23 Examples Of Spiritual Warfare Attacks

Spiritual warfare attacks happen a lot more often than many believers think. The enemy's best strategy is to attack us subtly so we won't recognize his activity. He has duped many believers into thinking his attacks are dramatic and crazy and always involve the spiritual. But many examples of spiritual warfare attacks are in the physical, and only the discerning can tell they are from the evil one.

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The subtle ways the fiend tempts and attacks us are, for example, through distractions. He can create so many distractions that you no longer have time for your Christian life. You may not have time to pray, meet with other Christians, read the Bible, or attend church.

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The Battle Is Fierce

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The enemy will do anything to keep us from knowing that we have victory over all his schemes (Eph 6:11) and that he was defeated on the cross by Jesus (Col 2:15). The devil endeavors to make us weak and vulnerable so that he can take the battle deeper into the spiritual.??

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For instance, he can attack us with distractions, which causes fatigue to build up. He convinces us that we are alone in the battle if we fail to slow down and rest. Worry and anxiety begin to build up as we get concerned about the things of life: will we ever build that relationship, foot the bills, meet the deadlines, and so on? Such a thought life may make way for fear and anxiety, which may become a part of us.

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That we are alone in our struggle against the evil one is not true. The Lord is always with us and promised never to leave nor forsake us, Deut 31:6.

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Understand What The Devil Is

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The fiend is a defeated foe who prowls around like a lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). He has a threefold ministry: to kill, steal, and destroy, John 10:10.

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He is ruthless, determined, and very cunning. He is at an advantage when you do not know what his mission is in your life. When you fail to recognize spiritual warfare attacks for what they are, he intensifies the battle to rout you.

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Here are twenty-three examples of what spiritual warfare attacks from the devil look like. The list is not exhaustive but gives you a good idea of what to look for.

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1.?????? When You Are Overcome By Physical Fatigue

You feel demotivated, lacking in energy, drained, and sick. You may also feel like you are losing heart and at your rope's end. The best antidote for this is to rest and take a break.

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2.?????? When You Have Feelings Of Discouragement, Depression And Defeat.

You feel like you can’t go on when you have these feelings. Overall, you struggle with disappointment and lack of peace. Everything seems burdensome, overwhelming, and hopeless. You struggle to keep up with anything.

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3.?????? When Overcome By Anxiety

"Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad," Proverbs 12:25. The devil uses anxiety to disrupt our hearts and affect our Christian walk. Anxiety robs us of our peace, the enemy's strategy to win the battle against us.

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4.?????? Spiritual Desire Loss And Dryness

The Christian walk becomes difficult and challenging when you lose your spiritual desire. You are no longer interested in meeting other Christians; prayer and attending church become difficult.

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5.?????? When You Are Experiencing Many Stressful Situations

Many Christians report being stressed. What some of them may not know is that this is a tactic that the evil one uses to frustrate Christians and rob them of the victory that they have in Christ. The Bible records many stressful situations that some bible characters faced. For instance, the book of Psalms is strewn with Psalms written by David as he faced many stressful situations. The antidote for stress is to surrender to God. (Psalms 28:7).

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6.?????? Doubting God's Goodness

When the enemy uses this tactic against you, you feel let down by God for His failure to come through for you. You may think God is angry with you and is punishing you. When you believe God is punishing you, you struggle to trust Him to come through for you.

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7.?????? Temptation

There are many ways that the devil attacks you with temptation. For instance, he may puff you up with pride when things are going well in your life, such that you begin to take the credit. When you feel responsible for your success, you trust your abilities, not God.

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Here, the devil uses pride and a haughty spirit to set you up for a significant fall (Prov. 16:18). When Satan attacks us with temptation, he appeals to our desires as he did to Eve.

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8.?????? Troublesome, Disturbing, and Negative Thought Life

The mind is where the spiritual battle is fought. It is won or lost there. Satan can attack the mind with negative, troublesome thoughts of anxiety, fear, and worry. The devil endeavors to isolate you when your mind is troubled so that you may think that no one cares about you.?

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9.?????? Fear

The Lord advised His disciples to fear only God, Mat 10:28. Bear in mind that the disciples of Jesus had a lot to worry about because those who murdered Jesus were looking for His followers to kill them as well. We, too, as believers, are not to fear at all.

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Fear is the opposite of faith. When the enemy attacks us with fear, he wants to go to the core of our Christian faith. If he can destroy our faith, he can have our hearts.

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When fear overwhelms you, focus on the solution, not the problem. Find peace by shifting your focus to Jesus.

