There is little I find more disheartening than when talking to people who should be mature believers but who are somehow still very much asleep to the spiritual realities around us. A recent conversation with a friend highlighted this to me. We were talking about some of the issues in the USA right now—the riots, media manipulation, child trafficking, rampant political corruption, and more. I mentioned that I expected some of these issues to worsen through and after the 2020 Presidential election due to many individuals who are pulling out all the stops to keep from being arrested and tried for treason, sedition, and other high crimes. My friend, who doesn’t like to deal with anything negative, said something like “Michael, can’t we pray and fix all of that? That’s such a hopeless view of things.” No, it’s a realistic view of things because, like it or not, we are in a spiritual war.
Anyone who has followed my blog for some time knows that I have pretty high expectations as far as the workings of God in our lives. Whether inner healing and deliverance, raising the dead, immortality, or spectacular miracles such as gemstones and feathers from heaven, oil, manna, and much more, I am constantly pushing forward to access all that God has prepared for us in Christ Jesus. And yet, it would be the height of foolishness and immaturity for me to ignore the spiritual war we are in, all in favor of focusing only on the positives. In fact, while I value Bethel for many of the good things they bring to the Body of Christ, that is one of their major weaknesses. They don’t like to deal with the demonic (nor teach people how to) because they, of their own admission, don’t want to “give glory” to demons by acknowledging their existence. Well, demons would like nothing more than for us to ignore them because they try pretty hard to remain hidden. Failing to train believers to cast out demons isn’t maturity. Ignoring negative-sounding things in favor of positive-sounding ones only goes so far before it causes problematic imbalances.
Let’s be honest. Do I enjoy knowing that human trafficking exists in this nation in part to provide human sacrifices for people who willingly serve Lucifer so that they and demons both can gain power in the earth? No—nothing about that is enjoyable, and it can be disheartening to know that most of the time there is little more I can do about it than pray. Yet, remaining ignorant doesn’t help those people, and it won’t save the next victim either. Ignoring the undeniable fact that we are in a spiritual battle only serves to tie my own hands and reduce my effectiveness in dealing with the enemy.
My buddy Steve reminded me once that in every interaction he has had with angels during any kind of demon encounter that they were always armed with swords. And the reason that angels carry swords is because they know they are in a war and are fighting an enemy. We have been given spiritual weapons to fight this same spiritual war, and yet sometimes we teach and/or are taught to lay those weapons down because we are too negative or focusing on things that aren’t nice to think about. We need to learn how to be awake to the designs of the enemy, fight the battles in front of us, and yet also fix our eyes on the prize. There is a reason that Jesus is the desire of the nations, but even as we pursue Him we need to remember that as Revelation 1:16 shows us, even Jesus has a sword.
This past December 10th I had to put my dog Rowan down. She was the first dog I had ever had as an adult, and while she was a bit anxious at times, she was a sweetheart. Any time I was doing inner healing and deliverance with someone she wanted to be in the room. And the reason we had to put her down? 100% due to witchcraft attacks on our family. In fact, a few weeks prior to that a witch spoke to me and told me they were going after her because they wanted me to suffer. Super thoughtful, right? Ultimately, Rowan started having tonic-clonic seizures that we couldn’t get under control, then post-ictal she started trying to attack us, and since we couldn’t predict when she would have them it became unsafe for her to be around the kids, so we put her down. It absolutely broke my heart, and the rest of the family was just as devastated. And all because we are in a spiritual war that has real enemies and real consequences.
Sure, we can pray for God to fix things, and believe me, from the time the witch threatened me I was praying over my dog and my family—and yet we still lost the battle. It must be nice to be one of those people who can delude themselves into believing that life with Jesus is all roses and bliss, but that’s not reality. The reality is that while in His presence there truly is fullness of joy, we are still in a spiritual war and we don’t win every battle.
For me, that fact simply spurs me on harder to mature and become all that I must become in Christ to be both a sword against our spiritual enemies and a shield in front of my family and friends, but not everyone responds to problems the same way. What would have happened if the prophet Daniel had decided that fasting until an answer came wasn’t worth it, or wasn’t needed because “finished works” theology told him that fasting isn’t needed any more? I rather doubt that Michael the Chief Prince and the angelic messenger in Daniel 10 would have been able to win against the Prince of Persia if Daniel had not dedicated himself to fasting and prayer during that time.
If we choose to remain asleep to the war then we are relegating ourselves to the sidelines and making ourselves of little effect, and more often than not when sidelined we will either be ignored by the enemy because we are so harmless or we will be attacked relentlessly and destroyed. And neither outcome is acceptable.
I’m not saying we need to become hyper-suspicious of everything around us, nor am I saying that we can never have fun. No, it is important that we learn to live from a place of inner rest, enjoying the goodness, love, joy, and peace of God, and yet from that internal position rise up to put a stop to the darkness that encroaches upon this world God has given us responsibility over. Yes, the elections are important. And yes, the corruption in our political sphere, the Covid-lockdowns, the riots, and much more all need to end. But all of those things need to be put in context of a spiritual war that has been waged for thousands of years (and possibly even for millennia).
Earth isn’t the only battlefield. There are spiritual battles that occur all the time in star systems in far off galaxies and in other dimensions. Our prayers actually have ripple effects through the multiverse and across dimensions into other realms and realities that shift the tide in favor of God’s people throughout all of time and eternity. Our prayers are powerful and accomplish far more than we realize, but it is time that we realign our perspective on reality. It is time that we mature enough that we can both remain idealistic about the plans that God has for us to bring us prosperity and goodness and yet also effectively fight and win against the powers of darkness that seek to stop the promises of God from ever coming to pass. I can’t pretend to know what that will look like for each individual, but we need to examine our hearts, be open to the Holy Spirit dealing with our immaturities, intentional ignorance, and our fears, and learn to stand strong against the evil one. For, as Ephesians 6:12-13 reminds us, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”
