Hi all this is a good resource I found and added my own “spices” to it! lol!. I pray this can answer some questions. There are times when we don’t recognize we are in a battle and we fail to do anything about it. We continue to let demonic forces get a foothold and then the problem escalates.
As children of God we must be watchful and stay alert - don’t accept anything other than what God says that we can have - this is why we must STUDY GOD”S WORD! When was the last time you got quiet and studied a passage of scripture or read your Word?
Look at the list below and see if you recognize anything, this can help you become aware of whats going on in your life - sometimes we fail to fight in war because we don’t recognize the enemy. Remember our enemy is ANYONE or ANYTHING that hinders, stops, causes confusion, tries to impede or slow down, take us off the path that God has for us.
This is a small list that we can recognize that we are in spiritual warfare
1. Atmosphere – of pressure or oppression (prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control, abuse). This can be at home, church or even on a job. Individuals that cause, create or stir up this type of atmosphere around you.
In Rom 14:17, the Apostle Paul tells us that the Kingdom of God consists of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. When we are robbed of these things, we need to pay attention. What happened?
The peace of God should rule our lives
Joy in the Holy Spirit: I’m not talking about dancing, shouting and praising God, that is an “outward expression”. The Joy of the Lord is not an outward thing, it is inward, it is assurance in knowing that whatever comes and whatever happens – God WILL work it out! This is the true JOY of the LORD (Neh 8:10) that gives strength to move forward, in the Lord, not just to dance and shout!
2. Severe discouragement
We need to particularly pay attention when the first signs of discouragement strike. Discouragement or confusion should be like an orange flashing light, alerting us to the possibility that we are in a spiritual battle. It may come all of a sudden - you were happy that morning and then discouragement comes out of nowhere - or it came come after talking with someone. This type of discouragement is not just feeling sad, its much more than that, this type of discouragement is the kind that whispers in your ear “give up!”, “Its no use anyway”, “just don’t do it anymore”. This type of discouragement is fueled by a demonic spirit - it is sent to STOP YOU!. Rebuke it!
3. Crippling condemnation
The conviction of the Holy Spirit is specific and brings conclusion through repentance, but condemnation is cloudy. Feeling bad about something is normal, and if the Lord brings our past to our mind, it is ONLY for the sole purpose of repentance, to heal that area and set us free from it, but if its spiritual warfare that condemnation lingers...if it STAYS there day after day, week after week, year after year - this is when its demonic in nature.
That is a weapon designed to steal from you all that God has done, through guilt.
This is especially so when the fear is pressuring you to stop moving in the direction of God’s revealed will for your life, or that of your family, ministry or church.
4. Confusion
The enemy thrives in confusion. We think it’s us. Everything gets hazy. Confusion is often an attack on our minds, but it can also be apparent in relationships where communication becomes distorted, perverted and misrepresented. Confusion is often used with attacks from the spirit of control & manipulation.
Blessings to you M. Floyd