When a Spiritual Attack Can Become a Spiritual Battle

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When we talk about spiritual battle and spiritual attack, we many times think of things like someone being “demon possessed” or oppressed by things like addiction, anger, and yes, even a worldwide pandemic.

But is that always the way a spiritual attack happens? This grand battle for your mind? 

No, not always. Sometimes the spiritual attack could be as quiet as a mouse. Learn how to see those attacks can be just as dangerous as the larger battles.

Spiritual Attack as Quiet as a Mouse

I don’t know who ever came up with the term “quiet as a mouse”…or I should say WHY they came up with it. But it doesn’t matter. 

Mice and I are not friends. Oh, I am fine with them outside. I don’t get frightened by animals in their own habitat. If I am outside and come across a garter snake or a rat snake, I will happily go over and say hello! But stay out of my house!

For some reason, when these tiny creatures like mice are inside, it becomes a totally different picture.

They are dirty. They can carry disease. And they leave “evidence” of their presence all over the place.

So why am I telling you this?

Well, the other day I went into the cabinet under my kitchen sink to get my cleaning spray. I get this spray at least a couple of times a day so I am in that cabinet quite often, especially with the current pandemic.

Well, as soon as I opened the cabinet door I saw it. We had a coffee can where we keep the grease from cooking and there on top were those tell-tale signs of a rodent! It was also on my Swiffer Duster and my floor polishing pad. Not a lot, but one is enough don’t you think?

Anyone who knows me knows…Diane does NOT do rodents and Diane does not do bugs!

I employ the services of a pest control company who comes to my house every 3 months to do a full treatment and every single time they tell me that yes, there is evidence of mice in my basement (we have an 1880’s farmhouse with a dry-laid stone foundation so there will always be mice that come in on occasion) but not a lot.

They always tell me there is very little activity, probably because of all the out-buildings we have. 

And this “visit” from our little friend seemed to be an oddity judging from the amount of droppings. But we didn’t know how we got a mouse inside the house. The former homeowner told us (AFTER we bought the house) that yes, he has caught some mice in the basement here and there but in 17 years that they lived here they had never had any up in the house.

Lucky me!

So my pest control guy put some bait traps down so that we could see where they were coming in and out of from and that was that. 

Spiritual Battle – The Hidden Entry Point

So after the pest control guy had done his thing. my wonderful husband went about the work of cleaning up and disinfecting the cabinet. While he was in the area further back he found it; the entry point.

Apparently there was a hole in the bottom of the cabinet right next to the plumbing that led down to the basement and it looks as though our friends had chewed their way in. 

We never saw it because it was way in the back of the cabinet and I never go back there because everything I use is in the front!

So he got some steel wool and sealed up the hole and I am happy to say we have not seen any more evidence in the house!

This spot in the cabinet wasn’t seen because I never felt the need to check. No mice in our house for 17 years (that anyone knew of) so why think to look?

I made the assumption that everything was fine while right under my nose there was an excavation project going on inches away from where I grab my cleaner or my dishwasher detergent.

This “enemy” of mine snuck in because I wasn’t looking for him. I assumed everything was going along as it should, just happily and blissfully unaware of the intrusion going on in my home.

Spiritual Attacks vs Spiritual Battle

So I first want to discuss what I mean by spiritual attacks vs spiritual battle as I will use them here.

This is by no means an “official” definition of the two and it is just how I define them based on how I have seen the enemy operate in my life and in the lives of others.

A Spiritual Battle to me is an battle for the soul of a believer. It tends to be like any war really. We have the overarching war that the enemy rages against people, nations, cities and so on.

Like with many wars, there may be battles. These are of a larger scale than an attack. These are blistering fights for your life or your soul.

Some Examples of Spiritual Battle

To give you an idea of what spiritual battles might look like, here is a list of some:

• Battle With Addiction
• Battle With Pornography
• Battle For Your Children
• Battle For Your Marriage 
• Battle With Sexual Sin
• Battle For Your Mind
• Battle for Your Health

The list could go on but you see these are over-arching issues. 

The enemy could lie to you about your worth in God’s eyes and that is an attack in the battle for your mind.

He could attack your overall health with smaller ailments and pains to keep you from moving forward with what God wants you to accomplish. That is an attack in the battle for your health.

He could whisper lies in your spouse’s ears that having that “innocent” lunch with a female co-worker is just lunch but then turns into flirting and so on,  and that is an attack in the battle for your marriage.

So that is how I am using the distinction between them. And all these spiritual battles are part of the Spiritual War that rages for our souls.

Spiritual Attacks That Can Go Neglected

When we are not watching, things can get into our lives and our homes undetected and neglected.

I was not looking for an invader in my home simply because I hadn’t had one yet. So rather than checking and making sure all is ok, especially in an 1880’s farmhouse, I made an assumption it would be and right under my nose, it was creating an entry point.

And Satan will do the same. Right under your nose, when you are not watching and you are neglecting to pay attention, he will come in with those attacks that can escalate into battles.

The Word says 1 Peter 5:8:

“Stay alert! Watch out! Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, searching for someone to devour.”

TLV

 

Stay alert! Watch out!

