H ere are 8 practical ways to respond when you’re under spiritual attack.
Our Daily Bread
One man who was just saved said that prior to his putting his trust in Christ that he was hit with a barrage of spiritual attacks. It was the enemy whispering in his ear; things like, “Who do you think you are!? You’re not a Christian! You’re a fake.” I told him that we need to believe what the Bible says and not what the enemy makes us think. Satan is a liar and so are his demons, but the Word of God is always true, no matter what we think. God’s Word is objective truth. It doesn’t depend on feelings. It is true today and will be true in a billion years, so I told the man to ignore these thoughts and read the Word, and there, you’ll find what is true. Our feelings are very unreliable. The Bible is still true, even if we have the flu.
The enemy hates the promises of God, but he also hates hearing about his fate (Rev 20), or how it all ends for him. Satan also hates us to read about the precious blood of the Lamb of God that was shed for us. The blood sealed our salvation but it sealed his fate. The Devil hates it when you read the Word, so why not irritate him and send him and his demons on their way by reading the words of life, from the Word of God.
Spiritual Armor
If you don’t start your day off with prayer, you are cutting off your most important source, and that is God. If we begin our day without prayer, we’re a lot more vulnerable to the enemy. We shouldn’t step out the door if we haven’t asked for God’s provision and protection, and for our lives to glorify Him. We know that’s God will, so pray when you begin the day. You realize “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” (Eph 6:12). We need to cover everything in prayer, and there are no things too small to pray about. All things are small to God, but prayer is a great weapon against spiritual attacks, and of course we need to “take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm” (Eph 6:13).
The armor includes the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph 6:14-17), however, we must be “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints” (Eph 6:18). Paul says we must be in prayer whenever we can, so pray as often as you can, for as many people as you can, and for as many things as you can…especially during spiritual attacks.
Fellowship
It’s a special thing being around other Christians. Christian fellowship is so much more than what you have out in the world. Here we are, with the same Father, and the same Savior, so we have much more in common than we might think. The author of Hebrews understood the importance of fellowship when he wrote, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb 10:24-25). What he is saying is that we will need one another even more as the day of Jesus’ appearance gets closer, and I believe it is. I have no idea when Jesus will return, but I do know He will, and in the meantime, I think we need one another to encourage one another, to pray for one another, and to stir up one another to do good works for God that He has appointed for us to do (Eph 2:10).
Serve
One wise elder of a church told me that 80% of serving is showing up. What he was saying is that if we are faithful enough to serve our church or community, just showing up is more than half the job. Jesus said to those who were faithfully doing good works for Him, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matt 25:40). There are many opportunities to serve within the body of Christ and within the community you live in (in most cases). It might be collecting food and clothing for the poor to bring to the Salvation Army; it might be being on the communities Welcome Wagon to welcome new residents to the community or to your church; it might be visiting shut-ins, those in nursing homes, those in prison, and those in the hospital. This is what Christ has called His church to do (Matt 25:35-36).
True religion is (James 1:27) a relationship, with the body and with lost people. The reason I bring this up is because if you serve as Christ did, then you will offend the enemy, and the spiritual attacks may ramp up because what you do in love is what they hate! Serve Christ by serving others, and to resist temptations from the Devil, James says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).
Steering Clear
For people who are under spiritual attack or frequently experience spiritual attacks, you must avoid obvious satanic things like physic readings, horoscopes, black magic, Ouija games, illegal drugs, hypnosis, and anything to do with the occult such as séances or trying to communicate with the dead. These are clearly forbidden by Scripture and God calls such things an abomination. If we have any doubts as to their source, we need to steer clear. Even mediation can open the door for the enemy to come in. Some of those who are not saved have been possessed by demonic spirits through these activities. They might say we need to keep an open mind, but an open mind is no safer than leaving your door open at night: Just about anything can come in. These things might seem obvious to us, but some believer’s actually try to rationalize their use, but these are obviously sinful, and if you are serious about wanting to avoid spiritual attacks, by all means, avoid these things.
