It is important to know that we do not fight against people. We fight against the forces that try to move, lie to, manipulate and destroy them and us, mainly by attacking our relationships and our awareness of each other.
They are forces of things like fear, pride, which includes self pity, lust, greed etc. Anything that exalts itsself above God. Anything that steals our faith, causes fear, strife, doubt, depression, stress, anxiety and at a higher level deceptive mindsets, movements that cater to some fraction of soulish desire, pain, rebellion against what is good. Anything that is not trusting God, that keeps us from putting our faith in him or acts as surrogate thereof. There are many different kinds of forces and principalites. But it doesn’t matter which one you are facing. If you notice forces Jesus has not led you to fight with, walk on by. Do not engage with them. Holy Spirit will give you the understanding to know what to do. You will be trained and equipped to deal with any attack and later to go in on the offensive side. But not right away. You need to deal with your own healing first. For more on this go to the getting set free page.
It can take years before the Lord is able to use you in active, offensive combat. It is a training and we are all on different levels and each level is valuable and will bring you to the next. The word of God reminds us so often “do not fear”. We should only fear God! No one and nothing else. Spiritual warfare is about tearing down strongholds (mindsets that were built from a place of fear, self focus, religious force, in an attempt to protect our broken soul) and setting captives (of sin, shame, pride) free. It is about speaking truth and killing the lies that have infiltrated minds and caused people to divert away from the purpose that God has for them. And it is warfare. War – fare! It is not a playground! It is a battleground! But it is also intense, exciting, so much fun because the joy of the lord is our strength, His peace is our home, our battle cry is worship and our fighting is like a dance!
It is also prayer and fasting. Intercession. Standing in the gap for someone, sometimes for weeks, every day until the burden is lifted off. It is intense and people who engage in spiritual warfare go through intense training. And periods of rest to recover. It is important as intercessors to have a covering of others who pray for you too. It is fighting battle after battle, lead by the Holy Spirit – NEVER EVER go into battle against anything that God has not lead you into!
Spiritual warfare is about living in the victory that is Jesus Christ. It is surrendering all that you are and all that you have to him, fully. Because going into battle means that the enemy will try to take you out! You and everyone and everything you hold dear. You can only succeed and persevere in spiritual warfare if you are fully surrendered to God and fully trust Him to bring you through. You need to surrender everything you value to God and trust Him. We learn to let go of everything, because the enemy can not steal, kill or destroy what we don’t have.
If you have died to self – your own selfish desires that cater to the yearnings of the soul – this does not mean the soul should starve, it means that every good blessing is a gift from God and surrendered to him with thanksgiving. Everything you are and everything you have is out of a motivation and for the purpose of giving Him all the glory! He is our protector, our provider, our defense, our hiding place, our strong tower in times of need, our very present help. He never leaves nor forsakes us. He has our lives and the lives of those we love in His hands and as we trust Him, even when it gets really difficult, for some of us unto death, He will bring us through. With Him death is not the end it is the finish line to victory – into everlasting LIFE! That Eternity is in our hearts and beginns as soon as we realise and accept that we need Jesus Christ, there is no other way that leads to God our Father.
Spiritual warfare is not a game. The enemy is not asleep. There is a very well organised network of deception, manipulation and witchcraft infiltrating the body of Christ, constantly. Waves of demonic fear are set on the people of the nations. Perversion infiltrates what should be pure and holy. They target the weakest because they know they have no way of reaching a true born again believer who knows how to deal with them. They try but God uses it all to bring us through His training, as stepping stones for us to be humbled and equipped to rise higher into Him, into becoming a true reflection of Him, from glory to glory. His glory.
We need to understand their tactics and their strategical cunning. Their seductive manouvers that pounce on you at the first sign of weakness. As Holy Spirit trains us, we also learn to reccognise their weaknesses. Pieter Kirstein wrote that God gave Satan enough rope in order to hang himself with it. If we back the enemy into a corner they get so desperate that they disregard all masqerades of light and bluntly threaten us. Or they become so sure of themselves, so pridefull in their apparent ‘victory’ over us, that they blurt out who they are. When the enemy gets frustrated and agitated, when all around you seems to be in chaos and strife, you can rejoice and know that God is doing a thing and the enemy camp is desperately trying to distract and distance you from it.
You need to trust God. There is no other way. To learn about spiritual warfare seek Holy Spirits guidance.
He is your first teacher.
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