Spiritual Warfare: Resources
I'm not done with the Spiritual Warfare series yet. Not even close. (I totally intended it to be short and sweet, but ... oh well). But I figured I'd share some resources now, in the middle of it.
I told a friend (whose young child recently experienced a probable demonic attack in the middle of the night: The child woke up screaming and thrashing around wildly, screaming that she couldn't control her body, and she continued doing this for an hour. Nothing could sooth or stop her until the mom commanded demons to leave in Jesus's name, which caused the girl to calm down immediately and fall asleep. The girl couldn't remember any of this in the morning.)... anyway, I told my friend that it can be overwhelming to search "Spiritual Warfare" online (or in books) because you get all sorts of different websites, and you're not sure who you can trust. And so I thought I'd share some resources I like. (Just because I recommend something doesn't mean I agree with everything they say, just that I think they're helpful and biblical enough to recommend. But be discerning for yourselves. Fyi: I think demonic harassment will increase as the world gets darker and as evil comes out in the open more. Learn what you can now about the spiritual battle.)
When I was going through my five months of demonic harassment, I was totally unprepared. I didn't even really know this stuff could happen. And so I had no resources, no one to lean on, no help, no real biblical understanding of what was going on or how to deal with it. I had to start from ground zero and find my way through it all on my own. And I had to do it while scared, confused, embarrassed, and lonely (because people didn't really believe me. It's amazing how many Christians live like demons are mythical or inactive, even though they quote Bible verses about them and claim to believe in them).
[Do I care anymore if people don't believe me? Nope. If they don't want to believe in the reality of the spirit world, of demons and demonic harassment/activity, then that's their problem. A risk they take. It's my job to tell them; it's their job to believe or not. Warning: If you don't take the Bible seriously that demons are real and active and working against you, then you'll probably have to learn the hard way. And it won't be fun. I speak from experience.]
Anyway, during those five months, I began reading everything I could find on demonic harassment and spiritual warfare, looking for help. (This is from the chapter "In Jesus' Name" from my life story.) And let me say, there is so much stuff out there that is just too “over the top” for me. But occasionally, I would find a well-grounded one that gave me some encouragement and understanding. And there was one such book that I really wanted my husband to read.
I knew that he didn’t really believe me and that he scoffed at these experiences on the inside. I mean, I could understand - because it isn’t until it happens to you that you can really believe it. But I still really wanted his support. I felt vulnerable and alone and frightened. And I wanted to know that I could turn to him, that he would be there to protect me and help me through it. I wanted him to be my safe place.
And so I asked him to read this particular book about one family’s experiences with this kind of thing. But he wasn’t interested in it. I asked several times, and I even left the book out on the table when he would come home from work so that he could see it, right next to his books on yard care. And when he came home, he’d reach down, move the book I wanted him to read, and pick up the book on yard care. I was crushed. I really was.
And I felt even more alone. I had really, really wanted - no, I needed - his support. And I needed him to believe me. And I thought maybe having him read about another sane Christian's experience with demonic harassment would help with both. But he never made a move to read it. And so I realized that it was up to me now. I couldn’t rely on him, so it was all up to me. And I took the book back to the church library.
And on top of that, a person from church offered to come and pray over my house with one of the pastors. “Yes, please,” I said. “Come over some time. I would really like that.” And he said he’d talk to the pastor and get ahold of me. He never did. They never did come and pray with me. And I realized that I was really alone in this. I had a husband who didn’t believe me, and I had no one else to really help me (except for a brief conversation with the head pastor that came later, helping me feel normal, sane, and supported. Thank you, Pastor Bob!).
And while I felt sorry for myself for a little while, I came to eventually realize that it was the best thing that could have happened. Because having to face this trial on my own forced me to strengthen myself in the one person whose help I needed most: Jesus. It forced me to dig deep into myself, to find strength and courage I didn’t know I had. And I found this when I turned fully to Jesus, in prayer and in His Word. He would be there to protect me and to help me through it. He was my safe place.
If I had learned to rely on my husband - if I had made him or others fight my battle for me - I would have never found the strength and boldness that come with fully relying on God during spiritual warfare. I would have learned to shrink back in fear, hiding behind others, instead of learning to bolster myself in Christ and walk bravely forward into the battle.
