How does spiritual warfare affect me? - Spiritual Warfare - TouchPoints

1 Peter 5:8-9Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.

The purpose of evil is to defy God and to wear down believers until they are led into sin. This gives Satan pleasure and greater power on earth. Therefore, you must be alert at all times for both the sneak attacks and the frontal assaults of the evil one. Eventually, God will destroy the power of evil for all time. Until that day, we overcome evil by choosing to obey God.

Genesis 3:1The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

John 8:44“For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Satan’s first tactic is to distort God’s Word. If he can raise suspicion about the integrity of Scripture, he can get you to question God’s will and intentions for you. Study the Bible so you know it well enough that you can recognize the lies that most often come in the guise of cultural mores and worldviews.

1 Chronicles 21:1Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census of the people of Israel.

A big part of spiritual warfare is getting you to rely only on yourself and not on God, who has the greater power. Satan will tempt you to rely on your own resources—the tangible, measurable assets you can count. While it is wise to understand your resources, it is unwise to think that your ultimate security is in them. David’s census was an egotistical inventory of his military might that was in direct contradiction to David’s experience of God’s provision and protection throughout his lifetime.

Matthew 4:3-9During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” . . . Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off!” . . . Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”

In spiritual battle, you may be tempted by offers of personal gain, pride, and power.