The use of Scriptures in spiritual warfare reminds me of a man who throws small daggers at a moving target; the daggers represent the Scriptures. As the man spends time practicing his throw, he gains more hits with growing speed and strengthening accuracy; moving targets are not easy to hit and require a tremendous amount of patience. Sometimes its not the speed that counts, but the accuracy, and at other times both speed and accuracy are vital. But, every time, the ability to pick up the dagger is the basis and foundation of the throw. This basis comes from studying the Scriptures in context; understanding what the Writer was intending to say is extremely important.

Once you begin to understand what you are reading then you are able to pull from the context with accuracy, then to apply it to the target. The more you practice learning the context, and pulling from the context within the context itself, as opposed to being out of context, the more effective you are. Speed comes with time and practice obviously, but you'll find your grasp of the Scriptures increases.

Another example: I am at war; I have an M-16 and every battle is different, my only defense is my M-16. The more effective I become at being able to load and re-load my weapon, the better I can defend myself. In certain situations, where the enemy surrounds you and is visible, it requires rapid-fire to release as many bullets as possible, to take out as many targets as possible. The ability to 'rapid-fire' is much easier and is effective at times. Then, there are times when you want to take out just one target, and to spray copious amounts of bullets would give away your position, or run the risk of missing your target; the ability to conserve time and ammunition is very important.

When I am preaching out on the streets and I meet someone for the first time to talk to, I usually have only 30 or 40 seconds to present the gospel in the most effective way possible. This requires an ability to pull from the Scriptures, quickly and accurately, what the individual needs to hear. It would not be effective for me to start quoting the "whom begat whom" Scriptures at the person at this moment, so the ability to narrow down what you are doing out there (which is to preach the gospel of Christ), with specific Scriptures relating to sin, repentance, hell, salvation and the resurrection, to effectively hit the target.

If I have a large audience that may or may not know Christ, I can set my weapon on rapid-fire, and fire as many Scriptures as possible, relating to the subject, in context, that I'm pulling from. These methods can be used in various combinations and take discernment and time to perfect the accuracy and speed, but the best place to begin is Scripture memory and study of contextual Scripture; know what you believe and why you believe it. Sometimes if you don't have an answer, the shield of faith is the most effective way to protect yourself from the onslaught of the enemy.

These examples are not mentioned in Scripture and should not be used with the same authority, nevertheless I hope that they will help you in your quest to effectively preach the gospel. Everything must be tested with the Scriptures.

- Steven

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