In the last post I shared two important keys to dealing with spiritual warfare as a Christian in your personal life and ministry, using the acrostic RICE. These were:

R = Recognise

• Be aware of the signs that spiritual warfare is occurring

I = Identify

Assess the

• Means—who or what is the enemy using to get to you
• Mandate—what is the treasure that he is after in your life and ministry, and
• Message—what is the message he wants you to believe in the crisis

Up until now, we have not taken action in response to the spiritual warfare. However, realising that we are in a battle and taking time to assess what it is about are steps that are critical to our recovery and victory.

C = Combat

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes ( Eph 6:10-11)

Now it is time to take action. Here is a checklist of 11 ways that you can proactively respond when experiencing spiritual pressure:

1. Recommit to GOD

‘Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.’ James 4:7-8
Remember, we don’t wage warfare in our own strength, but in Jesus’ authority. Ensuring that we are yielded to His authority, then, is of great importance and our first act of warfare.

2. Take Ownership (1 John 1:8-9)

When a battle is occurring, we need to take ownership of our own part in it. Spiritual warfare is not a reason to blame the devil for our less than perfect responses. Examples of things we need to acknowledge are:

• The lies we have listened to
• The inroads we have allowed in relationships.
• Our sin of discouragement, fear, or condemnation, and so on

We need to be wary of the danger of simply dismissing something as spiritual attack and not dealing with our own part in it.

Have you ever noticed that spiritual warfare is a great opportunity for personal and character growth?

3. Disagreement  (1 Pet 5:9)

This may sound strange, but getting into an opposing position in times of attack is critical, yet often the hardest thing to do! This is especially true when we are struggling to overcome discouragement, condemnation, fear, failure, etc.

We may have been feeding on negative thoughts or feelings, and we have to rise up in disagreement against them. This is not about summoning up an emotion; it starts with a quality DECISION backed up by prayer that we will no longer give way to our wrong responses.

4. Move in the Opposite Spirit (Matt 5:43-45)

This is especially true when it relates to warfare being directed through the actions or words of another person. This means that if they are closed, be open with them, if they’re being deceitful, be honest, unkind, be kind, and so on.
Take the enemy by surprise! Break out and do the very thing that there’s pressure against you doing (see Identify:Mandate).

5. Obedience (1 Chron 14:13-16)

Obedience to the Holy Spirit often means doing the very thing that you don’t feel like doing. This is about not responding to what you feel, but Who you know. Ask the Lord to show you what He would have you do in the situation.

6. Expose the Enemy (Eph 5:8-13)

Bring the situation and your responses into the light. Confess your own struggles to someone who is a ‘safe’ person. Exposing the enemy might also mean exposing his strategy.

7. Speak Truth (Eph 6:17)

 In the last post, I discussed the importance of identifying the message (lies) that the enemy wants us to believe. What is God’s Word on the matter? Identify the truth and use scripture, or a paraphrased/personalised version of it, as a confession and for meditation.

Remember also who you are in Christ and speak it out.

8. Praise and Thanksgiving (2 Chron 20, Ps 8:2, Ps 149:6-9, Acts 16)

‘May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands.’ Ps 149:6

9. Prayer (Eph 6:18) and Praying in the Spirit (Rom 8:26)

Prayer using the authority of Jesus’ Name is a primary weapon of spiritual warfare.

10. Refresh (Psalm 32:7; Psalm 23:5)

If you have been under siege, you need to receive grace and regain energy. Take extra devotional time. Utilise worship and other ways you personally connect with God.

11. Remember Prophecies Made About You (1 Tim 1:18)

Keep prophetic encouragement at hand. When hard times come, prophecies can help keep you encouraged and on track. You can also use them to pray.

E = ENLIST Help (2 Cor 1:10-11)

We were never meant to stand alone as Christians. When spiritual warfare is occurring, find safe people who can support you (Gal 6:2, James 5:16, Lev 26:7-8).

These can include:

• A leader who can pray for you and advise you
• Intercessors—those who are gifted in prayer (of particular value if you are in a Christian ministry role)
• Friends and team members

PROVIDING A SAFE PLACE

There are many things that we can do to help and support each other during times of struggle, These include: listening, providing a safe place for confession, encouraging, speaking truth that will combat the enemy’s lies, prayer and supporting in practical ways.

Related Posts:

12 Signs Of Spiritual Warfare

Responding To Spiritual Warfare Pt 1

© Helen Calder    Enliven Publishing 

How did my mother-in-law know God had His ‘net’ over us? She knew because she was praying. Her prayer for our recommitment and salvation made the net of God’s grace inescapable.

Some Things Only God Can Do

Before we can exercise life-changing prayer, it is vital we acknowledge that between where circumstances are now and where we believe God wants them to be, is a gulf that we cannot cross. This gap means that no matter how hard we try, or no matter what we say, we are powerless in ourselves to make the desired changes happen.

• There are things that you believe to be on God’s agenda for your life, family and others you care about, that you are helpless, apart from God, to make happen
• There are people you care about who are far from God right now, whose hearts will only be changed by the power of God’s Holy Spirit
• There is no way by natural means that person who is dear to you will have that addiction or bondage broken over their life.

Let’s take a moment right now to stand together at that chasm and let the realisation sink in. Take a good look at the distance that you cannot leap across without help.

Now imagine there is a bridge, suspended between this natural reality and the seeming impossible fulfilment of God’s Will. Stepping up to that bridge you see a sign that reads, ‘Ask in My Name—Jesus.’

