Soul Training: Day 1 -3 of 40.

For the Wrestler: A 40-Day Guide to Wrestling the Spiritual Forces of Evil in the Heavenly Realms

Written by Restorer, a Soul-Trainer

How to Use this Guide

The most effective way to use this guide is to select 40 days within the calendar year in which to engage in wrestling. You might consider the season of Lent, though you may discern another season of the year.  The Guide should be used daily during the 40 days. There are entries that the Soul-Trainer has prepared for the Wrestler. It is crucial that the Wrestler engage in prayer after reading, considering, and doing what each entry says.

Day 1-2

On this 40-Day Guide to Wrestling the Spiritual Forces of Evil in the Heavenly Realms, you, the Wrestler, will journey into the desert. The desert is a physical place where you will engage in the battle of the heart, soul, mind, and strength. You will come to identify this place at some point in the journey.  One primary purpose of this guide as to help you learn what this means: “ ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ”[1] The secondary purpose is for you, the Wrestler (though you will find yourself struggling against the systems of man and this dark world) to see that your “struggle is actually 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.”[2]

While we will not ignore the heart, mind, and strength, this training will focus on the soul. You will learn the governing principals of the soul and how, since the creation of man, it has wrestled with an addiction to power. “By taking the fruit, Adam became possessed of an inherent power to act, but a power which, by its independence of God, played right into Satan’s hands.”[3] Throughout the 40 Days, there will be times of great trial where the core of you will feel utterly defeated. A blow will come when you least expect it. It is as if an invisible fist came at you without forewarning. You will be on the ground and see your own blood dripping down your skin, clothes, and on the desert ground. You might be down for a minute, an hour, a day, or even a week. This is when you most need to realize that the battle is not yours alone. There is a stronger invisible force that is greater than that of this dark world. This force is the Holy Spirit of the living God who Tabernacles within you upon invitation. When He comes, He will give you power. This is not the self-seeking power the soul is addicted to, but a power from on high that will give you the strength to get back up and wrestle again. (Read scriptural references related to power.)

It is important to start your day with prayer. Select times throughout the day to actively pray about your journey.  This guide is a way to have conversation and meditation about how to wrestle; it is not a replacement for the Holy Spirit or for your personal relationship with Jesus. Wrestler will need to keep a journal and Bible within reach throughout the journey.

Scriptural references related to the word power:

2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

2 Corinthians 10:4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Colossians 1:1 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

Hebrews 2:14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—

DAY 3: Why 40 Days?

Below is the passage often titled, “The Temptation of Jesus.”

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    and they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ ”

Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ ”

Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.