Have you ever watched a show like Xena Warrior Princess and thought I wish I could be like that? Or have you ever had a hero that you’ve looked up to because of their bravery and thought how unlike yourself your hero was? One of my heroes has always been Joan of Arc. When I was twelve years old my Father gave me a book about Joan of Arc and ever since she has influenced my life because of her trust in the Lord and her bravery in the face of danger.
Lucy Lawless, the actress who played the part of Xena Warrior Princess, hosted a program on television about female warriors throughout history. It aired on the Discovery Channel and while it only had five episodes and the women were from different points in history, they all had one thing in common: they had confidence. They knew who they were and what needed to be accomplished. They understood that they had an enemy which needed to be defeated and that they were the ones to do it. They were warrior women.
I believe that one of the main weapons that our enemy, Satan, will use against us, is to lull us into believing that there is no danger, nothing to fear, no threat to ourselves or our families. Many people are content to think that if they don’t bother Satan, Satan won’t bother them. Many feel that they are not strong enough to battle Satan, that they are not a strong enough Christian. Many don’t know who they are. Who are you? Are you a daughter of the Most High King? If you can say yes to that question, then you are equipped to do warfare against Hell itself and take your authority as a warrior princess.
Joel 2:2 tells us that the army of the Lord is made up of a ‘people great and strong’. Joel goes on to say in verse 7 that the army doesn’t break ranks and everyone marches in formation. They have a common goal: to carry out the Lord’s work. As children we sing chorus’ about being in the Lord’s army but I fear that many of us have been content to be camp followers instead of warriors taking our place in the fight against evil.
You can be a spiritual warrior. You can keep the forces of Hell from destroying your family. You may be asking ‘how?’ ‘How can I make a difference?’ ‘you don’t understand how much of a mess my family is in.’ ‘I’m not strong enough to be a spiritual warrior and I don’t know where to start even if I could.’
First a princess warrior needs to get dressed for the occasion. Every warrior needs a uniform. We should be wearing the full armour of God. Don't think of it as only words. They are weapons given for a reason. We need them.
Ephesians 6: 13Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (think back to the verse in Joel, where we are told the army of the Lord doesn’t break ranks, stand firm)
14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Every battle is a fight for territory. The territory we fight for as soldiers of our God is spiritual. Satan is trying to gain territory in your life and we have to stand firm and defend the ground on which we are standing because it is holy ground. We can’t give him an inch. Our lives and our families belong to GOD! Satan can’t have them.
The way through the situation is to put God first. By focusing our hearts on God and magnifying His name and praising Him, we fight knowing that we will win. When Joshua and the children of Israel were going to cross the Jordan, they put the Ark of the Covenant at the head of the army.
Joshua 3: 9And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God.
10And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
11Behold, the ark of the covenant of the LORD of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.
Putting the ark of the covenant first meant - trusting God for all that would follow crossing into the new territory. There would be giants to slay, just as we will have trials to face, but God was and is our Commander-in-Chief. He goes before us preparing the way and winning the battles for us.
The battle you are facing is most likely a battle for territory. Even though our victory is certain as long as we continue, there will be opposition. The devil would like us to quit or to turn back or to be distracted. We must not be distracted. The LORD is our commander. We listen to His voice only.
The Word of God is our weapon. If we know the Word of God we will be prepared to fight off temptations, give wise council to problems which arise, protect our family from worldly influences and many other darts which the enemy will send our way. Remember: we are clothed in the armour of God.
Consciously remember you have been saved from your sins. You have the helmet of salvation. You are now part of the Lord’s army. You have the breastplate of righteousness guarding your heart. Be careful what you allow your heart to become exposed to. Guard it with that breastplate. Remember you are part of a holy army, because God is holy we are to be holy.
Remember when it seems that everything is going wrong and coming against you that the fiery darts of the enemy will be stopped by the shield of faith. Your faith doesn’t have to be very strong to do battle. It only has to be the size of a mustard seed. But hold to your faith, don’t let your shield drop in battle or you will be unprotected. Hold that shield. Hold onto your faith in God. With faith such as this you cannot be defeated because God is going before you.
When Ephesians speaks of our loins being girt with truth it reminds us that we need to be women of our word. Are you truthful? Can people believe what you say? Are you dependable? Remember you are representing the Holy God who does not lie. When you are truthful and people can depend on your word, they will listen carefully to what you have to say and will respect you.
Our feet are to be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Everywhere we walk we should be carrying the gospel with us not only in our words but in our actions as well. If our feet are taking us places we shouldn’t be going, we are tarnishing our uniform. If there is sin in our life, how can we expect to be victorious against Satan? How can we expect our prayers to be effective? Remember the Word says the ‘effectual prayer of a RIGHTEOUS man (or woman) availeth much!’
We need to go over our uniform just like any soldier would, and make sure everything is in place and in good condition. Are we in the Word as much as we could be? Are we putting our trust in God or in our own abilities? Are we thankful for our salvation and do we seek to see others have that same joy?
We must be consistent. We must be persistent. We are not of those who turn back. There is nothing for us in the past. We press forward. Keep pressing forward - do not stop pressing forward and when you do not know what else to do and you have done everything you know to do - STAND. Stand in the full armour of God in the anointing of the Holy Spirit - washed in the blood of Jesus - filled with the Holy Spirit - passionate for your God. STAND.
If you can`t take one more step - stand and lean forward. We are going forward - now and later - we will go forward because we have the anointing of the Almighty God upon our lives for victory. God Himself will open the way for us and fight the battles for us. He will give us the strategies - we listen to Him alone. Stand and keep standing until the LORD leads you on.
