Many people do not fully know what Spiritual Warfare is or what to do about it.
One way to explain spiritual warfare is by comparing it to physical war. War is often about controlling territory for political reasons or economic power. Spiritual war is the battle for control over people’s souls.
Whether you follow God or not, God created you for a reason. He created you so that we may know Him and experience His love. He created you for you to love others as you love yourself and to use your skills and talents for the good of the world.
However, God has an enemy, who is known as Satan or the devil or simply “the enemy.” Because he is an enemy to God he is our enemy too. Satan is jealous of all people, Satan is on the warpath to erase mankind as God intended. In a world where there is hate and confusion that gobbles up what God intended for good satan wants mockery. Satan is jealous because we were created to have fellowship with God and ultimately worship Him as Creator and Lord.
Satan is committed to preventing people from knowing God and trusting Him with their lives. Whether your a believer or not Satan’s purpose is always to keep people from experiencing the Love of God.
2 Corinthians 4:4 tells us,
“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (NIV)
I remember at time when Satan attacked me at a prayer meeting. I was singing worship songs and after I said something to the worship leader. I thought I heard Him say something derogatory towards me. I was completely filled with hate toward him. As I left the church I had a huge hate for my Pastor. By the time I reached my home, I hated the entire church and everyone in it. So much so I told myself I was never going back.
In the temptation of Adam and Eve recorded in Genesis 3, it provides a clear picture of what we can expect from the devil.
- He is more crafty than any wild animal
- He comes along pretending to be an ally.
- He received by trying to bend the truth that God speaks to us.
- He tries to plant doubts in your mind about the things God has said.
- He wants us to think God is restricting us when in reality He is protecting us.
- He uses our pride and our sense of shame to turn us against others.
Whether you feel under a spiritual attack right now or know someone else who might be or just want to understand spiritual warfare better. We are all involved in a Spiritual war whether we realize it or not.
Spiritual warfare sounds like a battle between God and His enemies. But what does that have to do with us?
Our flesh and souls are in an internal fight. There are days where we all struggle to believe what the Bible says about God or about you. Which is completely normal but lies, and the subtle ones are one of Satan’s favorite tactics.
The Bible teaches that three forces are battling with God for ownership of our hearts:
- The World
- Our flesh
- Satan
Thankfully God is stronger than all of them.
There is no doubt the world encourages people to think and act in certain ways. Today very few cultures point us towards Jesus. And our ability to follow Jesus and maintain a strong connection with God.
Culture wants us to follow the path of hate and confusion. God desires us to go down the path of love and wisdom. The things culture wants us to focus our attention on is usually a clear indicator of the position of God commandment and wants the opposite.
You shall not have other gods before God. Yet culture focuses on personal appearances, money, material possessions.
You shall not murder. Yet we are killing babies and each other for no reason except for greed.
You shall not steal. Yet culture has become okay with store thefts. As long as you don’t steal over a certain dollar amount.
1 John 2:16 says
“For everything in world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world” (NIV).
When we pray we should ask God if there are ways you are putting something the world values before Him in our life.
There is no doubt the influence of the world is very real, we also need to be aware that the struggle to turn away from God can comes from within us from our own sin and our own desires.
Paul gives us a great picture of what this struggle feels like in Romans 7:21-23,
“I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the ones who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” (NKJV)
Ask God to search your heart and make you aware of the ways you might be choosing to be the god of your own life. As He reveals things to you, ask for His forgiveness and strength to live according to His plan for you.
Ultimately Satan had already been defeated by what Jesus did when He died on the cross. Jesus’s resurrection from the dead demonstrates that He won the victory over death. But Satan wants to blind people to this truth -what Jesus has done for us.
Satan attempts to send people off course in our relationship with God. It goes right back to the beginning of the human story. Satan was the author of the first temptation humans faced.
It is important to be mindful of your enemy, Satan, is real . He is single minded and dangerous, so we must be wise in how you conduct your warfare with him. If you follow Jesus, God have given you incredible resources by placing the Holy Spirit within us when we are saved (baptized), but you need to resist letting your pride tempt you and try to defeat the Satan on your own. You cannot do it without God.