In John 15:16-17, Jesus said,
‘You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit-fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.’

God’s Plan for Prayer

Jesus taught us to pray, ‘Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ He revealed that the will of God must be ‘asked’ into being. And He didn’t just teach that, He demonstrated it. In the book of Luke especially, we see that Jesus lived a life of prayer.

It was God’s plan from the beginning that His people rule in the earth, under His authority.[1] God has designed prayer to be the means by which we exercise that authority and partner with God to fulfil His purposes. This is also true of His plan to bring salvation to people.

Watchman Nee once said that prayer is to the will of God as railway tracks are to a train. A train engine can have tremendous power; it can go a thousand miles a day, it can pull a heavy load. It can have all the potential in the world, but unless there are tracks for it to go on, it’s not going anywhere. The train and tracks are designed to work together”[2]

I heard the testimony of a woman who was very dry and religious in her faith. She was admitted to hospital with a ruptured, infected appendix; her condition was so severe that she died. As her spirit was leaving her body she saw her father rushing into the hospital. He uttered one word of prayer—‘Jesus.’ She saw that prayer beam up to God’s throne like a shaft of light. That single word of prayer was answered; she lived and her faith was transformed.

Like that beam of light, your prayers and cries to God are significant and powerful. You can be a Supernatural Christian and make a difference in the life of those you care about. Your prayer can help bring them to God.

The above is a brief excerpt from my new e-book: Pray for the Lost: Impact the Eternal Destiny of Your Loved Ones Through Prayer.

In this book, I explore a number of things relating to this subject.

There are some tough issues as we examine the spiritual condition of a person who is lost and far from God, or a Christian who is backsliding. But there are also some exciting discoveries about how your prayer can release the resources of heaven, including angels, signs and miracles and the Spirit of God. There is a whole section on some practical ways to pray for unsaved loved ones and some discussion and keys to wage spiritual warfare. You will also learn a bit more about my own story and how I was saved through the ministry of prayer and deliverance.

See also Portal Moments: Supernatural Encounters and Answers to Prayer

© Helen Calder    Enliven Publishing

[1] Gen 1:28,  Dan 7:27

[2] Watchman Nee, Let Us Pray, 1977

‘Who is Jesus, and what does He look like?’

I never used to wonder about the answer to this question, because there were pictures of Him on the walls of our house as I was growing up, the depiction of painters in centuries past. He was kind, gentle, mysterious and—human. He loved people and animals. One of my favourite pictures of Jesus was of Him dressed as a shepherd and carrying a lamb.

The book of Revelation, in the Bible, paints us a different picture of Jesus—providing a hint of what He looks like now. The apostle John caught a glimpse of the resurrected Christ and fell at His feet, ‘as one dead’ (Rev 1:17).

‘…someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.’ Rev 1:13-16

Sometimes in worship I, too, catch a glimpse of this Jesus. His eyes that blaze with fire also, amazingly, blaze with love. He is seated on a heavenly throne—a place where the Bible says, because of what Jesus has done on the cross, I can make myself at home.

God’s throne is mentioned frequently throughout the book of Revelation, and referred to in the final chapter as ‘The Throne of God and of the Lamb.’ This throne is the ultimate seat of authority, and God Himself is the source of all authority and power in heaven and earth (Matt 28:18).

God’s throne is not figurative; it is a real place—and we have access to God’ throne by faith (Heb 10:19).

As supernatural Christians, our understanding of where we stand in relation to Jesus Christ and His throne is critical to the release of His power in us and through us.

Here are some key reminders about the throne of God:

1. The throne of God is our destination.

Saved and unsaved alike, we will stand at His throne one day and account for our lives spent on earth (Matt 25:31-46).

Those of us who believe and receive Him as our Lord (leader) and Saviour (forgiver) will live with Him forever. Jesus said He will invite us to sit with Him on His throne:

‘ To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ Rev 3:21-22

2. God’s throne is not only our eternal destination; it demands our present attention as we focus upon Jesus

‘Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.’ Col 3:1-2

Hebrews 12:1-2, says
‘Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.’

What was the joy set before Jesus that enabled Him to endure suffering and death and bear the weight of the world’s sin on the cross?  It was ‘bringing many sons to glory’ (Heb 2:10). You and I are His reward, restored in relationship to God, having free access to Him before His throne.

3. We can come Confidently to God’s Throne

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus…let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Heb 10:19,22

When we trust in Jesus for our salvation, we can stand before God’s throne unafraid and unashamed. Sin cannot hold us back from God’s presence. We have free access because Jesus has taken the punishment for our sin and its effects on the cross.

The throne is also where we come in our weakness and need.

‘For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.’ Heb 4:15-16

4. The throne is where we bring our prayers and our petitions for God to work on our behalf and in the lives of others around us.

‘Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.’ Rev 8:3

The Bible says that our prayers go up before God’s throne like incense (Rev 8:3,4).

Real prayer to God is not religious, solemn or word-perfect. A prayer can be as quick as a breath or a silent cry from the heart. God understands an incoherent prayer as well as He does an eloquent one. Real prayer is YOUR prayer, born out of your own personal relationship with God. Your prayer is powerful. Your prayer can release God’s power, and reinforce His will (Matt 6:9-13).

When we know where we stand, and who we are, in relation to the throne of God, the opinions of people won’t shake us, the past will have no power over us, and sin will lose its grip on us. We will know God, and we will  live empowered lives.

© Helen Calder   Enliven Publishing