Are You In The Middle Of A Spiritual Attack?

How do you know when you’re under a spiritual attack? I hope this can help show you whether you are or whether you are not.

Feeling Condemned

Whoever has trusted in Christ will be saved, but sometimes the accuser of the brethren, the Devil or his demons, will try to plant doubts in our minds. He wants us to doubt God’s Word which says not one of His own would be lost (John 6:37), and He will turn none away that come to Him in faith (John 6:39), so will we believe our feelings more than we believe what God’s Word says? Naturally, one is objective truth (the Bible), while the other, our feelings, are subjective, meaning they are subject to error. The Devil is a liar and has been from the beginning, and even though he is accusing us, night and day (Rev 12:10), He’s got nothing on us. Yes, he’s right about our sins, but he leaves out the part about our sins being cleansed (1st John 1:9). The interesting thing about Satan is when we are tempted to sin a particular sin, they will whisper in our ear, “Go ahead…it’s not that bad. It’s only a small sin…and everyone else is doing it,” but after we’ve sinned, he then says, “How can you be saved…you’re not a real Christian…you’re a hypocrite.” Unfortunately, many Christians live a life feeling condemned and on their way to hell, robbing them of all their joy, but this is not what the Bible teaches. When you stand before God on Judgment Day, the Devil won’t have any evidence against you because God has declared you righteous in His sight because of Christ (2nd Cor 5:21). Sorry Satan, we’ve been declared, “Not guilty!”

Loss of Purpose

When you feel like you’ve lost your purpose in life, you are probably going through a spiritual attack. That’s because every person within the Body of Christ, the church, has a purpose. For one thing, God created you to do good works for His glory. The Apostle Paul wrote, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10), so God has appointed good works for you to do, long, long ago, before you were even born, so how could we ever think we don’t have a purpose? Even the Devil has a purpose that God will receive glory as God can even use evil for His own good purposes (Gen 50:20; John 3:16). If you feel you don’t have a purpose, then you are depending more on your feelings than on the objective truth found in God’s Word, because it says we were created to glorify God and to “go into all the world” (Matt 28:19-20). You have a purpose. The Bible says so, and the Bible is never wrong.

Famine of the Word and Prayer

When you are finding it hard to pray, and perhaps have even stopped praying altogether, then you might be under spiritual attack. When we stop praying, we are cutting off our greatest source of help in God the Father. We can’t do anything by ourselves. Jesus made this clear in saying “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5), however He says, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). A great way to abide in Christ is to abide in His Word, the Bible. This book is all about Him, so why not learn more about Him? When you find it’s the very hardest to read the Bible and to pray, that is the very time that you need them the most. Why not come to the Father, through Jesus Christ, and ask Him to rekindle that flame and put a hunger and thirst for Him back in you? God would hear and answer a sincere prayer like that. If you’re not getting into the Word, then the Word’s not getting into you. If you’re not praying to God, you’re depending on yourself, and speaking from experience, that’s a bad idea. I know; I’ve done it! Determine a time, place, and schedule for prayer for every single day of your life. I pray while in bed, before I get up. Then, I read some of the Old Testament and some from the New Testament, whether I feel like it or not. And to be honest, there are days when I feel don’t, but this is a bad plan. If I skip prayer and Bible reading, then I’m starting my day with no Bread of Life, and I’m cutting off the communication to my Father in heaven and He to me.

A Restless Anger

If you are under spiritual attack, you are likely going to be more easily irritated by people than before, even with small things. We can be restless and snap at people as a result of not reading our Bible, not praying, feel condemned, and feel like we have no purpose. These can make us feel useless to God, and uselessness makes us lose our joy, our passion for witnessing for Christ, and for doing good works for God’s glory (Eph 2:10). This is just what the enemy wants. The joy of the Lord is our strength (Psalm 28:7-8; Neh 8:10), so when the joy’s gone, so can much of our strength be. A great way to get rid of your anger is to start thanking God for all that you have. Make out a list…start adding to it daily. When you have time, ask others what they thank God for. Ask your spouse and even your children. It’s hard to be angry when you’re being thankful, and shouldn’t we be the most thankful people on the planet?

Conclusion

There are dozens of other signs that you’re in the middle of a spiritual attack, so tell us which ones you deal with the most? What are the areas in your life that the enemy attacks? Why do you think it’s that area of your life and not others that he goes against? Did you know that Satan was defeated at the cross? We have victory in Jesus and are much more than conquerors (Rom 8:37). He’s got nothing on you. Tell that to the enemy.