5 Steps to Overcome a Spiritual Attack, Ep 2-34
Welcome Back! ! I am your host Dawn Simmons and on this episode of Conquering Our Unseen Enemies we are going to be talking about 5 steps you can take to overcome a spiritual attack.
Do you remember the last time you felt like you were under a spiritual attack and you just keep getting hit over and over no matter what you did. Well you are not alone. We all have these times in our lives. While sometimes we are going through challenges that aren’t necessarily a spiritual attack, these 5 steps we are going to discuss will serve you well and get you through your storm. No matter who you are, life is full of challenges and we need to be armed and ready to take on those challenges so that we come out of them stronger, more resilient and better able to discern how the Lord is guiding us through it.
We know that 1 Peter 5:8 tells us “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. “ When we are in the midst of an attack, it does feel like this, doesn’t it? We sometimes let ourselves feel defeated when we keep getting hit with yet another thing. Let’s look at what that scripture is telling us. We know the devil is around us, it may not be 24 hours, but we know there are times when he is working hard against us. It doesn’t say when we are doing good things, or when a breakthrough is coming, there is no qualifier to when he prowls. He just prowls like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. I can’t remember if I told you before about this, but I used to be a member of the LA Zoo. I was a member before I had kids because I just love animals. One of the benefits of being a member is that you get to get in earlier than non-members. So I would plan my early entries to try to be at certain enclosures when the animals first came out. This one day, I wanted to be there for the lion. The lion enclosure is nowhere near the entrance so I had to plan the route I was going to take and I had to time it because it was too far to walk and be there in time to see him come out. I remember that day, it was a sunny day, it was 29 or 30 years ago and I ran. I ran through winding paths, up little hills, down little hills, up big hills, down big hills, by myself, to make my way to the last curve leading me to the lion enclosure. I arrived, out of breath, and made it to front and center of the enclosure where the lion would come out from the back. The enclosure sadly is not very big, it’s kind of pie shaped if you were to take 1/3 of a pie, which can happen in my house with pumpkin pie, but I digress. So the distance between me and the edge of where the lion can come out is maybe 40-50 feet at most. The space that makes up that 40-50 feet drops down like a moat, but there’s no water there cause we live in a desert. Anyhow, I was at the center of the enclosure facing the gate where the lion comes out just at the moment the lion was released and came out. He looked kinda angry or amped up and he came out of that gate with a start and right to the edge of the enclosure in front of me, stared straight at me and let out a roar I will never forget. I stood there, witnessing this beautiful lion, mouth open, roar so loud the noise traveled across the 40-50 feet and enter my body, shaking me from head to toe. I was shook! I was also a little scared. I was thankful that lion presumably could not make the 40-50 foot leap across that enclosure to get to me because he truly looked like he wanted to let out some frustrations on me. When I read that scripture, like a roaring lion, I have that as my perspective. A roaring lion is terrifying without an enclosure to protect me.
As believers, I think at times we are too nonchalant about how we view a spiritual attack.
You often hear believers talk like this:
The enemy is really attacking me lately. Then someone responds with, well then you must be doing something right, or then breakthrough must be right around the corner.
That may be true, but so what. How does that help us while we are in the midst of an attack? Don’t we all hope we are doing something right or have a breakthrough coming? But what difference does it make? In our thought process we should not qualify the enemy attack with a Kingdom advance. The enemy should not have an open door to attack us. The scripture said “Be alert and of sober mind” We need to change the narrative and go on the offense as soon as we think we are under attack. If it turns out it wasn’t a spiritual attack and is instead a consequence of a bad choice, then we have still trained ourselves on how to respond under all circumstances. We aren’t going to train ourselves to sit and wait while we are in the storm. We are going to train ourselves to be forward advancing for the Kingdom working with God always, under all circumstances, no matter how we feel.
An enemy attack can be very simple or an attack can be very elaborate. Regardless of what type of attack you are experiencing, there are 5 steps we can follow to get us through the attack successfully and bring us closer to the Lord at the same time.
1. Put everything in perspective:
When we are experiencing an attack or even if we aren’t sure if it is an attack but it feels like the world is against us, we need pull back from our circumstances and gain some perspective. As a believer, we have everything we need to overcome our circumstance. It can be easy to lose sight of that when we are in the midst of our difficulties, but no matter what the enemy attempts to do around us, we know what John 16:33 tells us, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” This alone tells us we know our outcome, but we have to walk through some things to get there. In our walk we have to start with putting everything in perspective and these verses can help you do that. These are great verses to add to your scripture journal. This is why a scripture journal is so essential.
Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
Psalm 112:7, “He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.”
Galatians 6:9, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
Romans 8:28, And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
2. Don’t let the challenge be a distraction. Refocus:
Often times when we are facing an attack, it becomes all we think about. We almost wait for the next thing to happen. When we wait expectantly, we are coming into agreement with the enemy and we have to change that thought process. We can’t continue to think of ourselves at the receiving end of whatever the enemy wants to throw at us. Instead, turn the situation around and start to take aim at the enemy tactics and don’t just build your defense, which at times is all we think we can do. This is time to go on the offense. Don’t let the negative situation turn you into a weak and willing participant with the enemy. This can be really hard depending on what you are dealing with. Sometimes all we see is what is in front of us, but we have to stop thinking just about what is in front of us if we are going to get through this with the Lord. I know people who faced with a difficulty, took time off work. When I asked what they did during that time, they did nothing. They wanted to just hide from the world, but that won’t work. It only distracts us to go deeper into a hole that we need to walk away from and refocus our attention on the Lord.
