Let's Parent on Purpose: Christian Marriage, Parenting, and Discipleship 138 Spiritual Warfare in the Home
Spiritual warfare is all around us. It exists in our everyday lives. However, we often overlook aspects of it because we are looking for the big moments of fighting instead of the small daily instances. So, today I want to look at a certain aspect of spiritual warfare that I believe can derail our families and our relationships with others if left unchecked.
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For more information pertaining to the topic of this podcast, please check out this article on spiritual warfare on the Focus on the Family website.
Show Highlights
To begin, we need to understand that human beings are spiritual beings. The two aspects are not separate. Yet, we do separate them all the time by believing that we are spiritual beings when we attend church, read the Bible, or pray, but we are regular humans the rest of the time. This is not true. You are a spiritual being no matter what you do.
I want to look at a certain aspect of spiritual warfare today because spiritual beings are engaged in spiritual warfare. The aspect of spiritual warfare that gets overlooked is: The subtlety of spiritual warfare on a daily basis
We often think of spiritual warfare as big battles such as divorces or major addictions or dysfunctions in the home. But what if spiritual warfare started so small that you didn’t even realize it was there?
In my experience, spiritual warfare is:
- little conflicts
- little discords
- little annoyances
It is death by a thousand relational cuts, and since we don’t realize that the relationship has a spiritual side, we don’t realize the stakes. Spiritual warfare often looks like relational funk between me and you.
Know this: You enemy is not your husband, or kids, or the drug dealer in your neighborhood. It is Satan. Your enemy is a spiritual enemy, roaming quietly, looking for opportunities.
One major opportunity that will destroy relationships is pride.
Pride is:
- the most anti-God sin that exists.
- It is anti-people as well.
- It will kill your house.
- It will kill your unity.
- It will kill your relationship with others and your relationship with God.
There is a weapon we can use to fight this spiritual battle and that weapon is grace.
- Grace heals what pride kills.
- Grace is what allows us to live in a home full of sinners.
The pathway to grace starts with humility with God and with others. You can resist the devil by submitting and humbling yourself to God.
I want to leave you with three steps to help you fight this battle:
- Think about the conflicts in your life and submit them to God.
- Evaluate where those conflicts might have been amplified by your pride.
- Humble yourself and extend grace with no expectation of return from that other person.
Try it and let me know how it works. Send me an email.
Here is an extra piece of practical advice: When you feel like you are under attack or in a spiritual battle, pray this out loud:
I am a child of God
Bought by the blood of Jesus
And I claim the blood of Jesus over my life
I claim the blood of Jesus over my household
And I pray in the name of Jesus and I command any evil force that might be around
to leave in the name of Jesus and by the power of Jesus’ blood
Remember that there is power in the blood of Jesus when you are under the blood of Jesus.
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You are a spiritual being no matter what you do.
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Spiritual beings are engaged in spiritual warfare.
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Spiritual warfare often looks like relational funk between me and you.
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Resources Mentioned
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis