2nd Corinthians 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 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.
This passage of scripture teaches us that spiritual weapons must be used in the battles against sin and self, for we cannot stop evil thoughts and actions using material weaponry, neither can the devil and his evil angels be conquered with bullets. The warfare is spiritual and therefore the weapons must also be spiritual. In Ephesians chapter six we are given a detailed list of these weapons which include prayer, the study of God's word, faith, salvation etc. But what is worthy of note is that none of the weapons can be used successfully apart from Christ, hence the reason why the passage for today states that they are "Mighty through God".
We need the presence and the power of The Holy Spirit to make effectual the weapons of our warfare, for it is only through Him that they can be effectively used. Let's take for instance the weapon of prayer. In and of ourselves, we sometimes make serious blunders in prayer, by asking for the wrong things at the wrong time for the wrong purpose, and so The Holy Ghost steps in and refines and fine tunes our prayers, thus making them acceptable to God, so that the appropriate answers can be given. Let's read:
Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
One of the most severe battles we face is that of controlling our thoughts, for often in the Christian's life, evil thoughts are suggested to our minds at random, and we are often perplexed to know where they came from. Did they originate with us, or did they arise from what we saw, heard, felt, tasted, or smelt, or worse yet, did the devil imperceptibly invade our thinking, without us knowing? We may not always know the answer to these questions, but what we do know is that when the weapons of our warfare are engaged through the power of God, they can control thoughts, words, and actions, to the point where these elements which sometimes run riot in our lives can, by the grace of God be thoroughly subdued.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which should be personally adopted by every Christian, for if the Psalmist David yearned for cleanness of heart as being necessary to spiritual victories, we also who are surrounded by temptations and enticements, should also harbor the same desire. Let's read:
Psalms 19:12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. 14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
May the grace of God and the fellowship of The Holy Spirit enable us to wage successful war against the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, the only three categories of sin which exist. God bless!