someone prayed like this...  "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, But to Your name give glory, because of Your mercy (grace), Because of Your truth.  Why should the Gentiles say, "So where is their God?"  (Psalm 115:1-2)  That's good spiritual warfare too.  We want the conversion of the enemies of God.  That's really what we want.  We don't just want a healing.  We want a testimony so that God gets the glory, and sinners are converted to HIM!

11.  And somebody said,  "The works of the LORD are great, Studied by all who have pleasure in them."  (Psalm 111:2)  We study God's works to see His character.  We make our appeals based upon His character, not our works, or righteousness.  Listen, it is in God's heart to bless us.  Revival is His nature.  He wants community transformation with all His heart.  We can trust that when we ask Him.  We can move His hand if we can reach His heart.  And it is His heart to bring people to salvation.  We have that confidence.  What else does He like to do?  We should study His works to find out.

12.  Skipping ahead, or back, now we come to this.  "Trust in Him at all times you people; Pour out your heart before Him."  (Psalm 62:8)  That's good advice from someone (David), who knew.   Many of us get angry at God when we should be trusting in Him and pouring out our hearts before Him.  He will listen and hear - all of it.  Remember the woman with the issue of blood?  She poured out her heart to Jesus.  The Bible says she told Him the whole story.  It was a long story - twelve years in the making - how she had spent all her money on doctors etc.  The remarkable thing is this: Jesus had time to stop and listen.  He was on His way to heal Jairus' daughter, but he stopped to listen.  He didn't have to.  But he did because of His love.

13.  David said, "Let God arise and His enemies be scattered."  (Psalm 68:1)  This shows us just how much of a Bible scholar David really was.  Moses had spoken those same words every time the Israelites lifted up the ark to begin traveling again.  (see Numbers 10:35)  You probably have a cross-reference in your Bible that you never looked at.  But David did.  He had studied God's word.  (You can't really be a man or woman of God or a prayer warrior without God's word in your heart.)  When GOD went forth before the people of Israel, there was no army on earth that could stop them.  David knew God as the Lord of Hosts, mighty in battle.  It is worthwhile to read the rest of Psalm 68.  Curiously this Psalm became the march of the Church triumphant.  There was a time when God arose and His enemies were scattered.  Bible scholars know it immediately.  Jesus arose into heaven, and when He did, He gave gifts to men.  For the book of Ephesians quotes this Psalm.  "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men."  (Ephesians 4:8)  Paul was quoting the prophet David, "You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, Even from the rebellious, That the LORD God might dwell there!"    (Psalm 68:18)  WOW!!!!!  Say that again!  "That the LORD God might dwell there."  Say it again!  "That the LORD God might dwell THERE."  Did David know this?  I think he did!  He was a prophet.  The Spirit of God showed him a time when the Sprit of God would be given to men.  The Church would be born on that day, and the gates of hell would begin to fall before its onslaught.  Onward Christian soldiers.  The victory is ours.  Don't stop praying now!  Know who you are in Christ.  Press in and press on.  We win!  The devils are afraid of us.  They will do anything to stop us from praying.  But we will not stop praying.  We will trample them down as David trampled down his enemies.  Power belongs to God.

14.  And David said, "Blessed is the man You choose, And cause to approach You, That he may dwell in Your courts." Psalm 65:4  There's that word "cause" again!  We can't escape it.  O, LORD choose us and cause us to approach You, that we may dwell in Your courts! 

15.  Identifying with the Christ Who was coming David said, "I, like a deaf man, do not hear; And I am like a mute who does not open his mouth.  Thus I am like a man who does not hear, And in whose mouth is no response."  (Psalm 38:13-14)  O LORD, give us that grace.  This also is spiritual warfare.  The devil is the accuser of the brethren.  But we do not hear.  We are like Jesus who when He was reviled, reviled not again. 

16.  And David said, "My clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting."  (Psalm 35:13)  The only fast the Bible ever commanded was the fast of repentance.  At least that's the way the Hebrews understood the Mosaic law concerning the Day of Atonement in the book of Leviticus.  God had said, "You shall afflict your souls.."  So they fasted to afflict their souls to remind themselves of their need to repent.  During the 10 days leading up to the Day of Atonement they fasted in sackcloth and ashes.  That's why the Bible says David humbled himself with fasting.  David knew he was a sinner in need of God's grace.  He said so.  And so the Bible says, "If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land."  2 Chronicles 7:14  This is a well known verse throughout Christendom, but we never do it right.  We pray without humbling ourselves first.  The audacity of it all.  We don't repent!  We don't turn from our wicked ways.  We don't seek God's face!  We just expect Him to heal our land!  And if He doesn't - well then - He's mean.  He's to blame!  We get angry.  David knew better than that. 

17.  Speaking of Jesus and His victory David spoke against the devils again saying, "When my enemies turn back they shall fall and perish at Your presence.  For You have maintained my right and my cause;  You sat on the throne judging in righteousness,  You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their name forever and ever.  O enemy, destructions are finished forever!  And you have destroyed cities; Even their memory has perished." (Psalm 9:3-6)  This passage is difficult to translate from Hebrew.  There are a number of different possibilities making room for even more possible interpretations.  Nevertheless let me say what I think.  Some speak of "territorial" spirits that control nations.  As a missionary I think there is much truth to that.  The worship of these false gods leads to widespread destruction.  Cities lie in ruins.  I can point to them.  But when a nation turns to Christ those enemies are destroyed.  But here again I make a plea.  We can pray for the destruction of demonic spirits.  It is better to do that than to try and "rebuke" them, especially if they are the kind of spirits that control the destiny of nations.  The reason is this.  At the same time you are rebuking these spirits someone else is welcoming them.  If you want them to be banished, ask the LORD to do it.  He has the power and the authority.  Consider Zechariah 13:2

"It shall be on that day," says the LORD of hosts, "that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered.  I will also cause the (false), prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land."  Zechariah 13:2  (parenthesis mine  At that point in Israel's history they were returning from Babylon and rebuilding the temple but they no longer had the Urim and the Thumim, so it was thought that anyone who prophesied was prophesying falsely.) 

note: Notice the word "cause" in this passage.  There's that word again!  GOD is the One who causes grace to happen.  He has all authority in heaven and on earth.

I quoted Zechariah 13:2 so that you will know how to pray against the "territorial" spirits that ruin cities.  You can ask God to banish them.  They are very clever and deceitful, but God can ferret them out and destroy them.  There is one called "The Independent Man" who has a statue on top of capital buildings in the United States.  He is an idol.  Good church going Americans worship him by the millions without knowing what they are doing.  I pray that God will destroy that idol and send that spirit to hell to burn in flames forever, the sooner the better.  The independent man forgets God and thinks that he can live without Him.  Let God arise and His enemies be scattered.  Amen!