In this war, one of the two things happens. Either you overcome or you are overcome. There is no middle ground. However, the word of God says whoever is born of God overcomes the world. When you win in this war, it is evidence that you are a true believer in Jesus. The life in God is not about mere words. It is about demonstration of power in our lives. It is about visible results. We can assess the victory of Christians by considering their results. What do you have to show for your Christian walk? What story does your results say? What things have you overcome? What testimonies do you have? The Bible says that by their fruits you will know them. As long as you are homeless, broke, weak, sick, you have a war to fight.
Why are results important to God?
Because God created earth to be the visible heaven. He wanted earth to reflect the culture of the Kingdom of heaven. He wants earth to be like heaven. That is why the Bible says, may your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. In heaven there is no lack, there is no injustice, there is no sickness, there are no demon possessions, etc. God wants the same things for earth.
The devils objective is to prevent the will of God from being done on the earth and in your life. He rebels against every will of God. He focuses on preaching the opposite of God’s will. Find below a comparison between God’s will and the devil’s will.
| God’s Will | The Devil’s will |
| Love one another and love your enemies | Hate one another and hate your enemies |
| Forgive those who wrong you | Never forgive those who wrong you |
| Increase in wisdom | Increase in ignorance |
| Be wealthy | Be poor |
| Be a giver | Be a receiver |
| Pray everyday | Never pray |
| Have good health | Have bad health |
| Be healed of diseases | Remain sick |
| Have peace | Have worries |
| Have self-control | Have no self-control |
| Have high self esteem | Have low self-esteem |
| Justice for each individual | Injustice for each individual |
What we observe from the table above is that there is only one reality, the will of God. What the devil presents are fake. They can be described by one word, absence. Darkness is the absence of light when light shows up, darkness disappears. Poverty is the absence of wealth. Ignorance is the absence of knowledge. Injustice is the absence of justice. When someone or something is absent, it does not mean that that person or that thing does not exist. As a result, you do not focus on crying about the absent person or thing. Instead you begin thinking about where and how to find that person or thing. The devil knows that when he keeps you focused on what is not real, you will have no time and energy to discover and pursue what is real. He lies to believers every day. That is why the Bible calls him the father of all lies. “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”—John 8:44
The Bible says in Romans 10:17 that, “So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.” There is positive and negative faith. Therefore, we can also say, “False faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Bad News from the devil.” The devil makes people develop faith in his lies by controlling the messages in our air. He floods our surroundings with his messages. He uses media and other people’s opinion. That is why the news, movies, magazines are filled with negative things only. Death, sickness, poverty, wars, murder, injustice, among others. People who are being used by the devil write these movies and magazines.
Where is the battlefield?
The battlefield of the spiritual war is in the mind. Although the devil uses people to implement his schemes in the visible realm, it all originates in one man’s mind, and the target of attack is another man’s mind. When people are evil, you cannot solve the problem by beating them or killing them. You have to convince them to change their thinking.
Thinking -> Attitude -> Behavior
The mind is divided into two parts, the conscious mind and the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind is the heart. Although the devil goes through our conscious mind, his real target is the heart (subconscious mind). In this war, we have to renew contaminated heart, and guard a healthy heart from contamination.
What are the patterns of the war?
The patterns of any war are defend, attack, retreat, and surrender. As believers, we do not retreat and surrender. We only defend and attack.
How do we fight?
We fight by controlling what goes through the mind into the heart, and by speaking out aloud. There is power in words. Proverbs 18:12 “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Just like God, when we speak we create laws by which we succeed or fail.
Defending and attacking
Defense
The devil attacks through other people in the following ways:
- It could be an insult from a relative
- It could be the doctor’s report
- He could use relatives to bewitch you
- It could be a minimizing statement from a boss.
- It could be news on media.
These attacks are designed to crush you or prevent you from changing or progressing. If you do not defend yourself from the attacks, you will be crushed. Defending yourself requires knowledge of the truth, or God’s will. You have to counter the devil’s ideas and arguments with God’s ideas and arguments. That is why the Bible says that, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” For example, when the devil tells you that, “you are ugly”, counter that by speaking out aloud that “I am carefully and wonderfully made.” When your relative bewitches you, say out aloud “no weapons fashioned against me shall prosper.”
To improve your capacity to defend, increase your knowledge constantly. Read the Bible, Read books, listen to preaching, attend seminars and conferences. When it comes to the Bible, read the full Bible and read it repeatedly. You have to know the will of God and all his promises. God’s promises are our rights as believers.
Attack
Attack is about breaking chains, demolishing strongholds, taking charge, taking control, or changing things. Attack requires authority. We attack with authority. Therefore, to attack the enemy successfully we need to know what authority we have. Luke 10:19 says, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Luke 9:1 says, “When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases”
We attack the enemy using declarations, praise, proclamation, and prayer.
Declaring and decreeing: We declare and decree things. Job 22:28 says, “Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.” E.g. In the name of Jesus I declare and decree that we shall have peace in our home.
Praise: There is power in praise. Honest praise pleases God and moves his hands. Amidst difficulty, praise God. The Bible says in Acts 16:25-26 says, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.”
Proclaim: We have to proclaim God’s promises daily. We have to stay our minds on his will and promises. For example,
- “The word of God says by his strips we were healed. I therefore proclaim that I am healed. I am healed from every fiber of my being.”
- “I refuse poverty because it is not my portion. The word of God says, we are the heads not the tail. That we shall lend to Nations and borrow from none.”
Remember what you focus on grows. What you think about, you bring about.
Prayer: When we pray we release heaven to cause change on earth. The Bible in Mathew 18:18 says, “I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” Prayer works like a missile. You can pray in Uganda and cause change in America.