Spiritual attack and spiritual warfare is something that we often like to ignore or sweep under the carpet. However, it is very real and it's important that we know it's significance and how we can fight it.
The devil (often referred to as 'the enemy') is described in the Bible as 'the king of lies', amongst other things. This basically means that he will tell any lie in order to take us away from God, no matter how much it might sound a bit like God. We can hear things that sound like God and things which are good in themselves, but which take away from our true purpose and calling. Therefore the enemy is getting his way. Check what you think God is telling you against the Bible, against the nature and character of God and indeed with what He has said to you before. If it conflicts with that then the liklihood is that it's not from God - certainly with the first two options.
Other lies he tells us, as in my case, is how worthless and useless we are. He uses our cirumstances against us to persuade us to think that we are useless, worthless, insignificant, will never achieve anything and that we don't matter. He makes us live in fear of doing anything or of what we might not become and makes the negative easier to beleive. Part of this involves doubt. Doubt is yet another weapon. We doubt ourselves, we doubt our friends, we doubt and lose trust in God because we believe the lies that are fed to us.
He also puts barriers up in our daily life which stop us making the right choices. Little problems, big problems, daily stresses and even so-called good things in life can all be things the enemy uses to take us away from spending time with God.
If we let him do any of this, then he is winning the battle. There is a spiritual battle going on, the enemy trying to take as many people away from God as possible and stop those who do beleive from achieving and doing the things God wants from them. We cannot allow this to happen. We must be aware all the time for the ways the enemy is attacking us. We all have our weak points and the thing is to be aware of those and pray into them, to ask God's protection. Get praying, get into the Bible, spend quality time with God listening to Him, talk and pray with close friends, house group leaders or pastors.
Ulitmately the truths we must hold onto are these. God made us, God loves us, God chooses to love us, Jesus died for us, if we are Christians then we are set free and forgiven from our past. God can heal us from our past hurts and we must let Him do that, through counselling and prayer ministry. God thinks we're worth it. God has won the war, this battle will continue to the end, but ultimately the enemy has lost already, becuase of the cross. That is fact.
Don't let the enemy feed you lies about yourself. You are worth it, in the truest sense. God has said so.
