With the rifle’s butt pressed against my right shoulder-blade in prone position and my forefinger wrapped around the trigger guard, I looked through the back sight to the fore sight and unto the target 100 meters away. Squeezing the trigger, hearing the sound of the round leave the barrel and feeling the recoil of the rifle ushered in a new dispensation and realisation of warfare.
My first experience at the shooting range wasn’t a pleasant one. I probably did not hit my target as well as I should and the ferocity of the exercise made me ill. In the course of the years in training, the 4 marksmanship principles were repeatedly drummed into our ears and I made the conscious decision to embrace them and become a marksman.
As Christians we are soldiers constantly in battle with the enemy, our weapons of warfare are not Carnal or made by humans.To be effective in spiritual warfare we must also be marksmen in the spirit by relating to the marksmanship principles.
- Position and hold must be firm enough to support the Weapon
Our weapon of warfare is the word of God which is the sword of the spirit, our confession and prayers. They are not carnal but made mighty through God for pulling down strongholds.
In this principle, you need to understand your position in Christ’s army. The fervent and effectual prayers of the righteous avails much. We are to rightly divide the word of God with a firm and balanced understanding. - Sight alignment, aiming must be correct
Who is the enemy? We must identify the enemy and take our aim correctly. The enemy is not your friend, boss, spouse, parents, siblings or in-laws. Remember that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. Understanding our position in Christ with the word on our lips, we identify the enemy, take an effective aim without praying amiss. - The Weapon must point naturally to the target without any physical effort
The level of victory we have is a function of our faith. By immersing ourselves in the word of God and not forsaking the assembly of the brethren, we build up the spirit man ready and equipped for the battle. By counting our blessings, sharing our testimonies, studying our heroes of faith, we exercise our spiritual muscles enabling us point our weapon at the enemy, against sickness and diseases, challenging situations and problems by faith believing we have received. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. - The shot must be released and followed through without disturbing the position
We are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus, and he has given us the victory. Knowing who we are in Christ, identifying who or enemy is and by directing our attack at the enemy, we release the word and send angels on assignment – His word will not return to him void. We maintain the same position of faith when we prayed and act as though we have received by giving thanks to God. We follow through with praise and thanksgiving with the same measure of faith and assurance of our position.
We are constantly in battle but we are assured of victory for we are more than conquerors in Christ.
