Lord, Open Our Eyes

The spiritual realm is more real than the things we can see with our earthly eyes. In II Corinthians 4:18, Paul encourages us to "Look not at the things which are seen, but at the things that are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

We can be so focused on what we can see that we forget there is a very real spiritual world surrounding us. The Bible is clear that there are angels and demonic forces affecting our lives. Psalm 91:11 says, "He will give His angels charge over you to guard you in all your ways." Psalm 34:7 says, "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him."

It would be nice if we only had the angels surrounding us, but there are real evil forces who are out to try to steal, kill, and destroy. Ephesians 6:12 says, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."

But even though this battle is going on, God has provided us with the armor to go into battle including the truth of His Word, the revelation of who we are in Christ and the shield of faith, as well as other weapons (Ephesians 6:10-18). Romans 8:37 assures us we are more than conquerors and I John 4:4 tells us, "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world."

Even though we don't need to focus on the battle, we need to remember that we will not escape the attacks of our enemy. But we have the assurance that Jesus has already won the ultimate war and He has given us everything we need to overcome in this life.

II Kings 6 tells the story of the armies of Israel being surrounded by enemy forces. Elisha's servant was fearful of the chariots and horses he would see. But Elisha prayed, "O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." The Lord opened his eyes to see the spiritual forces warring on their behalf.

In the midst of life's battles, may we too be sensitive to the truth that we are surrounded by angel armies and we will experience the victory. We are not in this alone.

#angels #warfare