When is the last time you had a good fight?
Not a fight with your spouse, your kids, or even a friend, but against the forces of darkness? Wow, you weren’t expecting that, right?
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12.
Over the last few months, I have heard from friends and family who were struggling with terrible dreams, difficulty sleeping, and noises in the house for no apparent reason. Now, I am not the kind of person who sees a demon under every bush.
But….sometimes, the Holy Spirit just tells it like it is.
There are reasons evil spiritual forces are at work around us.
- We can open the door for them to walk on through.
- By what we watch on TV, take part in, or expose ourselves to gives satan the right to be in our lives or homes. Pornography opens a huge door into our lives—from magazines to movies to books we read, they can all contain different levels of porn.
- Others can open the door, and as a result, we will be attacked.
- The people we surround ourselves with can have open doors in their lives. If they are our spouse or child, then we can protect ourselves with the Blood of Jesus.
- Sometimes, the Lord allows spiritual warfare to teach us how to stand and pray against it.
- We would not know how to fight if we were never in that situation.
- Lack of unity.
- Satan loves when we are against one another. He loves when we let our disagreements and passions turn us on each other.
Training
The military trains by running scenarios. Real-life scenarios, so the soldier knows what to do if he or she is ever in a particular situation. The TV show Seal Team, often shows them going through simulations to rescue a hostage within a model of the building known to hold the person. The warriors practice “rescuing the hostage” until they can do it precisely and timely.
As Christians, we are warriors living where the Natural and Spiritual realms intersect. We can have interactions with the angelic or demonic realm whether or not we believe in them. We must know how to deal with the forces of evil. Jesus has given us the authority to act.
Satan loves ignorance. But God doesn’t want us to be unaware. He allows situations and battles with the enemy to prepare us and keep us spiritually sharp.
We must also be in His Word. It is our training manual. The word Torah (the word for the first 5 books of the Bible) is often interchanged with the word Law. But Torah, in Hebrew, means to teach or instruct. God gave us His Word so we can learn about the ways of satan, man, and God. So, we can become prepared for the life of a believer in Christ.
Jesus never promised it would be easy. But He will teach us, are you willing to learn?
Lack of Unity
We are also living in a period when time as we know it has never been closer to the Last Days.
A pandemic has overtaken our world, our country is divided over politics, and abortion has taken the lives of over 60 million babies.
Social media allows people to say things over the internet they would never say to your face.
Not to mention, you can get beaten up for supporting the wrong political candidate.
Satan is having a heyday!
He is pitting brothers and sisters, and husbands and wives against one another, church members are in opposition to one another, and even various church denominations contend against one another over theology.
We aren’t even happy about the versions of the Bible some people read, for crying out loud.
Our country, our world, needs the believers of Jesus to be united. Our President needs our prayers as well as our Representatives, Congress, and Governors.
Jesus calls us to be prayer warriors not pew warmers!
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Jesus calls us to be warriors, not pew warmers! If we can’t stand up to satan for our family or ourselves, how will we ever stand up to him for our cities, states, country, and world?
Let’s not watch from the sidelines but get involved in the battle.
“You are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4, ESV.
We, as Christians have become selective in what we claim as verifiable truth. The church covers their eyes and ears and decides not to accept certain Bible passages. I just finished reading the part of “Lost in Translation” where it talks about the nephilim. When was the last time you heard a sermon or sat in a Bible study that covered that? That, as well as the Song of Solomon, are completely avoided because people, dare I say,even pastors, don’t want to talk about certain passages in the Bible. And here I thought “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” as it says in 2 Timothy 3:16 ESV.
We have two choices:
1.) Get your Spiritual Armour on because the Battle is Real or
2.) Bury our Heads in the Sand.
Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” ESV
~Ben Cooper
Amen, Ben! I’m glad you are learning from that book. I wanted to teach on the Demons vs Devils section, too. I think it is so important to understand. Thank you for your response to my posts.
Amen, Stephanie. The Lord wants us on the frontlines too. So that’s why training and prayer are so important to battle the warfare in our lives. While the battle is the Lord’s, He gives us a key job…prayer.
Stephanie, this is excellent. Thank you for your insight. I need to get your book, Lost in Translation. I can’t wait to read it.
Thank you, Evelyn. I didn’t write Lost in Translation, but I do refer to it a lot. It is worth reading. My study will be called Jewels of Hebrews. I hope you will take a look at that when it comes out!
Yes, you are so right! We are called to the front lines to use the training, knowledge, and heart He has given us. Thank you, Karen.
Love this…yes , we are definitely experiencing Satan at work in so many areas of our lives. Thank you for the reminder and the words of encouragement. Unity to me is so important, he loves it when we are divided, and weaker. So we need to stand together as a family, and nation.
God help us to heed His word !
Amen, we are to be united! That to me is when we are the strongest. We need to stand together as a team , a church , or even a family to win against Satan’s hold . Prayer is how we fight! Thanks!
Well said Ms Stephanie. One of Satan’s “Four Ds” (as I call them) is division. He knows that the body of Christ is weaker when we are divided. Ever watch wild animals hunt? They divide the herd, then focus on the weakest one. Loved this like especially. “As Christians, we are warriors living where the Natural and Spiritual realms intersect.” We are in a battle every moment of every day. We must discipline ourselves to maintain both situational and spiritual awareness, so we are not surprised when the enemy attacks. Well said ma’am. God’s blessings.
Thank you, J.D. I would like to know the other 3 Ds…. I can come up with 2 possible ones. Could they be: Deception and Destruction?
Stephanie, yes, it is true… we are student-Warriors, being trained with the Word and ready for the onslaught of the enemy. Well said, Christian soldier! Love serving alongside you!
I love your way with words, Brita. You are a joy to know!
Amen and amen 🙏🏽 wow 😳 we were certainly thinking along the same lines, today. May the Lord be glorified
Yes! So glad to hear we were in unity in our thinking! That’s a God thing.
I enjoy your teaching, Stephanie. You remind me of things I know but perhaps haven’t thought about recently. Thank you!
Thank you, LuAnn! I am enjoying your blog and personal stories as well!
Nailed it! Thanks sister for this timely word.
Thank you, Diane!
Excellent post, Stephanie. Agreed. These are the Last Days and we must put on our spiritual armor daily. Life is a series of battles that must be fought and won with God’s power. Thanks for your insight. xoxo
Thank you, Karen! It is so important to understand spiritual warfare especially in the times we are in.