Loving Our Enemies
Jesus’ teachings were as radical on the day that He taught them as they are today. Really! Who do you know that prays for their enemies, does good to those that hurt them, and love those who hate them? That’s not what the world does, in fact, some radical religions seek to kill their enemies, but Jesus expects us to be different from the world. He said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Luke 6:27-28). Sounds impossible, doesn’t it, and it is without the Spirit of God. Loving those who hate us does not come natural…it is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. It is He that empowers us to do what He has commanded. Believe me, it’s something we can’t do this in our own human strength. I’ve tried that and failed miserably, but one thing Satan hates is when we love our enemies and pray for them. He wants us to hate and kill our enemies, and to treat our enemies as “enemies,” but God does not want us to give our enemies what they deserve. He wants us to give them what they need, and that is love. God loved us while we were still ungodly, wicked sinners, and still labeled “enemies of God” (Rom 5:6-10).
Prayers of Thanksgiving
If there is anything that Satan hates more than us reading the Word and loving our enemies, it’s praying to God and giving Him thanks. Has it ever happened to you that when you start to pray, the Enemy will sends a full frontal spiritual attack. When that happens, take out the sword which is the Word of God, and start slicing up the Enemy. They won’t want to stick around and hear when you are praying back to God, the very Word of God. There are many prayers in the Bible, and God loves it when we pray back His Word and His promises to Him. The Enemy hates it! They hate knowing their eternal fate and final state is sealed. Remind Satan and his demons that eventually the demons and the deceiver “who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev 20:10). Martin Luther regularly prayed back the Word of God, so pray and give thanks to God for His many marvelous blessings.
Hang with the Saints
When we are together as the Body of Christ, we are in fellowship with one another, and we are stronger together than we are alone. We need one another. The proof of that is that there are over 100 “one another’s” in the New Testament, indicating that we need to serve one another, love one another, and pray for one another. Satan hates our fellowship because when we fellowship with the saints, we are in turn fellowshipping with God as His children, however, Satan wants the church to be divided over non-essential issues and gossip and in-fight against one another, but that’s all the more reason we need one another, to love one another, and to pray for one another. There is strength in numbers. Besides, we know that Satan is like a roaring lion who is roaming about seeking whom he may devour, so who does he focus on? It’s the stragglers…the ones that are separated from the sheepfold; the ones who are injured and hurting. They are the most vulnerable, so if Satan can get us isolated, he can more easily have his way with us, although he cannot take our life.
Summary
Do you know of any other things that irritate Satan? Things like sharing the gospel, helping the poor, or things like that. I know he hates it when someone is saved. Heaven rejoices over one lost sinner, but hell seethes with anger. Our Enemy hates it when we’re growing in grace and knowledge, when we pray for others, when we read His Word, and when we assemble together to worship God and partake of the Lord’s Supper. I’m not saying we ought to live our lives only to make Satan mad, but we should live our lives so that God is pleased. That’ll have the same result. I know that God is well pleased when we do the things that Jesus commands us to do (Matt 25:35-36). He sees that as doing it unto His own Son (Matt 25:40). Surely the Devil hates that, but if we love our enemies; if we stay in the Word; if we give thanks in our prayers; and if we come to worship the Son of God as the Body of Christ, we can irritate Satan to no end and then, all heaven will break out!
Conclusion
I pray you have put your trust in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If that has not happened yet, you are vulnerable to the Enemy my friend, but more importantly, you are in real danger of hell fire. And I mean, in immediate danger. You’re one breath, one heartbeat…one accident away from eternity when it will be too late to repent. Today is the best day to believe (2 Cor 6:2) since tomorrow is no guarantee. If Jesus Christ came today, here is your fate (Matt 7:21-23). This is why I plead with you as you read this, repent today…and I mean right now. Put your trust in Jesus Christ. If you do not, you will face God’s judgment after death guaranteed (Heb 9:27) or at Jesus Christ’s appearance (Rev 20:12-15), which could happen at any moment.
Here is some related reading for you: 7 Signs You Are Dealing With a Spiritual Attack
Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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