To say that a Christian struggles with direct spiritual warfare is to describe some form of hand-to-hand combat, a tangible interference with a child of God by evil beings. This direct warfare is precisely what Paul describes so vividly in Ephesians 6 with the imagery of “wrestling” and “flaming arrows.” Such warfare may involve enticement toward a specific sin, such as explosive anger or indulgence in pornography. Or it might manifest itself as doubt projected into the mind of a believer who is weak in faith, or despondency for someone who wrestles with low self-esteem. This could be as intense as a temptation to commit suicide. Let me be clear here: Most of what we battle against are our own weaknesses and sin issues, but there are times when an enemy spirit may be present to aggravate such issues. “Oppression,” then, is an alien pressure that makes the normal challenges of life more difficult than they should be.
The focus of Satan’s endeavors must be to invest his limited power where it will reap the greatest reward. His strategy, therefore, is to undermine values, promote godless ideologies and moral decay— anything that pollutes human minds and perverts their will. Thus, communications media, school curricula, political and religious bodies, educational institutions, powerful leaders— each can become potential avenues of Satan’s influence that touch the life of the believer. This is the predominant form of spiritual warfare that we face. It is formidable and subtle. It has potential to seep into any believer’s life.
