Challenging the enemy in the battle of the mind

If we are going to overcome the enemy, we have to identify negative thought patterns, challenging and changing them. In the Bible, in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, it explains this process very clearly.

‘For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience to Christ.’

Therefore, according to the Bible, we have to ‘cast down arguments’ in our mind, including everything that ‘exalts itself against the knowledge of God’ (as found in Scripture) and then we have to make sure that ‘every thought’ is subject to the teaching of Christ.

As an example, imagine that you are not busy and a thought comes into your mind saying, “God will never answer your prayers, you are wicked.” You can either choose to accept that message, or you can bring it into subjection to the Bible’s teaching. Your answer could be, “Yes, I have sinned, but praise God the Bible tells me that if we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Therefore, God does hear my prayers because of what Christ Jesus did for me!”

As another example, you could get a thought saying, “You are worthless. Why don’t you just die?” Your answer could be, “I am not worthless – Christ died for me! What more could He do for me? I am created in the image of God – I have immense value because of that! I reflect the image of the Creator. The Bible says I will not die, but live and according to the Bible, I have a purpose on this earth in God’s plan.”

This battle in the mind is fought and won daily. For this reason, we need to go back to the Bible everyday, to read the word of God and learn what He says about us. As we do this, we will have the ‘verbal’ weapons to fight the enemy.

Finally, when the Apostle Paul wrote about the armour of God, he called the Word of God the Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). The Sword of God’s Word is used to cut down all the lies of the enemy and helps us win the battle of the mind!

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