The entire concept of a stronghold is a place that has been fortified to withstand attack. It’s a defensive structure, and it’s intended to be there a long time. And to think that you have an enemy who has literally set up strongholds in your life — well, that’s a very scary idea.
Yet Scripture promises an amazing thing:
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
— 2 Corinthians 10:4
The weapons we have access to have the power to destroy strongholds. Not just temporarily disable them, but destroy them.
Imagine the sin issue or addiction that has plagued you for as long as you can remember — the one that seems to have set up a permanent residence in your life. It’s got stone walls and moats and barbed wire, and it seems like it’s not going anywhere. Well, the Bible says we have weapons against that. And they are not weapons of the flesh. When we rely on our flesh, it is very much us leaning on our own understanding, our own powers. And the sad truth is that our powers are weak. But again, Scripture makes these awesome promises:
For when I am weak, then I am strong.
— 2 Corinthians 12:10
My flesh and heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
— Psalm 73:26
The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
— Romans 8:26
Plainly put, in our weakness, God is strong. And his Holy Spirit will help us in our weakness. Even when we don’t know how or what to pray, the Holy Spirit comes through. That’s divine power, and it’s way more powerful than anything we could do on our own. Romans 8 goes on to say, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” So why do we attribute such strength to these unwelcome strongholds? And why would we ever try to fight them with sheer will-power alone?
The answer isn’t in the flesh. The answer is to fall to our knees and to rely on the overwhelming power of God — the amazing, divine, stronghold-destroying power. Even if you’re not sure how to pray these strongholds out of your life, just pray. The Spirit’s got you.