And I remember the exact moments that I found this strength and boldness. One was when I had to return that book to the library. Knowing that I was really on my own made me go, Okay, Lord, it’s You and me now! And I realized that if all I had was Jesus, well, then I had all I needed.
And the other moment was when I was lying in bed one morning imagining what the spirit world was like. I was daydreaming about what it would be like to actually see a demon with my physical eyes. I didn’t want to see one, I was just thinking about what it would be like. Like what would happen if I looked over by my bedroom door and saw one standing right there?
In my imaginary scenario, I imagined myself saying something like this to the demon, “Okay, you just stay over there and I’ll stay over here, and it’ll be fine that way.” And it was then that it dawned on me that the spirit world is really all around us, all the time. Yes, I knew that, I just never really lived like it. These demons and angels have always been there. And just because I was physically experiencing their presence didn’t mean that anything was really all that different. And if I didn’t have to be scared before this, then I really didn’t have to be scared now just because I was “sensing” them in a new way.
At that moment, I honestly felt all the fear and anxiety drain out of me. I wasn’t experiencing anything “new.” It’s a battle that we have always been in the midst of. And it’s a battle we’ve always been a part of, I just didn’t take it seriously until now. And this is when I realized the seriousness of the spiritual battle that we are supposed to be fighting. And I was convicted about how lax I had been in that area.
And suddenly, it wasn’t about running away or cowering in fear anymore; it was about training for battle. It was about putting on my spiritual armor and living more righteously so that I could be effective in that battle. It was about seeking to live a more holy and God-glorifying life so that I didn’t give any “open doors” or “welcome mats” to fallen angels. It was about the power of the Holy Spirit living in me and about making sure that I lived in line with the Spirit as much as possible. It was about immersing myself in the Word and in prayer so that I was as close to God as I could be. And it was about Jesus and the protection that He gives and the power of His name. (In fact, I half wanted to yell out to the demons in the darkness, “See what you’ve done! You’ve actually driven me closer to God and made me try to live more righteously. Are you happy with yourselves!?!”)
During this time, I trained myself to always have the name of Jesus on my tongue the moment I woke up (or was woken up). I would go to bed in prayer, asking for protection and strength, and repeating this one line over and over: “In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to leave! In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to leave!” (And repeating 1 John 4:4 too, paraphrased and first-personalized: "Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world.") I came to learn that Jesus’ name is one of the strongest weapons against evil (alongside God's Word, Truth, and praise/worship).
And I practiced keeping it in that order, too, instead of “I command you to leave, in Jesus’ name.” Because I was afraid that I might be too sleepy to finish it, and I might accidentally end up only saying, “I command you to leave ... zzzzzzzzzz.” So I made sure to at least get Jesus’ name out first. Because I have no power in myself to command any demon to leave. It’s all because of Jesus’ name and power and authority. (Which is why I don’t know if unbelievers have any ability to use Jesus’ name against evil. Because they don’t have the right to Jesus’ name if they are not under His authority. They are in Satan's kingdom, under Satan's authority, and therefore have no power/ability to cast out Satan.)
Also during this time, I did a lot of research on spiritual warfare. I read lots of other people’s ideas of how to fight against demonic harassment. And let me just say... some are amusing, some are disturbing, and many are way too dramatic and complicated. I've read that we should get forceful and yell at them, that there are all kinds of rituals we should do to get rid of them, that there are certain items we should have, that we have power to “order” heavenly angels around and give them commands, etc.
But I think these are wrong. The only power and authority and protection that we have is because of Jesus and the Holy Spirit in us. We were made a little lower than the angels, so I highly doubt that they are going to be threatened by any big show of our anger or by our use of any earthly tools (like waving crucifixes around or burning incense or throwing holy water or whatever). What can we possible do to them? Spiritual beings cannot be hurt by earthly things or by our displays of aggression. And rituals are just “extras,” human methods to make us feel like we have some control or authority on our own. And thinking that we can control or command angels ... well, that’s witchcraft.
