The Sword the Spirit Wields

It’s audio devo day!

Holy Spirit will provide you a fresh word in season for whatever you are facing right now. That same word now becomes your sharp, double-edged sword of victory. Just one word from His mouth changes everything! Get ready for Him to strengthen your heart as you listen here:

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“Take… the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:17, NIV).

Take it. He is holding it out to you. The sword of the Spirit. This is His provision for you, His gift to you. The sword of the Spirit is the word of God. His very own word. His utterances. Every word from the mouth of God. This is your life. This is your strength. This is your victory.

“Word” here in the Greek is the term rhema. It means the spoken word of God. It means, what He is saying right now. His words are Spirit, and they are life. One word from His mouth changes everything, as the centurion of Luke 23 understood and expressed. As soon as he did so, Jesus spoke the healing word, and his servant was completely restored. Just one word. We, too, can ask for just one word.

Just one word from His mouth is all we need. For this reason, our sword is called “the sword of the Spirit.” We hear the word He is speaking through the voice of the Spirit. I love how the AMPC renders this verse: “And take… the sword that the Spirit wields, which is the Word of God” (Eph. 6:17, AMPC). We wield this sword He is giving to us through the Spirit. In other words, the Spirit wields it through us. Through our hearts and through our mouths, the Spirit speaks forth the word of God. He knows exactly which word from God’s mouth that we need for each and every situation that we face. As we walk in the Spirit, He will put His words in our mouths. They will shatter the enemy’s defenses.

Do you notice that all the other pieces of our armor are defensive, but this last one is offensive? There’s a reason Holy Spirit culminates our Ephesians 6 armor description this way. As they say, the best defense is an effective offense. The Father does not intend us to stay in a defensive position. On the contrary, He has made us “more than conquerors!”

We find this promise in Romans 8:37. The original language there says that we “hyper-conquer.” We overwhelmingly conquer. This sword… this is an unstoppable weapon God is putting in our hands. With it, you and I are going to partner with Jesus in His mission: seeing His Kingdom established where the enemy used to hold sway. As His Kingdom advances, the enemy has to let go of what he was holding. You and I get to be right in the middle of this glorious taking of ground.

God made His battle plans for this world with you in mind. Never doubt your importance in His army. He foreordained your life with a design that is critical to the unfolding of His purposes for His creation. No one else in all of history can do the assignment He has for you. Your place is essential. You have an indispensable part in seeing His Kingdom come, His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

How is this going to work? As you give yourself to God, He will do it. He will put His word in your heart and in your mouth. Allowing the Spirit to wield the word of God through you is central to your assignment. Ask Him to train you in fighting with the sword of the Spirit. As you do so, remember. This weapon He has provided you is MIGHTY. We have this assurance from Him: “The weapons with which we fight are not human weapons, but are mighty for God in overthrowing strong fortresses” (2 Cor. 10:4, Weymouth).

Mighty! With the eyes of your heart, take a good look at the powerful sword you are holding. What does it look like? Ask Holy Spirit to show you, to teach you about it. You have, right there in your hands, everything you need for victory today. With this sword you can absolutely demolish the works of the enemy. Visualize that. Visualize this description of the victory He is going to give you:

“I chased my enemies and caught them; I did not stop until they were conquered. I struck them down so they could not get up; they fell beneath my feet. You have armed me with strength for the battle; you have subdued my enemies under my feet. I have destroyed all who hated me. I ground them as fine as dust in the wind. I swept them into the gutter like dirt. You gave me victory…” (Ps. 18:37-43, NLT).

As you follow the Spirit’s lead, He is going to subdue your enemies under your feet. And He is going to do it with the sword of His Spirit. So go ahead and ask Him. What is that one word from His mouth? What is He saying right now about the situation you are facing? What is that one word that will change everything? And be expectant. He will soon answer you. He will make His word clear to you. He will bring your attention to exactly the rhema, the word in season, that you need for right now.

Once you have received His answer, invite Him to pray that rhema through you. Then, leaning into Holy Spirit, pray the prayers that rise up inside of you. When you are filled with His Spirit, His prayers will bubble up inside of you like a spring as you focus on His presence. These are the rivers of living water that Jesus promised to those who believe in Him, flowing from within us (John 7:38-39). This river is the living waters of Holy Spirit. His word and His prayers will flow through your spirit as a current. Simply yield to His current and allow it to carry you along in prayer. This is the “water in which one must swim” (Ezek. 47:5, NKJV).

Whenever you find yourself in battle, ask Him for a rhema. He will always, always provide one. Here is another translation of our verse for today: “Also take… the word of God as the sword that the Spirit supplies”. (Eph. 6:17, GW). Holy Spirit will always supply the word that we need. Always. He will highlight a particular portion of Scripture that addresses the need at hand. He will then confirm His word to you multiple times. Write it down. Memorize it. Speak it out loud. Pray it. Declare it.

Doing so is an astonishing privilege. He is sharing His very own sword with us. The imagery from Revelation 1:16 brings this home to us: “He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength” (NKJV). What was that sword coming out of His mouth? His word. It is “…living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing…” (Heb. 4:12, NKJV).

This sharp two-edged sword is the same one that He hands to you and says, “Take the sword of the Spirit.” How awe-inspiring to be one with Him! How breathtaking to be given the privilege of saying what He is saying, speaking what He is speaking, declaring what He is declaring! As we do, He Himself fights our battles. John’s amazing imagery of Him continues in the next chapter of Revelation: “These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword… ‘I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth’” (Rev. 2:12,16, NKJV).

As you allow Holy Spirit to wield this sword through you, Jesus fights against your enemies. This battle is not yours, but His. You think any foe is going to last against Him? When Jesus gets through with our enemies, all they will be is dust in the wind.

Yes, this is His battle. And He will win it. Yet, He invites you to play an exciting part of it. All for His glory! You get to be the one He prays through. You get to be the one He declares His decrees through. You get to be the one He wields His sword through. This, my friend, is where God uses you to change the world. Believe it. The unique assignment He created you for will reverberate for eternity.

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Have you experienced the Spirit flowing through you as you pray? If so, how would you describe it?