The spiritual battle is real; I experienced it personally on my first foreign mission trip to Mexico. Our mission team was building a small home next to a house where a young family with three children lived. At lunch, the interpreter told us the woman next door had previously been living with a man involved in the darkness of witchcraft. When she left him, he cursed the middle child, who was about four, and as a result, the child couldn’t speak.
With their permission, we prayed for this couple. We prayed and read many Bible verses, and the light of Jesus came on them. They wept and repented of their sins as they confessed Jesus as their Lord and Savior. We also prayed over their children. The child who could not speak was now able to talk. All the teenagers and adults on the mission team witnessed the power of the name of Jesus over the enemy. The light of Jesus set the captives free and loosened a child’s tongue. All involved had a newfound hope in Jesus they had never had before.
The Apostle Paul Confronted the Dark Spiritual Realm
On Paul’s second missionary journey, our enemy satan attacked Paul through a fortune teller to harass the ministry of the Lord. Acts 16: 16 One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.”
18 This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly, it left her. [1] Fortunately, satan and his minions are no match for the power of God because darkness must flee in the presence of light.
What Does This Tell Us About the Spiritual Battle?
- The enemy often confronts us when we least expect it because he does not play fair. Paul was on his way to prayer. On our mission trip, we were building a house.
- Our enemy, satan, uses people under his control to carry out his plans of disruption and harassment.
- The slave girl was telling the truth about how to be saved. Why? The enemy was looking to say the truth momentarily to draw people in and then fill them with lies. The enemy will mix truth with lies to confuse and deceive people. This is an old tactic that satan used on Eve in the garden.
- The Apostle Paul used discernment from the Holy Spirit to recognize the demon in the slave girl. Then, through the power of God, cast the demon out in the name of Jesus Christ.
- The woman was set free from the demon.
As believers in Jesus, we have the authority of Jesus, which gives us hope in our life’s journey. Luke 10:19 Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. 20 But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven. [2]
To learn how the spiritual battle is real, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/light-in-prison
[1-2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation . Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.