Watch out here in the Tree of Life version is probably my favorite way of putting it. But let’s look and see what some other translations say:

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” ESV

“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” NASB

“Stay sober, stay alert! Your enemy, the Adversary, stalks about like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” CJB

The Greek for the words “be watchful”, “be on the alert”, “watch out” and “stay alert” is the word grēgoreuō  and it means, according to Strong’s:

to keep awake, that is, watch (literally or figuratively): – be vigilant, wake, (be) watch (-ful)

Those are all important words for a follower of Yeshua. Keep awake! 

Isn’t that what He instructed His disciples, His talmidim? 

Yes! In fact he used the exact same word grēgoreuō!

“He returned to the talmidim (disciples)and found them sleeping. He said to Kefa (Peter), “Were you so weak that you couldn’t stay awake (grēgoreuō) with me for even an hour?”

Matthew 26:40 CJB

Why did Yeshua want his talmidim to stay awake and be vigilant? Let’s look at the next verse in Matthew 26:41:

“Stay awake, and pray that you will not be put to the test — the spirit indeed is eager, but human nature is weak.”

CJB

So you will not be put to the test! “Stay awake” in this verse also is the word grēgoreuō!

The Tree of Life Version (the Complete Jewish Bible and the Tree of Life versions are my favorites) says:

“Keep watching and praying, so that you won’t enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

TLV

Stay alert, watch out, keep watching…why? So you won’t fall into temptation. So you won’t fall prey to these spiritual attacks that can then lead to spiritual battles!!

Spiritual Attacks Start With Those Hidden Entry Points

The enemy will look for areas in our lives we aren’t paying attention to and will exploit those to gain entry into our hearts and minds. We need to guard our hearts and minds so that we can not only have God’s peace but so that we don’t allow the enemy to tunnel in.

The enemy will look for areas in our lives we aren't paying attention to and will exploit those to gain entry into our hearts and minds. We need to guard our hearts and minds so that we can not only have God's peace but so that we… Share on X

This incident has shown me that I can easily get caught up in life and in the busyness of the day and fail to be watchful of areas he might be trying to gain access to.

Much like I now have to inspect areas of my home on a regular basis to be sure that it is secure from pests,  I also have to inspect areas of my heart and mind to be sure they are secure.

So how to you ensure you are taking steps to “seal” those potential entry points?

How to Protect Yourself Against Spiritual Attack

1. Stay in the Word! Nothing will help you to guard against spiritual attack then reading, praying and speaking God’s Word
2. Pray! Spending time with the Lord each day in prayer can help to secure your mind, your heart, your home. your marriage and your children! Ask Him to show you areas of your life that might be vulnerable to spiritual attack!
3. Don’t assume that you are not vulnerable! Sometimes we feel we are spending time with God and we pray and so we can’t possibly fall prey to attack. That is exactly what the enemy is counting on! Remember, the people who were closest to Yeshua were warned to stay alert!
4. Stay Awake! Obviously I am not suggestion you don’t sleep! But stay away spiritually! Be vigilant. Don’t take everything at face value. The devil is a liar! He has a way of making things LOOK good when they are not!
5. Inspect What You Expect! If you know you have a struggle in a certain area, ask someone to be an accountability partner! BE an accountability partner for someone you love who is struggling in an area or help them find one! If your spouse has had addiction issues in the past, don’t assume it will never happen again! Inspect what you expect in the sense of setting boundaries and not leaving it to chance!

We are at war with a very real enemy! But he lies and he only has power over us when we allow him to! God has given us armor to put on in the spiritual battle!

I love this description of our armor in the Complete Jewish Bible in Ephesians 6:10-18:

“Finally, grow powerful in union with the Lord, in union with his mighty strength! Use all the armor and weaponry that God provides, so that you will be able to stand against the deceptive tactics of the Adversary. 

For we are not struggling against human beings, but against the rulers, authorities and cosmic powers governing this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm. So take up every piece of war equipment God provides; so that when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist; and when the battle is won, you will still be standing. 

Therefore, stand! Have the belt of truth buckled around your waist, put on righteousness for a breastplate, and wear on your feet the readiness that comes from the Good News of shalom. Always carry the shield of trust, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. 

And take the helmet of deliverance; along with the sword given by the Spirit, that is, the Word of God;  as you pray at all times, with all kinds of prayers and requests, in the Spirit, vigilantly and persistently, for all God’s people.”

CJB

Notice the words ‘vigilantly’ and ‘persistently’ at the end of those verses! Stay vigilant and stay alert! Stop the spiritual attack before it becomes a battle!

Have you found areas of your life where the enemy was able to gain entry with a spiritual attack that you have had to seal up? Share with us in the comments if you’d like! It might help someone else who is struggling with the same area!

And be sure to grab your FREE Prayers and Scriptures for Effective Spiritual Warfare Workbook below as my gift to you!

NASB – “Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation“

Tree of Life (TLV) – Scripture taken from the Holy Scriptures, Tree of Life Version*.

Copyright © 2014,2016 by the Tree of Life Bible Society.  Used by permission of the Tree of Life Bible Society.

ESV  –  “Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

CJB – Taken from the Complete Jewish Bible by David H. Stern. Copyright © 1998. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Messianic Jewish Publishers, 6120 Day Long Lane, Clarksville, MD 21029. www.messianicjewish.net.

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