Battle Song Analysis

The song Battle Song by Lecrae focuses mainly on the spiritual battle Christian people will go through in their daily lives. Lecrae writes about the persecution and further more about the importance of wearing the full armor of God so that we are ready for the battle and for anything else thrown our way. Throughout the song he hints and references passages from the bible to back up his argument. This song is meant as an encouragement to Christian people to keep the faith and to fight for the name of Christ.


The main scripture this song is based around is Ephesians 6:10-17 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Near the beginning of the song Lecrae sings “My belt tight, shoes laced, plus a breast plate My war helmet on now I got my head straight.” This is a direct reference to that portion of scripture. Lecrae talks much about battling and although he uses very literal and physical terms, the real battle he is talking about is the battle of persecution, temptation, and the spiritual battle all Christians struggle with.

The issue of persecution is huge throughout this song. Lecrae states “Plenty of faith in the persecution is inventory.” Lecrae uses this verse to further drive his point to the issue of persecution but also as a hint to a couple of scriptures. The first being Matthew 5:10-12 “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” And the second scripture being 2 Timothy 3:12 “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Through these lines Lecrae is saying that although persecution may seem like a bad and hard thing to go through, in truth it is good and should be expected if you are living a true Christian life.

Near the end of the first verse Lecrae states that “And if they drop us this promise we’ll take it to the grave, that tonight we may die, but to die is our gain.” Lecrae ends with this statement to make the point that, yes, we will be persecuted and tortured, some of us to the point of death, for the name of Jesus Christ, but to be tortured and persecuted for us should be a good thing because it not only shows us that we are doing something right but also that we have hope in the eternal life after death. To die for us is gain, not loss. Philippians 1:21 “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

In the chorus of the song Lecrae writes “And yeah though I walk through the valley of the dead, ya my hope still remains.” Psalm 23:4 says “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Lecrae uses this reference in the chorus which of course is the most sung part of the song to show that even though we will go through persecution and strife for the name of Jesus Christ, throughout all of this God will give us strength and comfort so that we can stand strong and not give up.

Throughout the entire span of the song Lecrae sings of the persecution, temptation, and spiritual and physical struggle Christians will go through in their daily lives if they are truly living for Christ. Although it may seem as though this is a song about negative things in Christian life, Lecrae is actually stating that if these things are happening to you, and if you are continuing to push through, then you should be glad and should rejoice over this, because great is your reward in heaven. He is telling all Christians to stand strong and to not give up. To come together and fight to spread the name of Jesus Christ to the world. This is truly inspirational song to me.