[I just want to insert something here, with all the books on and interest in witchcraft, ESP, mind power, etc. For anyone who thinks it's harmless or desirable to try to tap into the power of the spirit world ... Don’t! Do not tinker around with the spirit world. Yes, I do believe that we need to be aware of it and to battle in it through prayer, righteous living, Jesus’ name, etc. But it is not biblical to try to use, control, or mess around with spirits. God calls this kind of stuff witchcraft and sorcery. And in the Bible, you can see just how severely He deals with those who practice it.]
Don't let anyone convince you that you need their special information or their unique tools or techniques to battle demons. The Bible, I believe, tells us all that we really need to know about how to battle demonic harassment like what I went through (feeling a heavy weight on your chest, feeling paralyzed, feeling electrocuted or choked, etc.). And any believer can.
Calling on Jesus’ name causes most demons to leave quickly. Luke 10:17: "The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.’" And for the more stubborn demons: prayer (and fasting) too, as taught in Mark 9:29. (And if you need even more help, I would also add these biblically-approved tools for fighting demons: praise/worship, thanking God out loud, reciting Scripture out loud, proclaiming God's Truth out loud, asking other believers to pray for and with you, and confessing known sins and/or forgiving other people in order to restore your relationship with God so that you can be as spiritually protected as possible.)
That’s all I’ve seen in the Bible. None of this "yell at them, throw holy water, burn herbs, and wave a crucifix around while chanting specific words/prayers written by someone else" nonsense. (Boy, would Satan love to keep us distracted by and busy with this stuff! Then we wouldn't reach for the tools that really are effective.)
[Well, of course, there is also a whole set of spiritual armor to put on in general, according to Ephesians 6:10-18: the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, a readiness to share the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit - which is the spoken Word of God - and prayer. But all of this needs to be in place all of the time anyway. And as Jesus tells us in the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:13, we need to be praying that God “delivers us from the evil one.” We need to pray that He protects us from Satan and his schemes ... because prayer like this matters. It’s not just wishful thinking.]
I never needed to make a big, dramatic show. I never needed to call someone else in to fight my battles for me. (What do you think the Holy Spirit is for?) All I ever had to do was calmly say - sometimes even just whispering, like when my husband was sleeping next to me and I didn’t want him to know that it happened again - “In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to leave.” And they usually did immediately. Sometimes, the electricity wouldn’t leave right away, and so I would pray in my mind, calling out for Jesus’ help. And then after repeating that command several times, it would subside. But the point is, it always went away, never lasting longer than a minute or so, when I called on Jesus’ name.
Now, I could be wrong. There could be cases of demonic activity that require much more than that. But I pray I never find out! I mean, I'm not a demon expert or anything - and I don’t want to be. But for now, prayer and Jesus’ name (and fasting and praise and God's Word/Truth spoken out loud) are all I believe I need! Just want you to know, though, that I don’t understand it all. I’m just telling you what my experience has been.
[Of course, I am not talking about demonic possession here, just about demonic harassment. And I am talking about a solid believer in Christ who isn’t knowingly living in sin, not about someone who has joined hands with the devil and drifted from God.
The thing is, some people might be being harassed by evil because they have allowed evil to come too close. When we put out “welcome mats” for them, we give demons the right to visit us, to harass us. Any time we turn away from God and toward Satan in any way, we remove ourselves from God’s full protection and give demons an "in," a foothold. And demons will push open any door we willingly crack open for them. And then a simple “I command you to leave in Jesus’ name” might not work.
If you are being harassed and “I command you to leave in Jesus’ name” isn’t working, pray and ask God if you (or a relative, like a parent or child who engages in witchcraft, New Age, the occult, devil worship, etc.) have given demons any “legal right” to be in your life, any “welcome mat” that invited them in, such as by bringing “false god” items into your home, participating in or tolerating ungodly things, willingly engaging in sin, being unforgiving toward anyone, becoming overly prideful (the sin that caused Satan’s fall), having outbursts of anger, uttering words that attracted demons, tinkering with temptation, taking drugs or mind-altering substances, emptying your mind through Eastern meditation techniques (which really just opens up your mind for demonic invaders), drifting from God, listening to Satan’s lies instead of God’s truth, giving yourself over to fear or doubt or depression or anxiety (anxiety has been my hardest battle yet, far more scary than this time of demonic harassment, and so I know it's not easy - but hang in there, cling to the Lord, and keep your eyes on God, your mind of Scripture, and your feet walking in His direction, even baby steps), trying to live self-sufficiently instead of being dependent on God, engaging in unbiblical experiences which are presented as biblical experiences in some charismatic/pentecostal groups (such as, and in my opinion, holy laughter, snake handling, laying on of hands to get the Spirit, grave soaking, speaking in tongues, etc.), engaging in witchcraft or New Age-y kinds of things like palm-reading, fortune-telling, Ouija boards, horoscope reading, yoga, spirit guides, automatic writing, astral projection, etc. (If you're not sure, ask God. He knows.)
