If you’re a Christian, you’re familiar with the imagery of war. Countless authors and speakers have compared our daily Christian walk to a battle--with ourselves, with the world, and even with each other. Even the great C.S. Lewis described this world as “enemy-occupied territory."

Okay, so we’re at war. But who are we fighting? In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul makes it clear that our true enemies are “principalities,” “powers,” and the “rulers of Darkness. (6:12).

As Christians, we are at war with Satan and his fallen angels. It’s Satan who tempts us, who creates strife in the church, and who enacts terrible evil in our lives.

But oftentimes, we ignore the problem of Satan entirely. We hear sermons that speak exclusively of God’s power and goodness, and while we should certainly ponder and appreciate these things, it seems that we focus on them to exclusion of all else.

In fact, many Christians now believe that Satan is not a being, but a “force” of negativity; What the Bible calls “Satan” is really nothing more than the collection of humanity’s bad thoughts. But this could not be further from the truth.

In the New Testament, the Apostle Peter tells us to “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8, NLT)” Does that sound like a simple force of negativity? I don’t think so.

God doesn’t want us to become preoccupied with the Devil. That can actually create even more problems than it solves. However, as Christians, it’s vitally important that we know our enemy and his tactics. Any decent military commander will tell you that before you fight an enemy, you must gather intel--learn his strategies so you know best how to defend yourself and defeat him.

Fortunately, God has supplied us with a whole book of intel, and it’s not even classified.

Ultimately, the power to defeat Satan in our daily lives comes only from God. Before you do any battling, suit up in His armor by reading your Bible and praying daily. And when you feel like defeat is imminent, call in reinforcements. James 4:7 lays it out in plain English: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”