War Cry

What is a war cry?

You’ve seen those movies where right before a huge battle begins both sides let out a loud, roaring angry shout! Sometimes they are lifting their swords and shields up while roaring at the enemy on the other side of the battefield.

As Christians, we have a “war cry” that gets the attention of our God and that causes His angels to move into action on our behalf.

Let’s first talk about why there is a need for war. Satan set himself up as the enemy of God and later the enemy of God’s creation, especially mankind. We see this in Isaiah 14:13 where it tells us that Satan (Lucifer) said in his heart, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God” (NKJV).

That serpent deceived Eve & Adam in the Garden of Eden, causing sin to enter the world that God intended to be a kind of paradise. Man began to position himself as an enemy of God when we developed an awareness of sin and subsequently more of a desire for sin. The Apostle Paul explains his personal experience this way: “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me” (Romans 7:19-20, NKJV).

So whether intentionally or unintentionally, mankind is continually faced with sin. Paul says later in the same letter that “the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God nor indeed can be” (Romans 8:7, NKJV). Therefore, if we do not want to set ourselves up as the enemies of God, we must war against the sin that seeks to rise up in our minds. Every sinful act begins with the thoughts in our minds. That’s why the scripture in Isaiah says Lucifer said what he would do in his heart (mind) first.

Let’s war!

2 Corintihians 10:3-6 says, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled” (NKJV). Once we have obediently pulled down strongholds, cast down arguments and high things that are against God and brought all thoughts captive, we must remain ready to do it all over again.

A “war cry”, or a sound made in battle, has the potential to confuse the enemy and to signal others to come to our aid. One “war cry” weapon that I will discuss here is the Word of God. I will then discuss two effective “war cry” strategies that position us to receive the help of the Lord against our enemy: prayer and praise.

The Word of God

Jesus used this weapon, “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17b) when He fought off Satan in the wilderness. The scriptures tell us that Jesus was tempted by the devil. It is recorded that the devil said three things to Jesus and each time Jesus responded with the word of God. As a result, it says, “Then the devil leaveth him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him” (Matthew 4: 11, KJV).

Speaking the word of God is a “war cry” that causes the enemy to flee and angels to come and move on our behalf!

Prayer

Prayer, communication with God regarding our needs, is another powerful “war cry”. Romans 10:13 tells us “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (NKJV). Paul repeats this in a different way when he says, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16, NKJV). When he was explaining to the Ephesian church the need to put on the whole armor of God to be able to withstand the wiles of the devil, Paul included that they needed to be “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:18a, KJV).

Why does prayer work as an effective “war cry”? Romans 8:30b says, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (KJV) If we agree with God, our minds are not enmity against Him. We are fighting on the same side. God’s promise to those fighting on His side is found in the book of Psalms: “Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him” (Psalm 91:15-16, KJV).

I urge you as Paul does: “in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7-8, KJV). The mind is mentioned here again. Prayer guards our minds from attack. Use it as a “war cry”.

Praise

What is praise? According to Google, praise is “the expression of approval or admiration for someone or something.” When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, we take the first step toward living a life full of praise to God–we approve of His role in our loves and admire who He is and all of His works. Our praise unto God causes us to stand with Him and not as His enemies.

The scriptures declare that our Lord’s desire is to give us “the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isaiah 61:3, NKJV). In other words, God benefits from receiving our praise and praise has the ability to lift heavy burdens from us, or to pull down strongholds, cast down arguments, etc. This is evident in the story of David’s visit with King Saul.

David was a psalmist who both heard from God and, as the Bible tells us, was a man after God’s own heart. He simply played the harp and “Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him” (1 Samuel 16:23, NKJV). The beautiful truth in this story is that whether our praise comes through our voices or through instruments, the sound or the “war cry” that is made causes the evil spirits of our enemy to flee.

In the end, the real end, the end of the world as we know it, God wins. Our Father, which art in heaven, has given His Son Jesus Christ the victory and that victory extends to us as believers in Christ. We are joint-heirs with Christ.

In the meantime, there is an ongoing battle that must be fought. We must work out our soul salvation. We must agree with God daily. Each believer must send up a “war cry”.