You need to get rid of the “welcome mats” first: confess known sin and ask for forgiveness, break any ties (in Jesus' name) that you (or a relative) has made with evil, renounce any lies you’ve allowed yourself to believe, clean out any “false god” things from your home, renounce and ask forgiveness for any times you have engaged in “witchcrafty/New Age-y” kinds of things, root out unforgiveness from your heart and fully forgive those who have hurt you, fall at the feet of Christ in humility, etc. If demons no longer have a right to be there, they have to leave when you command them to leave in Jesus’ name.]
Anyway, here are some resources that I recommend, that I think would be helpful if you're looking for more information about demonic harassment and spiritual warfare. (I've either read these myself or I trust the author enough to recommend it even if I haven't read it yet for myself. I can't remember what I read and liked 14 years ago when I was going through the demonic harassment, but these are ones I've found since then.)
I stay away from websites/books/teachers that are too sensationalized or over-the-top, that make it seem more dramatic or more "Hollywood" than it is, that put the emphasis on earthly tools or human rituals or our human power or more "New Age-y" kinds of techniques, that inflate human egos/pride, that teach that only certain people are qualified to battle demons (every true Christian, no matter how new or scared or weak-feeling, has God's Word and the Holy Spirit in them, and so they have all they need to stand up against demons), etc. I tried to find ones that keep it level-headed, matter-of-fact, Bible-based, and that put the emphasis on God's truths and God's Word and the spiritual tools He provides.
Please, always be discerning when looking up this topic online. There are so many bad, misleading resources out there. Study what the Bible says about demons and spiritual warfare, so that you can compare what others tell you against God's Word. The more you learn what the Truth is and what good, godly advice looks like, the more you can recognize the bad stuff - the errors, misconceptions, and less-than-godly advice.
Be prepared: The more you become aware of the spiritual battle and demonic harassment, the more demons might try to harass you (or tempt you and trip you up). Because you become more of a threat to them when you wake up to what's really going on and start fighting back.
Books:
Neil T. Anderson (and co-authors): The Bondage Breaker and Victory over the Darkness and The Beginner's Guide to Spiritual Warfare and Freedom from Fear (really good, helped with my anxiety)
Tony Evans (my favorite!): Theology You Can Count On (not necessarily a spiritual warfare book, but the best, most biblical book on theology in general - proper theology is so important to properly understanding the spiritual battle) and The Promise (about the Holy Spirit and how He works in and through us) and Our God is Awesome (this book helped revive my spirit and correct my theological views after coming out of Calvinism, a soul-deadening theology) and The Battle is the Lord's (about the spiritual battle) and Victory in Spiritual Warfare and Prayers for Victory in Spiritual Warfare. There's also Watch Your Mouth: Understanding the Power of the Tongue (about the effect of our words on the spiritual world and on our lives/faith in general, not specifically about spiritual warfare or demonic harassment).
Priscilla Shirer (Dr. Evans' daughter, haven't read these yet but I trust her): Fervent: A Woman's Battle Plan to Serious, Specific and Strategic Prayer and The Armor of God Bible Study Book. And a 44-minute video: Your spiritual battle and the Armor of God [Also, watch her in War Room. Great movie!]
Billy Graham, any book by him. I trust him. (Maybe check out billygraham.org. I haven't dug through and evaluated this website yet, but you might want to check it out. Just be discerning because other people write on this website too. Just because I trust Billy Graham doesn't mean that I automatically trust those who write on websites that bear his name. Click here for the start of the "Armor of God" series on that website.)