Here are a few scriptures to get our hearts and minds refocused:
Colossians 3:2, Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
2 Corinthians 4:18, As we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
3. Be more conscious of your time with the Lord:
When we are in the midst of a spiritual attack we tend to let our usual routines fall by the wayside. Where we would normally pray, when things are really difficult, we don’t pray the same. Our faith has dwindled. We have a desperation cry, or we turn on God and ask why, sometimes getting angry. We all have had moments where our emotions become that intense. Where we need to focus is in our time with the Lord. We need to make sure that we are not neglecting our time but instead investing our time with Him. We need to be more purposeful in our prayer time, add worship time into our daily schedule, even if it’s only 15 minutes. Read the bible and let Him speak to you. The more conscious we are of how we are spending our time and including the Lord in it, the easier it will be to overcome the attack. Using scripture positions us to send arrows right back at the enemy and it will reduce the effectiveness of the attack and build you at the same time.
Here are some good ones to incorporate into your day:
Ephesians 6:18, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing”
Romans 10:17, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
4. Slow down and seek the Lord on your decisions:
When we are in the midst of an attack, a lot of times we just want it to end, as quickly as possible. Unfortunately that can come at a cost if we are not careful. If we are not seeking the Lord and listening to Him on how to resolve a challenge, we could invite unexpected consequences we were not prepared for or had the insight to understand would occur. We often try to use our earthly wisdom to deal with spiritual forces, and it doesn’t work. The only way to overcome an enemy attack is with the Lord and following what He tells us to do and not do. He will give us the way we need, may not be the way we want, but it will be the way we need. We have to trust that His way is our way.
Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (referring to provision)
Psalm 25:5, “Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.”
Psalm 27:14, “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”
Psalm 62:5, “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.”
5. Stand firm in the truth of the Lord:
When things don’t happen as quickly as we would like, humans have a tendency to try to hurry them along. Our culture is all about the hurrying things along, what we can get or do faster gets us onto other things we can also do faster. The art of waiting is almost obsolete. Waiting with the Lord as He prepares you and strengthens you and shows you His way is actually exhilarating. When you can do this, you can forget about the difficulty and look forward to His outcome. Not a lot of people can do this, waiting can be challenging, not going to deny that, but if you truly trust Him, you don’t mind the wait. We can’t expect God to be like a slot machine, we put something in and just push a button and something comes out. That’s the way He is treated a lot. I would rather put all I have into Him, and then wait to see what He creates in and out of my circumstance.
I am these last few weeks facing a spiritual attack, haven’t had one like this in a while. I wouldn’t say I am enjoying it, but I am finding peace in it. I didn’t actually count how many attacks I’ve had in this time period, it has been a series of attacks. It started as a cluster of attacks, a bunch of little attacks, then a week ago, some big things coming at me. But the Lord has been with me and showing me how He is going to resolve things and how I can stand with Him in all that is happening.
These are some great scriptures to help you through this last step:
1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
James 1:12, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”
Ephesians 6:10-18, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
I want to end this discussion with a scripture because it really sums up everything we have discussed into one beautiful example of how He provides for us in everything:
James 1:2-4, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
I hope you have enjoyed our time discussing the 5 Steps to Overcome a Spiritual Attack, and I do hope it has helped to build your understanding. We cannot fully conquer our unseen enemies until we understand everything the Holy Spirit makes available to us. If you know anyone who might benefit from this, please share.
As always let’s discuss our Top Show Points:
5 steps you can take to overcome a spiritual attack
· 1 Peter 5:8 tells us “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
· Story of me experiencing a roaring lion that felt like it was face to face.
· 5 Steps to Overcome a Spiritual Attack
o 1. Put everything in perspective:
§ John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
§ Psalm 46:10, Psalm 112:7, Galatians 6:9, Romans 8:28,
2. Don’t let the challenge be a distraction. Refocus:
§ Colossians 3:2,
§ 2 Corinthians 4:18,
o 3.Be more conscious of your time with the Lord:
§ Ephesians 6:18,
§ 1 Thessalonians 5:17,
§ Romans 10:17,
o 4. Slow down and seek the Lord on your decisions
§ Matthew 7:7
§ Matthew 6:33
§ Psalm 25:5
§ Psalm 27:14
§ Psalm 62:5
5. Stand firm in the truth of the Lord:
· 1 Corinthians 15:58
· James 1:12
· Ephesians 6:10-18
· James 1:2-4
We encourage you:
· To have an active Bible reading plan, it will be helpful in gaining wisdom and understanding and it is required for the gift of spiritual discernment
· If you want to learn more about how to Hear God's Voice, take a look at my book, Loving Conversations: How to Pray and Hear God's Voice. There is also a Study Guide available and two devotionals out based on the Loving Conversations Book. One devotional is for women and one is for men. Those are available on the website www.lovingconversationssalo.com.
· Come to my live event on 9/23 if you are in the Los Angeles area and experience the Holy Spirit, 80 Wood Rd, Journey the Church Office, for more details listen to the Invite I posted on 8/24.
· Follow us in Instagram
I have enjoyed our time this week and look forward to spending time with you again next week!
We encourage you:
· To have an active Bible reading plan, it will be helpful in gaining wisdom and understanding and it is required for the gift of spiritual discernment
· If you want to learn more about how to Hear God's Voice, take a look at my book, Loving Conversations: How to Pray and Hear God's Voice. There is also a Study Guide available and two devotionals out based on the Loving Conversations Book. One devotional is for women and one is for men. Those are available on the website www.lovingconversationssalo.com.
· Follow us in Instagram
I have enjoyed our time this week and look forward to spending time with you again next week!
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