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10.?? Have thoughts about going back to your old lifestyle.

When you come to Christ, you get delivered from things that have kept you in bondage when you were in the world. When the fiend attacks you with this one, you are tempted to go back to the very things you have been delivered from instead of moving forward with God.

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His subtle technique here is to make the old life look attractive while painting the Christian life as too difficult.

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11.?? Despair

The enemy attacks Christians with despair by sending them many afflictions at the same time. Take heart if you are attacked from every side and in desperation. You are in good company. The apostle Paul had gone through a lot when he wrote the second letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor 11:23-28). But Paul did not waver or get into despair when he was much afflicted (2 Cor 4:8-9).

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12.?? Old Emotional Wounds Resurface From The Past

There are pain points in your life that you have dealt with as a Christian. You may think these are resolved, but the devil may bring these up again and recreate the pain. Such attacks are meant to leave you confused and at a loss for what to do about the old pain.

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13.?? When You Accept Lies As Truth

The most vivid account of spiritual warfare recorded in scripture is in Luke 4. This is the account of how Satan tempted Jesus three times while He (Jesus) was in the wilderness fasting. The devil is the master of deception and lies, and this is a tactic he uses against Christians when he wages spiritual warfare.

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In the third temptation, Luke 4:9-12, the devil quoted scripture accurately but distorted the application of the verses he quoted. This is a common tactic that the enemy uses against Christians even today. Many Christians have walked away from their dependence on God and accepted partial truths. It is a tactic that the fiend uses a lot, even today.

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14.?? When You Are Overwhelmed By Feelings Of Shame, Guilt And Condemnation

When the enemy launches this attack against you, you feel like you are not good enough, barely do enough, and are not worthy of much. Such feelings create a sense of shame.

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15.?? When You Battle Thoughts Of Revenge

Many of us do not like to see blatant abuses of others or even ourselves going unpunished. Bible characters were not unlike us in this respect. The scriptures are strewn with supplication to God for revenge. King David, the man after God's heart, wrote many psalms of vengeance. He made supplication to God to avenge him of the injustices of his enemies.

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Crying to God for revenge might not be a bad thing. But trying to mete out the revenge ourselves is sinful, according to Romans 12:19. When you have a strong desire to retaliate and avenge yourself, you are under a spiritual warfare attack.

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16.?? When You Experience Heightened Feelings Of Rejection, Loneliness, And Struggle With Belonging

When you face this kind of attack, you feel unwanted by everyone and think that no one understands you. You have a distorted sense of belonging and feel like you belong nowhere.

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17.?? Confusion Over What To Believe

When you start wondering about your Christianity, you battle thoughts like, is Jesus really real, and is He for me? Is heaven there, and what if Jesus is not the only way? When doubts about the fundamentals of Christianity fill your thoughts, you are under a spiritual attack.

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18.?? A Lack Attack

When this happens, all your finances get drained, and you struggle to get by.

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19.?? You Battle A Spirit Of Heaviness, Strife, And Arguments In Your Relationships

The difficulties in your relationship could be attacks from relatives, close persons, or strangers. The devil attacks you personally by creating discord with others.

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20.?? When Unbelievers Are Out To Tempt You To Be Like Them

We are the ones who are supposed to influence believers to our way of life. However, when they are out to tempt you, you are under a spiritual attack.

21.?? Getting Too Much Power Too Quickly.

At times, what looks like a blessing from God may indeed be a curse from Satan meant to destroy you. The kind of power mentioned here is the one you are ill-equipped to handle, which goes to your head and may destroy you.

22.?? Severe, Intense Troubles

In this kind of scenario, you have intense problems, one after another, or together. For instance, if you lose a job, have some health problems, or have trouble at home, all at the same time, you could be facing spiritual warfare attacks.

23.?? When You Are Abusing Something To Numb Your Pain

What you abuse here may be seemingly harmless things like caffeine, sleep, pain medication, overactivity, and education; anything you choose to numb your pain instead of turning to Jesus is from the devil. Abuse of substances and other things is a sign of spiritual attack.

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Do not be tempted to get discouraged when you feel like you are under spiritual warfare. Remember, you are not alone in the battle; God fights for you. Your role in the struggle is to resist the enemy.

You resist him but do not buy into his lies. He is a master in deception and experienced in magnifying issues and creating illusions. Please do not fall for his tricks.

Put on the full armor of God and use scripture as the first line of defense.

Here are two scriptures to close with.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s?schemes. 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 heavenly realms." Eph. 6:10-12

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"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the?contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the?knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

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