Overcome Every Spiritual Attacks: How to Stay Prophetically Armed

Not being armed for battle is why many people fail to walk in divine peace.

The devil is always walking about looking to steal, kill, and destroy (1 Peter 5:8). He works stealthily, to chip away at our peace, often intending his work to go unnoticed.

I truly believe one of the reasons many Christians don’t experience breakthrough and answers to prayer is because they overlook addressing the demonic spiritual warfare realm. Yet the Bible teaches us this key element in the authority we have been given in Christ. Some believers have bought into the idea that we don’t want to get too focused on or give too much attention to the enemy. Some see conducting spiritual warfare as extreme, and much of the Christian community downplays demonic activity.

I once heard a preacher, who has since passed, who was very anointed in deliverance but was often criticized for regularly going after the devil when it came to prayer and ministry. People would jeeringly ask him, “What? Do you think there is a demon behind every bush?” To that he humorously replied, “No, I do not believe there is a demon behind every bush, I believe there are seven!”

Well, perhaps there aren’t literally seven demons behind every bush, but we can be assured that when chaos and turmoil are present, evil spirits are at work.

Sometimes when fear, anxiety, and constant attacks seem to be happening, we forget to go after the enemy with the authority of Jesus’ name. Too often we wait, taking blow after blow before we finally rebuke the devil. But let’s remind ourselves that we are at war with the demonic realm. You may know the passage well, but ponder again Ephesians 6:10-12. The New Living Translation makes it especially clear:

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

This is a firm reminder that the devil and his demonic cohorts are always involved in trying to attack us and, yes, rob our peace. We cannot place the majority of our attention on what is happening around us and yet forget the unseen demonic realm operating behind the scenes. On the positive side, we also shouldn’t forget that God’s angels are also at work for our benefit. But the important factor is the spiritual war behind whatever war we are facing that is stealing our peace.

In fact, if you read further, Ephesians 6:13-17 details the list of the spiritual armor we are to be dressed in daily. One piece of the armor is having our feet covered in what the King James Version calls, “the preparation of the gospel of peace.” Let’s unpack for a moment what this means in light of our call to spiritual warfare.

For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared (Ephesians 6:15 NLT).

What are we to be prepared for? The warfare we are called to engage in the spiritual realm. This verse shows us that in that war we are to wear peace like we wear shoes. When you put your physical shoes on every morning, you don’t even have to think about the fact that they go wherever you do. Yet, without shoes you couldn’t accomplish most of the normal tasks that are required each day. Consider that without shoes you are likely not to leave the house, and thus we get up every day and put on our shoes before we start our day.

We are to wear the peace of God like we wear shoes. It should become a regular habit until you don’t have to struggle with it, so that like shoes, it comes naturally and as part of your routine. Once you “put on peace” like shoes, that same peace should follow you into every situation you encounter. Again, realize the fact that this is a weapon of armor in the spiritual warfare realm.

So, let’s talk about how we use this piece of “peace armor” in this manner.

Looking back at Ephesians 6:15, note the phrase, “the peace that comes from the Good News.” This good news is the good news of the blessed Gospel of our salvation. It’s certainly the good news that we are saved, but it’s also the good news of all the good promises of God that help us navigate the challenges of this life.

When times of tribulation and turmoil arise, that is the time to look for good news. Now here you might be saying, “How on earth can good news be found in the most severe circumstances?” True, it can be hard at times, and sometimes there is no apparent good news in the actual situation to be readily seen. But if our habit leading up to it was to decide to wear the shoes of peace each morning, on good days and bad, we will be armed to see the good news of God’s promises with confidence. If our habit has been to revert our minds and focus on the good promises of God when in front of us no good news seems to be found, we will have peace knowing that somewhere in the middle of the hardship the Lord’s hand will become evident.

This is a skill many believers haven’t practiced with expertise. They haven’t learned the ability to wear peace on their feet everywhere they go to counter their difficulties. And honestly you won’t be in the habit of it unless you do so in the small things each day. If we wait for the harder storms of life, we will usually sink in despair and cry out to God with fearful hope rather than arise in confident peace.

Taking Authority Over The Enemy

Now that we have talked about wearing the armor of peace as a daily habit like putting on shoes, let’s discuss the absolute importance of rebuking and resisting the devil. Aside from turning this book into a full-on teaching about casting out demons and the expanded topic of spiritual warfare, let’s at least look at how addressing the demonic restores peace.

First, let me say, do not be shy or in question about whether or not you should cast out the devil or rebuke a demon! I am of the belief that if the situation is dire, or if there is chaos of any kind, the demonic realm needs to be dealt with swiftly. This is particularly true in the case of repetitive issues, such as those who deal with anxiety, trauma, constant illness, or other ongoing mental conditions.

So, do not get hung up on the question of whether a demon is at work. I would suggest it’s better for you to rebuke satan and his demons than to ignore their operations over some doctrinal technical question like, “Is this a demon or not?” Instead, assume demons are working and need to be bound in Jesus’ name!

Let’s consider how peace was restored when Jesus rebuked the demon in the young man possessed of the devil. We see the story in Matthew chapter 17, Mark 9, and again in Luke 9. Each account brings out various truths, but what I want to focus on is how once the demon creating a scene was cast out, peace was restored.

As the boy came forward, the demon knocked him to the ground and threw him into a violent convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit and healed the boy. Then he gave him back to his father. Awe gripped the people as they saw this majestic display of God’s power… (Luke 9:42-43 NLT).

First, notice it was a demon creating a very unpeaceful situation. Imagine the distress of the father watching his son in this horrible state. We can learn from all the various accounts of the story that the father was filled with anxiety. There was no peace upon the boy; therefore, that father’s peace was stolen and surely all those watching were distressed witnessing the violent convulsion, which truthfully today would be seen as a medical emergency. It was only when the devil was dealt with that peace was restored and the young man was healed and returned to his right mind. Immediately there was peace.

Notably from the story, Jesus was quick to deal with the demon. He didn’t delay or ignore it as being demonic. Sometimes we pass off certain medical situations and emergencies as just that, medical alone, while we fail to take authority of the demons involved. We often do the same with people who have fallen into some form of deception or other ungodly choices or returned to bad habits, assuming it’s only psychological while failing to see the work of demons. If the demonic that is influencing the situation is removed, peace will be the result.

Consider when Jesus cast the legion of demons from the man in the country of the Gadarenes. This man had terrorized his community. People had tried to control him, and it’s likely there were stories and fables of fear that ran through the towns regarding him. The nearby towns-people knew he was among the tombs living in uncontrollable rage. They probably had to warn their children not to go near that area. Maybe there were barricades to the places he would frequent. The Bible doesn’t say, but putting that situation into more modern times this easily might be the case. He might have had to be restrained in a mental health facility, which wasn’t available back then. However it was, it was a demonically controlled situation that stole peace. In fact, even after Jesus cast out the demons in the man and peace to the region was restored, the people were so used to lacking peace because of this man that they didn’t want Jesus around! Consider how sometimes we are so immersed in the pattern of chaos that we can’t even receive peace when it comes. There is a whole other lesson to be learned here and later we will talk about becoming receptive to peace.

Nonetheless, peace was once again restored when the demonic was cast out. The Gospels and even the book of Acts are filled with stories of peace being restored once the demonic realm was addressed.

The key we need to address is wearing peace as a piece of armor on our feet so to speak, or everywhere we go. It’s armor that is ready for war at any moment. We wear the armor of peace in preparation for every situation.