J.C. Ryle
says that one of the basic elements in our pursuit of holiness is to realize
that, and really live like, we are in a battle. (He is speaking of our battle
against sin, not against social issues.)
Ryle says, “To be at peace with the world, the flesh, and the devil is
to be at enmity with God, and in the broad way that leads to destruction. We
have no choice.
It seems to
me that all too often my response to sin is to brush it off like a mosquito, rather
than treating it like the mortal danger to my soul that it is. Scripture is
very clear, and repetitively so, in presenting this mortal danger as a war.
Again, Ryle:
“Let us take care that our own personal religion is real, genuine, and true.
The saddest symptom about many so-called Christians is the utter absence of
anything like conflict and fight in their Christianity. They eat, they drink,
they dress, they work, they amuse themselves, they get money, they spend money,
they go through a scanty round of formal religious services once or twice every
week. But of the great spiritual warfare-its watchings and strugglings, its
agonies and anxieties, it battles and contests-of all this they appear to know
nothing at all…”
Can you
imagine a soldier not spending any time to prepare for battle? Would he just
walk out there, forget his gun, wearing sandals instead of boots, no helmet, no
food, no supplies of any kind, no plan, no support, no idea of where the enemy
was, his strength, etc.? If he knew anything about warfare, he would not treat
this like a walk in the park, or a petty annoyance. Contrast that picture with
the list of elements regarding spiritual warfare above; watching, struggles,
agonies, anxieties, battles and contests. Nothing easy or yawn-inducing about
it. Ducking bullets with your face in the mud does not promote indifference.
Having said
all of that, what is the key? I believe it is prayer. It’s not reading, even
Scripture, as important as that is. I love to read. I can nod and underline
good things. It’s not serving others, as much as that matters. It’s not
preaching or teaching, though they are essential. If this is a spiritual battle,
we must fight it on a spiritual level. Personally, it is the hardest thing for
me to be consistent at. I don’t think that is a coincidence. That which matters
the most will be both resisted the most, and probably the hardest to do.
"…The worst
chains are those which are neither felt nor seen by the prisoner…"
We must
guard against letting apathy, stagnation, deadness, indifference, or even just
business, become just those sorts of chains, especially in the area of prayer.
