something far, subtler--"but against the principalities"--a word for a
compact organization of individuals,--"against powers"--not only organized
but highly endowed intellectually, "against the world-rulers of this
darkness,"--they are of princely kin; not common folk--"against the hosts
of wicked spirits in the heavenlies"--spirit beings, in vast numbers,
having their headquarters somewhere above the earth. _That_ is the foe.
Large numbers of highly endowed spirit beings, compactly organized, who
are the sovereigns of the present realm or age of moral darkness, having
their _headquarters_ of activity somewhere above the earth, and below the
throne of God, but concerned with human beings upon the earth. In chapter
two of the epistle the head or ruler of this organization is referred to,
"the prince of the powers of the air."[25] That is the real foe.

Then in one of his strong piled up climactic sentences Paul tells how the
fight is to be won. This sentence runs unbroken through verses fourteen to
twenty inclusive. There are six preliminary clauses in it leading up to
its main statement. These clauses name the pieces of armour used by a
Roman soldier in the action of battle. The loins girt, the breastplate on,
the feet shod, the shield, the helmet the sword, and so on. A Roman
soldier reading this or, hearing Paul preach it, would expect him to
finish the sentence by saying "_with all your fighting strength
fighting_."

That would be the proper conclusion rhetorically of this sentence. But
when Paul reaches the climax with his usual intensity he drops the
rhetorical figure, and puts in the thing with which in our case the
fighting is done--"with all prayer _praying_." In place of the
expected word fighting is the word praying. The thing with which the
fighting is done is put in place of the word itself. Our fighting is
praying. Praying is fighting, spirit-fighting. That is to say, this old