Battles Against the Unseen

 

Spiritual Warfare:

 

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 6:12 NIV

This is something that growing up baptist we don’t really think about very much, or at least I wasn’t. It’s something that I was introduced to and aware of, but hadn’t ever encountered in an extreme setting before. 

My intention here isn’t to explain what it is or how it works, this is simply a story about the warfare I was encouraging and how God changed my heart through it. If you have further questions you are more than welcome to reach out to me and we can talk more about it! 

Spiritual warfare is often described as, “the unseen battle of believers against Satan and his army of demons, or fallen spirits.” 

On the race I have been to many different parts of the world and I’ve been exposed to so many different spiritual atmospheres, some of which have been very intense. In some places people welcome the enemy into their hearts with open arms, some people actually partake in witchcraft. This opens the door for the enemy to attack our thoughts, emotions and physical bodies in an effort to distract and stop us from working to further the Kingdom of Heaven.

 

In Amman, Jordan this came to a new peak.

Being a Muslim coubtry, I would wake up every morning at 5 am with the call to prayer coming from multiple mosques. If you haven’t experienced this, it consists of people singing into a microphone in a different language and it plays loudly so the whole city can hear. 

When I would wake up, the Lord would have me pray against the lies and oppression of the enemy during it the few minute it would last and then, generally I would fall back asleep.

But that was just the beginning. Every time I attempted to go on a prayer walk I would instantly feel drained, the urge to break down and cry was overwhelming and I continued to see images of blood as I was praying. It was an eerie feeling that these things were occurring that I felt I didn’t really have control over. But what you must understand is through, I never felt scared or frightened, I simply felt broken hearted, overwhelmed and utterly exhausted. I knew that what I was doing was good, that it was honoring the Lord and that He was keeping me safe. It did feel as though I was dragging sandbags behind me with every step I took, but I did it anyway because I knew that I was fighting the enemy. 

All through this time, I would bring these things to God and ask Him what they meant and why I was feeling this way. I was setting these heavy bags at the feet of Jesus and asking what they meant. I saw that they always got heavier when I was engaging in worship and prayer on the streets or during the prayer calls. 

And as always, God answered in His time. He revealed to me one of the major spiritual strongholds that are found in primarily muslim countries. 

According tonthe muslim faith, Jesus didn’t die for their sins, he was simply na prophet. Therefore, they are stuck in this perpetual cycle of sacrifices and works that will never be enough to cover the debt of their sin. We know that “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). But I was realizing vividly, emotionally and spiritually, that this group of people have no way to lift the weight of death that is acquired by their sin. They have rejected the only perfect sacrifice in Jesus’ death on the cross. This is what was causing my broken heart. I was becoming aware of how broken Jesus is that they are fighting a losing battle with their sin. The hopelessness that comes with never being certain in your fate is overwhelming and it is so sad. 

And the spiritual warfare I was facing was something that strengthened my spiritual muscles so that I would press into God and seek understanding for the weight I was feeling. 

I also want to note that I didnt roll over and let Satan win. I chose to fight the resistance he was giving me. When I felt tired I didn’t sit down and stop praying, I pushed in more. I called him out for his wicked schemes and stood my ground. It is this choice that strengthened me. My faith grew, my determination grew and my discipline was refined. 

This is an experience that grew my heart for muslim ministry because I gained an understanding of how it feels to have that debt looming over your head at all times. 

My compassion has grown for their hardship and my heart beats for them to know the freedom of Christ’s blood.