For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
                                                                                    Ephesians 6:12

Wrestling—A sport in which two competitors grapple with and strive to trip or throw each other down or off-balance. It is practiced in various styles, including freestyle wrestling, in which contestants can use holds above and below the waist, and Greco-Roman wrestling, which allows only holds above the waist.
                                                                                    britanica.com

That Ephesians passage is perhaps the most quoted when it comes to spiritual warfare.  I always struggled with it because it calls us to fight against that which we cannot see or touch.  It also challenges us to look beyond flesh—almost releasing it from blame—because other forces are at work. 

But wait, we are not called to fight.  We are told that we wrestle.  Wrestling is different.  In a fight, you throw punches, hit, and, in some cases, try to destroy your opponent.  In wrestling, it is about throwing down or tripping your competitor.  Once down, you try to pin him to the mat so he can no longer move.  While there are different forms of wrestling, the basic premise is the same:  Through shifting positions, changing your grip, and getting your opponent off-balance, you pin him in a position—unable to move and ineffective.   The other way to win is to simply avoid getting pinned yourself.  You rack up points by making the right moves.

So then, those principalities, those rulers, and that wickedness in high places seek to get us off-balance, to trip us, and pin us down until we are out for the count.  So what do good wrestlers do?  They get in the right position, they anticipate their opponent, avoid his grip, and move quickly.  Good wrestlers know the moves and how to counter them.  The other thing they do is they get up off the mat as quickly as possible—don’t stay down or they’ll get held there.  Oddly enough, the positions we should assume are ones that are not visibly aggressive.   Positions of prayer, praise, and obedience at times look like surrender—hands-up, on your knees, study, and submission—but they are the best tools and the Biblical tools we should be using.

Know that wrestling with the adversary and his minions is serious, but often more showmanship than substance.  He is already defeated, and like TV wrestling, the fight has been fixed—you win.  God is the referee, Jesus is your tag-team partner, and the Holy Spirit is your coach.  And, together, they’ve had the devil pinned from the very beginning. 

You are the target of a ruler of darkness.  It counts on your not knowing that fact or not taking it seriously, it counts on your getting thrown off-balance, it hopes you forget your power, and it counts on your not seeing it coming.  It also counts on your focusing on flesh and blood rather than your true foe.  Get in position, keep your balance, and move quickly—good wrestlers never stay down.

Stop fighting and get into position…