Thoughts on Spiritual Warfare

After visiting with two close friends in the past 24 hours about spiritual warfare in the everyday of life, I want to blog exerpts from the following article for all of us. I found it in the May/June Discipleship Journal. Written by Tom Eisenman, it's called "Is it Spiritual Oppression or Just a Bad Day?" He writes....

"Some days are ugly: our attitude is in the pits, the boss is all over us, we can't keep our minds on our work, the customers are rude. At home, the kids are out of control, and we snap at our spouses. In other words, it's a bad, yet pretty ordinary day. They happen.

Other times we're confronted with what may be more than just a bad day. We may be under spiritual attack or oppression. How do we tell the difference? The following clues can help us discern if spiritual forces may be at work in our circumstances.

1. POWERLESSNESS. If you are suddenly unable to accomplish things you would normally be able to do easily, either in the natural world or the spiritual realm, this might indicate the spiritual presence of forces of evil. (Jen's thought: Even simple things like staying in God's word can sometimes become a huge challenge.)

2. INNER TURMOIL. Hearing yourself say "this is just not like me." Maybe your normal disposition leans towards optimistic and hopeful. But now you can't seem to shake this sudden case of depression or these ongoing, nagging fears. A time to be especially alert to your emotional state is just after intense ministry to others. When you have given yourself fully in something for the Lord, you will often be vulnerable to emotional attack or even intense temptation. Remember Elijah's depression after facing off the prophets of Baal. Satan loves to steal or tarnish any victory.

3. ACCUSATION. Spiritual attack may take the form of lies that others tell about you that have no basis in fact. You are completely innocent, yet a story fo your complicity in something has sprung up, seemingly out of nowhere. (Jen's thought: Satan can also bring HUGE accusations upon you as being inadequate or even worthless in your most God-given roles. Any young moms out there ever have thoughts that you are failing as a mother? Who do you think those thoughts come from?)

4. DOUBT. If you become overwhelmed with doubts in areas where you've previously had certainty and assurance, this too could be an attack of the enemy. This is not healthy doubt, but dark stuff that threatens your faith. Don't hesitate to gather believing friends to pray.

Another ploy of Satan is to attack your spiritual self-concept. You can live a life sold out for Christ, have discerning friends encouraging you because of the godly characteristics they see in you, and still wake up one morning believing that nothing you have ever done has amounted to anything.

5. EVIL. At times you may sense evil in something or somebody. I have sensed the presence of evil in certain men and women in certain places I've visited. In our polite society, we tend to disregard such intuitions. But I believe that we should pay attention to those times when we sense the powers of darkness. These are times when we need to be very careful and very prayerful."


In a related article in the same magazine, Paul Thigpen writes about the Weapons of Warfare...

FAITH - Faith rooted firmly in God's nature is a powerful weapon. At it's heart, this faith is rock-solid trust that God is who He says He is. We believe Him when He tells us that, as our creator and father, He is all-wise, so He knows what's best for us; all-loving, so He wants what's best for us; and all-powerful, so He is able to do what's best for us.

When we wield this kind of faith, we "extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." (Eph. 6:16) What are these arrows? They are the types of thoughts that Satan provokes, both directly and indirectly. They include lies about God, ourselves, and others that will lead us astray if we believe them. (We take captive every thought to make it obedience to Christ. -2 Cor. 10:5) We call the devil's bluff; we turn our backs and go on our way with Jesus.

HOPE - To understand the role of hope in spiritual warfare, we should keep in mind that we don't fight on a fixed battlefield. Rather, we are soldiers on a long march home. The desire for heaven is much like a compass; it tells us which way leads home. When we lose this aspect of hope, we wander into unguarded places where the enemy can ambush us. Many of the devil's temptations are disguised as invitations to take a detour, to change our destination, or even to strop marching and settle down by the wayside. God has given us the helmet of "the hope of salvation" (I Thes. 5:8). Hope can be defined as the desire for some future good combined with the expectation of obtaining it. Remember this: "As I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14)

LOVE - How much more does our love for God keep us free from the enemy's enticements! "If anyone loves me," Jesus said, "he will obey my teaching." (John 14:23) Love leads us into obedience to the Lord, which is the safest place we can be. God's fatherly commands are for our good; they protect us from the enemy's snares.

PRAYER - The apostle Paul reminds spiritual warriors that they must "pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." (Eph. 6:18) When the war is raging, prayer is the primary channel of communication with our Commander. In prayer, we receive our battle plans; report our position; give an account of our progress and losses; and request rations, medicine, and reinforcements. When we pray in the name of Jesus, our prayers become missles that bombard the devil's camp. Paul declares, "At the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in Heaven and in earth and under the earth." (Phil. 2:10)

WORSHIP - We also see divine power unleashed when prayer ascends to God as worship. When Saul, the first king of Israel, was troubled by an evil spirit, he called for young David to play the lyre for him, and the spirit departed. (I Sam. 16:14-23) Whatever form the weapon of worship takes - a hymn sung, a pslam read aloud, a spontaneous cry of thanksgiving and praise - demonic powers will retreat from it, for the same reason they recoil from the name of Jesus: the desperately seek to avoid God's presence. Worship ushers us into the presence of the Lord who is "enthroned in the praises of His people." (Psalm 22:3)

THE WORD OF GOD - Among the weapons listed in Ephesians 6, is "the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God." The words of God, whether spoken directly by Him or recorded in the Bible, are living and active (Heb. 4:12). Because they draw their awesome power from Him, truth is always powerful but it is supernaturally so when it is spoken by God, who is Truth Himself. (Jen's thoughts on how to apply this truth: Most of our spiritual frustration or oppression comes when we are believing or living a lie that the enemy has told us. The key is to identify the lie by comparing it to God's Truth as revealed in the scripture. Find a verse that captures the truth, write it down, memorize it, and throw it in the devil's face when you're confonted with the lie.) Time after time, we prove the truth of John's declaration: "The Word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one." (I John 2:14)

(Thigpen also writes about the critical component of community (not mentioned in Ephesians 6, but assumed in the way that a warrior fights with someone "getting his back" at all times. He concludes by writing about how the Holy Spirit undergirds every part of us as we fight.)

His final thoughts: "In this mortal conflict, we must never give up, however many defeats we may suffer. As a fallen angel, the prince of this world has remarkable power. But "the one who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world" (I John 4:4). If we resist Satan, he must flee from us (James 4:7)."