Evangelism is often difficult. People may have challenging issues, hard stories, and tough questions.  We may need many conversations and seasons of encouragement before the message takes root.  On top of those challenges, it is not uncommon for the enemy to spiritually attack those sharing the Good News.

Satan knows that our own spiritual walk will impact the power of our witness. The right response to this warfare is for us to be spiritually disciplined and led by the Holy Spirit. We simply are not able to properly share the things that are important in the life of a Christian if we are not engaged in those activities in a healthy manner.  Said another way, our walk must mirror our talk.

We all know that being saved does not remove us from this war with the enemy. Many factors can pull us away from God including our brokenness as well as the distractions and busyness of a fractured world. Paul offers us the prescription for how to defend ourselves in Ephesians 6:10-18 when he describes the armor of God available to us in this battle.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

As clear as this call is, it is not easy to embrace these spiritual disciplines. These things take time, effort, and consistency. They simply do not work as intended when God is secondary in our lives, or we give Him the leftovers of our time and attention.

Four spiritual disciplines not only strengthen our own walk with Jesus but also allow us to present a more compelling and clearer path for new believers to grow in faith.

• Bible reading and regular time in God’s Word
• Time in silence and prayer
• Worship and community with other believers
• Repentance and submission to God’s Word

When we are far from living out these things in our own lives, we will not be able to properly stress the importance of these activities in the lives of others. We will take the next few months to dig into each of these spiritual disciplines more deeply and encourage you to live out your witness by growing closer to God in these critical areas of your Christian walk.