Breath - Weapon for Warfare

​It was not until God breathed the breath of life into the nostrils of Adam that he became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)  Acts 17:24-25 explains, "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.  And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else." 
 
I have contemplated the importance of the breath of God as I sing the song, "Great Are You Lord" by James Ingram.  Think about these words:  "You give life.  You are love; You bring light to the darkness.  You give hope, You restore every heart that is broken.  And great are You Lord!  It's Your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise.  It's Your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise to You only."
 
Job has much to say about the breath of God.  "In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind." (Job 12:10)  "The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life." (Job 33:4)  "If it were His intension and He withdrew His Spirit and breath, all humanity would perish together, and mankind would return to dust."  (Job 34:14-15)  Likewise, the Psalmist recognizes how the Word of the Lord and His breath created the world we live in.  "By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth." (Psalm 33:6)  "...Each man's life is but a breath.  Selah.” (Psalm 39:5)
 
We were made in God's image. (Genesis 1:26, 9:6)  His intent was and is that His children partner with Him in creating.  How do we do this?  We co-create by our breath, speaking life into the world around us.  God wants us to bring heaven to earth through our spoken words.  God also realizes that the enemy of our souls will do anything possible to stop our agreement with the Kingdom of Light.  So, we are in the middle of a ferocious battle to stop us from speaking or even breathing.  Covid 19 literally takes away our breath!
 
God explains His provision for us in the area of battling against the powers of darkness in Ephesians 6. There are five defensive weapons in our toolbelt:  the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the helmet of salvation, and the shield of faith.  However, the Lord has given us two offensive weapons:  the sword of the Spirit and prayer in the Spirit.  Both weapons require us to use our breath and speak out truth.  Jesus demonstrated how to use the sword when the devil came after Him in the desert.  As Jesus spoke out the truth of the Word, the devil had to flee from Him.  In his book, Spiritual Warfare, Joseph Prince says, "It is not enough to just know God's Word in your heart.  You have to speak it out.  That is when latent power becomes actual power...God's Word in your mouth is like God speaking." (Page 83-84)  "When you declare the Scripture aloud, the Word of God fights for you. The devil has no defense against the Word of God." (Page 86)
 
We must not allow the enemy of our souls to keep us from declaring the truth and the praises of God Most High.  Remember that Jesus brought the breath of His Father to earth.  When He was getting ready to return to His Father in Heaven, He breathed on His disciples and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." (John 20:21)  The breath of God is in us to bring about life.  Much territory has been stolen from us during this past year.  We have been equipped with weapons for warfare.  God wants us to use them so that we not only recover what has been stolen from us, but we also take plunder from the enemy camp.  Start taking plunder, dear ones.  That is our inheritance!