The second thing a princess warrior needs to have is a non compromising attitude towards the things of God. So many times we give in or give up. We relax our standards, even though we know God’s standards are still as high as they’ve always been. We become lax and dare I say it? lazy in upholding God’s laws. It’s easy to become desensitized to what everyone is doing in the world to a point that we no longer feel it is sin. We say things like ‘oh it’s not that bad’ and ‘well what’s a parent to do when all the other kids are doing it?’ Those statements are meant as excuses to not stand up for what is right. A warrior princess stands up for what is right even if she is the only one on the battlefield. She doesn’t compromise her faith, her beliefs or what the Word has to say. She stands firm even though she will be unpopular and maybe even ridiculed.
When I went to England, when I was only 18, I saw the London policemen, or Bobbies, for the first time. They stood on guard without moving even a facial muscle. It was a great sport for many of the onlookers to try to get them to smile or to break rank. Some of the people just told jokes or made faces but some even got insulting but not one of the guards moved. Oh, if only we would have that steadfastness of attitude!
If Satan knows you can be swayed in your convictions, he will not relent in his attacks on you until you give in. But if he knows you will not water down your convictions or give in and compromise you will have won that battle against him. The Lord wants princess warriors who are strong, not lukewarm in their convictions. He wants women who will carry out His will and be leaders to lead others to Him by their words and their example. What kind of a testimony is it to the lost if they see us doing the same things they are doing or speaking the same way they are? Not a very good one.
As spiritual warriors we need to be strong. We need to be righteous. We need to have a good testimony to those around us and we need to be unbending when it comes to doing what’s right. God hasn’t changed His mind on what sin is and neither should we. Malachi 3:6 tells us that God doesn’t change. God warns us in His Word in Isaiah 5:20 “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Have you ever seen a child who whines constantly? Do you know why they do it? They do it because it gets them results. They know if they whine long enough that mama’s no will turn into a yes. That’s not a good thing ladies. It may be only a sugary treat you don’t want them to have before supper but if you give in and compromise how will that child ever respect you? They’ll know that if they are persistent long enough you’ll weaken and give in.
Satan attacks us in the same way. He will first tempt you with something you know is wrong. Then he’ll show you other Christians doing it. After that he’ll make sure you hear talk show people excusing it and celebrities celebrating it, whatever ‘it’ is. After awhile you give in to the temptation and will think nothing of it and Satan will have won. As a princess of the Most High King it is up to us to know what we believe and not waiver from it. If God says it’s wrong, then it’s wrong. If God calls it sin, its sin and no, contrary to popular belief, God DOESN’T understand or excuse it when we sin.
Warrior princesses don’t compromise.
Finally the third thing that a warrior princess does is pray. Oh, I don’t mean the pillow prayers of now I lay me down to sleep or even the bless everyone and everything type of prayers. No a princess warrior prays. She prays without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). She prays believing (Mark 11:24). She prays in faith, believing that her prayer will be answered (Matthew 21:22). So many times things will happen in our families that are crisis and we freeze. We think there is nothing we can do to alter the situation oh, but, there is! We can pray. Prayer is a weapon that defeats the enemy. Prayer changes situations. Prayer is effective to pull down the strongholds of the enemy.
So how does a princess warrior pray? Because she knows the Word of God, she knows the promises which are in it so she can quote those promises aloud in her prayers to defeat the enemy. We can remind him of who God is and what He has promised in His Word. When you pray, pray the Scriptures.
In conclusion let me just say that so many people are defeated before they even start because of fear. When we have fear we have doubt, they go hand in hand. We doubt whether or not God will help us and answer our prayers. Fear is a weapon which enemies have always used in warfare and Satan has always used on God’s people. The ancient Celts would paint their bodies blue and go into warfare screaming. Many of their enemies were defeated in their confidence just by that war cry before they even saw the grotesquely painted bodies. Fear works and Satan knows it. It can defeat us if we let it.
2 Timothy 1:7 tells us - For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Fear comes from Satan. It is one of his most effective weapons, but no matter how strong Satan is, and he is strong, we can still defeat him if we put God first in our lives, if we know the Word and what it says and if we pray believing.
Princess warriors are the real deal. They’re genuine daughters of the King. They are strong because He is strong, they know in whom they believe. “for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” 2 Timothy 1:12
What have you committed to Christ? Have you committed your life in service to Him? Have you committed or given your family over to His care? Whatever you have given over to Him, He is able to keep it safe for you. You can trust Him. He will not let you down. He is a Commander In Chief that you don’t need to doubt, He will always do good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
We are in the final days of this world and all Hell is breaking loose against God’s children because Satan knows our time is short. Satan is trying to get us to back down from following the Lord. He wants us to defect from God’s army. He would love to see God’s warriors become lazy and lax and He is doing everything he can to keep you from staying in ranks and not break formation.
Will you stand? Having done all to stand will you then stand and not give ground to the enemy? Are you a soldier of the Lord? Are you a force which Satan must contend with or does he leave you alone because you’re not a threat? I hope not.
It is my prayer that you would be mighty women of God. That you would lift His banner high and carry it with pride. You are a mighty princess warrior, one who can take the fight to the enemy because the Lord is on your side. For too many years we have been content with having a defensive stance towards the enemy. If he comes at us we resist him as it says in James 4:7 and he flees from us but I believe we can go on the offense too. Take the fight to the enemy by praying a hedge of protection around our families so Satan can’t touch them, by putting God first in our life and not compromising and by knowing the Word, our greatest weapon, and keeping it sharp and ready to be used.
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