5 Characteristics of a Warrior in The Bible

If you read through your Bible, you’ll read countless stories in the Old Testament about warriors going to battle. You probably think that those stories aren’t important to your life. Unless you’re in the military, you won’t be fighting wars.

I joined the military when I was 18, and even though I never fought in a war, we prepared and trained for it. I also wasn’t a Christian until I was getting out of the military, so I never really connected the Bible and fighting wars. Now I know that there are a lot of warriors in the Bible, and we can

The New Testament is a spiritual copy of physical things in the Old Testament.

Even though we might not be in a physical war, we are in a spiritual war.

2 Corinthians 10 says that we’re not in a physical war, and we don’t use the weapons that the world uses to fight, but we are definitely in a war with real enemies. There are things fighting against us and the knowledge of God.

Ephesians 6:12 tells us that we’re in a spiritual battle–not fighting against people, but spiritual things. There’s a kingdom with rulers and princes that’s warring against us, trying to destroy us.

You can ignore the war that’s going on around you, or you can prepare yourself and participate in it.

Ignoring the spiritual war has consequences, so it’s better to understand what it means to be a warrior and understand how to stand your ground.

I found 5 characteristics of a warrior in the Bible, and I think they’ll help you win the spiritual battles you face.

1. They’re equipped for the battle

Before going into any battle, you need to have the right equipment. If not, you’re setting yourself up for a loss.

“Although the LORD your God has given you this land as your property, all your fighting men must cross the Jordan ahead of your Israelite relatives, armed and ready to assist them.”
Deuteronomy 3:18 NLT

“The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD.”
Proverbs 21:31 NIV

Even though the equipment isn’t what wins the battle, it’s our responsibility as a warrior to be equipped and ready.

Since we aren’t fighting a physical war, we don’t need a horse, shield, or sword.

Ephesians 6 describes the armor of God that we need to equip ourselves with.

The belt of truth
The breastplate of righteousness
The gospel of peace
The shield of faith
And the word of God–the sword of the spirit

We need to know the truth because the devil is the father of lies. If we don’t know the truth, we can’t recognize a lie and can’t fight against it. We need righteousness, which is approval from God. Our enemy is working to get us to disobey God and go against His ways. We fight against this with righteousness that comes by our faith in Jesus.

The gospel of peace is the good news. In a world that’s filled with unrest and worry, we need peace.

The shield of faith protects us from the lies of the enemy, telling us that our future is filled with bad things. Faith believes and trusts God.

The word of God is the offensive equipment. It enables us to move forward and take territory for God’s Kingdom.

2. They have experience

Being a warrior means that you need to fight some battles. Again–you’re not fighting other people. There are battles happening 24/7 in the spiritual realm.

If you want to be a warrior, you need to engage. You can’t be passive.

“Now besides Benjamin, the men of Israel numbered four hundred thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were men of war.” 
Judges 20:17 NKJV

How do you get experience? You step out in faith. You draw a line in the sand and stop putting up with the attacks of the enemy.

John 10:10 says that the devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy. And 1 Peter 5:8 says he roams around like a lion seeking whom he can devour.

If there are things in your life that have been stolen from you, it’s time to fight back with prayer, declaring the word of God, and saying no to ungodly habits.

This won’t be easy. I can tell you firsthand that training for a battle is hard work. Even though it’s spiritual, you’ll be out of your comfort zone.

In Daniel 10, there’s a story about Daniel praying and consecrating himself to God. Then an angel comes to Daniel and tells him that he’s been in a spiritual battle for 21 days since Daniel first prayed.

Even though he couldn’t see it, Daniel was a part of a spiritual battle because he was praying and seeking God.

3. They’re with God

Gideon is another popular example of a warrior in the Bible. He’s living in a time of oppression, and God calls him to be a warrior.

“When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.”
Judges 6:12 NIV

If you read the story in Judges 6, 7, and 8, you’ll see the reason why Gideon was a successful warrior. It wasn’t because of his top-notch training, or the size of the army he was with. Gideon won battles because God was with him.

We see the same thing when David is walking into the valley to fight Goliath. David is a confident warrior because he understands that God is with him. David writes about this famously in Psalm 23.

"Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."
Psalm 23:4 NIV

Another example of this is when an entire Syrian army is coming to capture and kill Elisha. The army is completely surrounding Elisha, and his servant brings him the bad news. But Elisha is a warrior and he knows that God is with him, protecting him.

Elisha tells his servant not to worry, because the army of God is bigger than the Syrian army.

"So he answered, 'Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.' And Elisha prayed, and said, 'Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.' Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha."
2 Kings 16-17 NKJV

4. They’re strong and valiant

When you think of a warrior, you don’t picture a frail, weak person. You picture someone who is strong and brave. They have the confidence to conquer and overcome any challenge they face.

“All the days of Saul there was bitter war with the Philistines, and whenever Saul saw a mighty or brave man, he took him into his service.”
1 Samuel 14:52 NIV

“The man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor; and Solomon, seeing that the young man was industrious, made him the officer over all the labor force of the house of Joseph.”
1 Kings 11:28 NKJV

In the Old Testament when they were fighting physical wars, you can imagine that the commander of the army chose physically strong warriors. They wanted men who could handle a sword and shield effectively.

You still need to be strong today.

Ephesians 6:10 says that we need to be strong in the Lord. We need to have courage to fight back against the enemy, and fight to take territory.

Jesus said “the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” People who take the kingdom aren’t passive or indecisive. They’re strong and valiant warriors.

5. They use wisdom and knowledge

Lastly, effective warriors use wisdom and knowledge. Without wisdom, you can try to accomplish something, but you’re likely to fail. Brute strength is never an effective fighting tactic.

“The wise are mightier than the strong, and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger.” 
Proverbs 24:5

Even if your enemy is stronger than you, you can win the fight if you use wisdom.

How do you become wise?

There are two important things to do.

Ask God for wisdom
Seek wise counsel

James tells us that if we desire more wisdom, we can ask God for it. God will always answer our prayer for wisdom. It probably won’t come in a lightning bolt where we suddenly have 10% more wisdom. For me, wisdom comes from reading the Bible, and experiencing problems. One of the best ways to get wisdom is to be in a difficult situation where you need to make decisions.

Secondly, other people are there to help us. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to do things on my own when I should’ve asked for a second or third opinion.

Proverbs 15:22 says this: “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” And Proverbs 11:14 says, “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.”

Here’s a great worship song called “Into The Battle”. It’s one of my favorites, and I hope it inspires and encourages you if you’re in the middle of a battle.