Greetings,
There
are many excuses that people use to write off what is actually a spiritual
attack. Some might call it bad luck. Others might just blame everyone around
them—calling
them incompetent. Still others will blame God. They will call the problem
everything but what it is—a
spiritual attack.
Spiritual
attacks can come in a variety of ways. They can come as an assault on our
thought lives. They can be the cause of unexplainable fear or anxiety. Spiritual
attacks can be the driving force behind a failing marriage or a broken family.
They can even cause lost opportunities. When we are faced with difficult
situations that come as a result of spiritual attacks it is essential for us to
discern them as such.
The
lesson I want to communicate is not simply that we need to call spiritual
attacks what they are. We must also identify what kind of spiritual attack we
are trying to overcome and deal with the attack specifically. Believer's,
regardless of how closely they walk with God, will come under attack from the
enemy. Even if the enemy can't get to them, he can give them a hard time by
afflicting those around them.
When
believer's have the sense to identify that they are experiencing a spiritual
attack, they must specifically confront the source of the attack. We must avoid
seeing people or situations as the problem and start seeing the problem for
what it is. The devil has destroyed many solid families and relationships by
attacking people and making them blame their experience on those around them.
Don't take the bait. He has also sabotaged many legitimate opportunities. Don't
sit back and let the devil walk all over you.
Before
going any further I must address an issue that may arise in some of you reading
this. The question is, why should we be responsible to confront the enemy?
Isn't that the job of Jesus? Doesn't He have all of the power and authority
meaning "without Him we can do nothing"?
These
questions, when answered incorrectly, have led many believer's to accept a very
flawed perspective regarding their relationship to God and the spirit realm. Some
people have been led to believe that since Jesus has all authority in heaven
and earth, they should have no role in spiritual warfare. This has led people
to take a stance of powerlessness. It has also caused many people to struggle
to hold onto their faith when their problems don't just evaporate.
What
we as believer's must realize is that we have authority in Christ. While entire
books have been written to make this one point, we are going to simply focus on
two passages. In the following verse, the apostle Paul makes it clear that he
was operating in an authority given to him by God. God gives believer's
authority, plain and simple.
"For
though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given
us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be
ashamed" (2 Corinthians 10:8)
The
Bible goes on to say that we have been given the power over all the power of
the enemy. This is God's authorization for us to go forth in the name of Jesus
Christ and confront the powers of darkness in the spirit realm. In other words
we are granted authority for a reason.
"Behold,
I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing
shall by any means hurt you." (Luke 10:19)
When
it comes to using the power we have been given "over the power of the
enemy", we must learn to be specific. This will ensure our effectiveness
when engaging in spiritual warfare. For instance, I can bind a spirit of
alcoholism all day long, but if a spirit of drug abuse is the problem, nothing
will happen. This is why we have to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, who will
always reveal to us the source of the attack.
When
the source of the attack is revealed, we will be empowered to know the name of
the spirit or spirits that are involved in the spiritual attack. When it comes
to addressing demons by name, we don't necessarily need to know their actual
name. This is something I have learned from experience. For instance, there are
specific names for spirits in the Bible such as Abaddon, Beelzebub and Legion. However,
instead of wasting time trying to figure out names we simply need to know the
realm of activity that a spirit is working in.
The
Bible is clear that this is a biblical strategy. For instance, the Bible refers
to the spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7). In this case the Bible doesn't tell us a
specific name like "Sam." It simply says "spirit of fear".
Any number of spirits could be at work under the guise of fear, but when we
address "fear" in the name of Jesus they will all have to go.
In
closing, I will share a short personal story in order to illustrate the application
of this principle. When I first moved into the house that I am living in now,
my wife and I started to have a lot of arguments. While it is true that all
couples will disagree and get frustrated with each other at times, things got unusually bad for us. After a week or so, I had a revelation
that a spirit of strife was at work in the house.
I prayed through the house, anointing it with oil, specifically naming
"strife" and casting it out in the name of Jesus. After I did this,
the excessive arguments stopped.
I later came to find out that the people who
lived in the house before us had a lot of problems. They used to fight all the
time and apparently it was pretty bad. It was necessary for me to confront the
evil spirit according to its realm of activity and kick it out in the name of
Jesus. However, if I had missed it and attempted to drive out
"alcoholism" my issues would not have been solved because
"strife" would not have had to leave. The effectiveness of our
spiritual warfare often depends on our willingness to be led by the Holy Spirit
and to specifically address the attacks, calling them by name. When we begin to
do this, we release the power of God according to our authority in order for
Him to change our situation and set us free.
