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A Change of Allegiance  /  Chapter 12, My Defender is God  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 10
Using Tertullian’s claims about prayer (“arms and missiles…never walk we unarmed”) Dean concludes, “It is not enough to be non-resistant. I must engage in battle…prayer, fasting, and gospel preaching”; which of these “weapons” have you functionally replaced with worldly ones (in tone, tactics, or trust), and what concrete change would demonstrate that “my defender is God” this week?
Another way to ask: Dean says our battle tools are prayer, fasting, and preaching the gospel. Which of these have you swapped out for worldly methods (your tone, tactics, or what you trust), and what is one clear change you could make this week to show you trust God as your defender?

Direct Answer The transcript pushes believers to replace worldly confidence and force with God’s weapons—especially prayer, fasting, and gospel-centered action—because God is the true defender. A concrete change would be choosing deliberate prayerful “engagement” instead of retaliation or manipulation when facing conflict.

Support from Transcript:

  • Dean concludes: “It is not enough to be non-resistant. I must engage in battle with the mighty weapons that God has charged me to use.”
  • He names the weapons plainly: “arm myself with the weapons of prayer, fasting, and gospel preaching.”
  • Tertullian is quoted to elevate prayer as active warfare: “Prayer is the wall of faith, her arms and missiles…so never walk we unarmed.”
  • Dean connects this to daily discipline: “By day…mindful of station, by night of vigil…Under the arms of prayer.”
  • He contrasts these with “weapons of the world” he felt tempted not to simply abandon without replacement.
  • His theme returns: “My Defender is God…deliverance…work of an omnipotent defender.”
Discussion Follow-ups Where do you rely on “tone, tactics, or trust” that look like Frankie’s world rather than Romans 12? What specific moment this week could become a test case for prayerful, non-avenging warfare?

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