If you feel like you’re under attack from Satan in any way, bring that to God in prayer. Thank Him for the protection only He can give and allow Him to fight the battle on your behalf. God gave us His Armor. “The Armor of God” to fight Satan.
If not Satan will attack us so regularly that it can be predictable. The moment you decide to do good, sin is there to trip you up. If you don’t delight in God’s commands you won’t see that God joins us in this delight. Whether parts of you covertly rebel just when we least expect us and want to take charge.
Fight Your Battles God’s Way
Throughout Jesus’s life on earth, He faced spiritual warfare in many forms. He was tested by Satan during His 40 days in the wilderness (- 4:1-13). He was provoked, falsely accused and verbally abused by people who did not like what He was saying and doing. It’s important to remember that Jesus was a man -fully human so He faced all the temptations any other person would face.
But He never lost any of His spiritual battles. Even His wrongful conviction and execution on the cross, which looked like a bitter defeat, but was His ultimate victory. Jesus gives us examples about using prayer in spiritual warfare.
“Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed“ -Luke 5:16.
Jesus withdrew from situations of spiritual warfare, One example was when He heard the news that His cousin John the Baptist, had been killed by Herod.
It’s important to spend regular time alone with God, with as many distractions as possible. God needs our full attention to guide us through our journey through life.
Taking time alone with God reminds you that He is ready and waiting to spend alone time with you.
Jesus combined prayer with fasting. Fasting can help our awareness of our need to depend on God. The Bible teaches that fasting can enhance our ability to hear Him as we prioritize Him above our physical needs.
I have to admit I have issues with fasting. Because of my diabetes, I get a headache if I don’t eat regularly. But there is something called the Daniel Fast. It’s derived from Daniel 10:3. It limits food choices to vegetables and water.
“I ate no pleasant bread. No meat or wine came into my mouth. I didn’t anoint myself at all, until three whole weeks were fulfilled.”
Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days. This was immediately before Jesus began His public ministry. Satan must have threatened by what Jesus was doing given the efforts He went to trying to distract Jesus from His mission.
Holy Spirit’s Role In Spiritual Warfare
God is three persons in one God, and the Holy Spirit is the most often understood. But we need to know His crucial role in experiencing consistent victory in Spiritual warfare.
Jesus knows the spiritual battles ahead of us (everyone). After Jesus was raised out of the tomb. He appeared to as many as 500 people. He did this to promise the Holy Spirit. Jesus wanted us to have peace and clarity for our battles in this life. He is our greatest strength.
“Peace be with you! As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you” – John 20:21
God is someone completely separate and different from humanity. But Jesus entered humanity and experienced the same struggles. When He was leaving to return to His Father in heaven, He left the greatest gift He could. He offered everyone the chance to experience His own presence living with Him, His Spirit -The Holy Spirit.
As we experience battles in this life, it’s important to not just look for strength from outside or from the tools God gives us such as prayer and His Word. But realize God works within us and gives us everything we need to live the way we are designed as His children. We may not feel worthy, but God works through us to make us worthy.
Pray With Other Believers
James 5:13-16 says,
“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of their church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And as he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer if a righteous person has great power as it is working.“
Matthew 18:20 tells us where two or three are gathered in my name, He is among them.
The fact that God designed us to experience freedom from our sins, struggles, and even sickness through praying with others clearly shows that He doesn’t intend for us to go through any battle alone.
God encourages us to be bold in the things we pray for.
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” -Mark 11:24 (NIV).
It’s important to know that Satan wants to put as much distance between you and God. His tactics often involve exploiting human emotions, such as shame, disappointment, insecurity, and loneliness.
Try using the following scriptures as prayers when you have to overcome spiritual battles.
2 Corinthians 10 3-5 (NIV)
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world, on the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself us against the kno of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ,“
Isaiah 54:17 (NIV)
“No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will retire every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”
John 8:32 (NIV)
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)
“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”
John 15:7 (NIV)
“If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
It’s important to note if we ask according to God’s will it will done for us. If we ask for evil or wrong things to be done they will not be done for us.
From Pity to Praise 