I love to watch wrestling. No, not the slam dunk, throw-em-across-the-ring brawls you see on television, but the true competition that takes place on mats across the country during the bleak winter months. Two contestants walk across the mat and, with a steely eyed stare, get ready to engage in a battle of strength and will. After three two-minute periods of power, strength and speed, one winner emerges with his or her hand raised by the referee. Often, the loser is defeated by a more skilled opponent, but once in a while, a superior wrestler simply underestimates an opponent and that person’s abilities.

In the book of Ephesians, Paul says that we do not battle a physical enemy, but one that is powerful and of the dark world. These spiritual combatants want nothing more than to destroy us and they will do anything and everything they can to bring on that destruction. How often in our everyday struggles do we underestimate the power of the dark grapplers that ensnare us? How many times do we under-train for the onslaught that comes at us by the dark forces, and thus, succumb to their arrows of drugs, alcohol and other sins?

When we understand the power and strength of our enemy, we start to understand the necessity of spiritual training. A few minutes a day glancing over a dusty Bible or a hurried half-muttered prayer will not strengthen us to fight the good fight. To gain true spiritual strength we must train daily, and train as if our lives depend on it!