The Apostle Paul’s description of the spiritual battle all Christians must fight is sobering. For, our conflict is not
with flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Eph
6:12). To be honest, this description of the power of the evil forces
in the world is downright frightening. All Christians, including our
teens, must fight evil on three fronts. Our sinful nature seeks to
overpower us, the world seeks to entice our hearts away from allegiance
to Christ, and Satan, along with his cohort, deceive us into disobeying
God’s Word. Here are four ways we can give strength to our children and
grandchildren that will help them win more of their spiritual battles.
1. Help them know, deep in their souls, that God loves them unconditionally.
Let me explain. If your teenage son, for example, has just surrendered
to lust again and masturbated, he feels too dirty for a holy God to want
anything to do with him. That is a lie out of the pit of hell. Satan
wants to use our guilt to shame us into hiding from God by convincing us
that God’s attitude towards us is disgust. May I ask, “Do you want to
be with someone who finds you to be disgusting?” Of course not. Satan
lies to us that God finds US repulsive (instead of our sin, which was
put on Christ at the cross.) Satan shames us into isolation, and
self-loathing, which weakens our soul.
In contrast to Satan, the Holy Spirit wants to use our guilt to drive
us TOWARD God, to the unlimited, tireless forgiveness of our savior,
producing in us a greater love for the God who loves us despite our ugly
sin. As Jesus observed in the woman who washed his feet with her tears She who is forgiven much loves much (Lk
7:47). Because we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ imputed
to us, when we turn to God after we have sinned, his arms are always,
always open to us. Remember the description of the father of the
prodigal son, But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him (Lk.
15:20.) Your sons and daughters need to know that every time they sin
if they turn back to God, his arms of love and heart of compassion are
wide open to them! This quick restoration to our closeness with the Lord
is the KEY TO OUR SPIRITUAL STRENGTH. Paul commands us, Be strong IN the Lord, and in the strength of his might (Eph 6:10). Our abiding relationship with Christ gives us strength to defeat temptation.
2. The second way to provide strength for our children and grand-children’s battles is to praise them when they get it right.
In Matthew 3:17, we hear the audible voice of God the Father saying to
God the Son, the words that every child most wants to hear from his
father, “I love you and I’m proud of you.” Matthew records, Behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Words of praise fill our emotional tank, providing fuel that energizes
our hearts. Paul points to the power of words, when he commands the
Ephesian believers, Let no unwholesome word proceed from
your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to
the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear
(Eph 4:29). Words build up. They give grace. They strengthen. Simply
stated, praising a child for winning a PAST spiritual battle strengthens
him in his fight of the NEXT spiritual battle.
3. Help him be connected to close Christian friends who are also trying to shape their lives by Jesus’ commands.
God never intended Christian teens to fight their spiritual battles
alone. In Ephesian 4:15-16, Paul gives further insight into how members
of the Body of Christ are strengthened. Speaking the truth
in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into
Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every
supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part
does its work. Talking with peer believers about how we
are applying Gods Word in our lives is essential for being spiritually
strengthened, i.e. growing towards spiritual maturity in Christ. We
adults need to make whatever sacrifices are necessary to help our teens
be an active participant in their youth group or, better yet, a guys’ or
girls’ discipleship group.
4. The fourth way we can impart spiritual strength to our children is on our knees. Consider Exodus 17:8- 13. Then
Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said
to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek.
Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my
hand.” So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while
Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever
Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his
hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a
stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held
up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his
hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua
overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.
The Old Testament often presents physical events that teach spiritual
realities. (For example, the slavery of Israel to the Egyptians
represents spiritual slavery to sin.) In Exodus 17 we have a physical
picture of a spiritual reality. In that culture, the lifting of the arms
was a reference to prayer. The staff in Moses’ hands represents the
power of God to defeat his enemies. When Moses interceded through
prayer, those under his care in the valley prevailed. When he lowered
his arms (symbolic of not praying) his loved ones started to lose the
battle.
Every day, your loved ones are down in the valley fighting spiritual
battles with their sinful nature, the world, and Satan. If you devote
yourself to interceding for them—there are spiritual battles they will
WIN If you don’t intercede for them, there are battles they will LOSE.
That is the unmistakable message of this text. Intercessory prayer
matters in spiritual warfare. That is why in Ephesians 6 after Paul
mentions the armor for spiritual battle, he urges, Pray in
the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With
this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s
people (18). When it comes to spiritual warfare, intercessory prayer imparts strength to our warriors!
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