Dean Sherman: Spiritual Warfare for Every Christian [I really like this one, but I do disagree with him that "praying in the Spirit" means "speaking in tongues." I believe "praying in the Spirit" means praying according to God's Will and the leading of the Spirit, being in line with the Spirit - not speaking in tongues. And I believe that speaking in tongues is not even about speaking some kind of unintelligible heavenly babble, but that it was about the disciples being gifted with the ability to speak foreign languages they had never learned so that they could spread the gospel to other nationalities. It's not for the church now, to speak heavenly babble. (If "praying in the Spirit" was meant to be "speaking in tongues, unintelligible babble," then - according to Ephesians 6:18 which tells us to pray in the Spirit at all times - we should always be praying in tongues, in babble, never in our native, earthly language. Does this sound right to you?)
Personally, I think "tongues" is a trap for Christians nowadays, that it's something Satan uses to lead Christians astray, to get us to falsely judge people's level of faith. It's become an unbiblical yardstick to determine whether someone is saved or not, whether they are Spirit-filled or not. All true believers get the Spirit - are baptized in and filled with the Holy Spirit - when they believe. {Of course, how much we experience the Spirit - His guidance, conviction, help, etc. - will be affected by how much we live in line with Him, with God's Word and Truth, or not. We can grieve the Spirit through sin and, consequently, numb ourselves to Him and hinder His work in our hearts and lives. But sin will not take Him away from us. Once we are saved, we are saved for eternity. Our relationship with God and how protected we are spiritually will be affected by our sins (until we confess and make it right), but not our salvation.}
And that baptism - the one all believers experience at the moment of belief, when we are born again and filled with the Spirit - is the only one that counts, that matters (see 1 Cor. 12:13 and Eph. 4:4-5). There is no extra, special "baptism of the Spirit to give you the gift of tongues" that Christians need to - or should - get in order to prove they are saved and Spirit-filled.
Another risk/problem is that immature, naive Christians end up pursuing this exciting, experiential "gift" (based on their misunderstanding of "baptism/filling of the Spirit") instead of pursuing God through the more common, reliable, tried-and-true, "boring" disciplines of Bible reading and prayer. Elevating personal experiences over God's Word is a recipe for spiritual disaster.
Along these lines, another thing I disagree with Sherman about is when he says that Christians should seek the "signs and wonders" gifts of the Holy Spirit. I'm not saying that God cannot give Christians these more dramatic gifts - and if He does, then use it for His glory and purposes - but I'm not sure we should be pursuing them (same trap/risks as speaking in tongues) because I'm not sure if they are for today's church. These can become a snare, an enticement, almost like witchcraft, wanting supernatural powers and abilities and knowledge above and beyond God's Word.
I say that we should focus on pursuing God through His Word and prayer and obedient living - and let Him decide which spiritual gifts to give you. But if we focus on pursuing the more dramatic "gifts" - instead of grounding ourselves in God's Word - we open ourselves up to satanic counterfeits and to being misled, because Satan can see that we want excitement and personal experiences more than wanting God Himself and His Truth as found in His Word. And Satan will use this desire against us, to get us off-track in our walk. I'm just thinking out loud here. Be careful.]
And I'm sure there's more good books out there by other authors; it's just that I haven't found them yet.
How to Create a Prayer Closet - Your War Room (womenlivingwell.org)
War Room Resources (rosilindjukic.com)
How to Write a Prayer Strategy for Your War Room (rosilindjukic.com)
Praying Scripture (embracing.life)
3 Life-Transforming Prayers + A Video From Kelly - Purposeful Faith
my post: Praying Scripture: When You Feel Like You're Failing
my post: Praying Scripture for Forgiveness and Healing
On Spiritual Warfare:
Freedom from Fear: A Spiritual War (Click around on this site a bit. It looks like it's got some good information.)
my post: Supernatural Stuff and the Armor of God
my post: Using Scripture in Spiritual Battles
my post: Help for Anxiety, Depression, and Suicidal Thoughts
A Greg Laurie video: God's Strategy for Winning in Spiritual Warfare
