1 Samuel 21:8 (NKJV)
“And David said to Ahimelech, ‘Is there not here on hand a spear or a sword? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.’”

Never replace your personal weapons with someone else’s. Carry your own weapon with you all the time. There is something about knowing your weapon, owning your weapon and using your weapon. We refer to, of course, spiritual weapons.

Today’s devotion is a reminder of a basic principle that every pilgrim knows and that is the importance of being familiar with your spiritual disciplines. These are your fundamental spiritual resources for life and ministry.

You can never prevail over the forces of darkness in your life or your generation if you have not learned to carry and use your weapon. Darkness only bows to one thing, and that is spiritual authority. You have it; they listen.

Conversely, they know when you don’t have spiritual authority and they will plague your life with a million tiny things that will hurt and weary your soul. They know if you carry and use your weapon. They are very intelligent.

One way to get you off track is to keep you busy. This is an age-old trick and it’s worked from the beginning of time. When you notice you are too busy to engage with your spiritual disciplines, know that you are being set up. Wake up!

David fled from Saul but the one thing he needed to have taken with him were his weapons, but he didn’t. On the run, he had to borrow Goliath’s sword which, unfortunately, led to Ahimelech’s death. Borrowing cannot replace owning.

Reading the Word. Listening to God. Praying. Fasting. Practicing quietness. These are a few of your essential spiritual resources which you need to own and use regularly. No matter how busy life is, don’t drop these disciplines.

People who lived victoriously and shaped their generation never agreed to sacrifice their disciplines. No matter the haste, they slowed down enough to practice these disciplines. We must do likewise.