Kris Vallotton • March 26, 2021

Your Most Common Spiritual Warfare Questions: Answered!

UNDERSTANDING THE SPIRIT REALM

Have you ever had a problem in life you just can’t seem to solve? It can feel like you’ve hit a dead-end road, exhausted all of your possibilities, knocked on every door, and called everyone you know - yet still, the problem persists. This was my journey with spiritual warfare. Confusion moved in and made itself at home in my mind; it truly felt like a living hell. Every avenue I attempted to venture down for relief seemed to be met with a dead-end and no way out. I wasn’t sure who knew the answer to my turmoil but I was in desperate need of relief.

Spiritual warfare can feel like the elephant in the room in the body of Christ. It can feel like the thing we know exists but we don’t want to acknowledge it as relevant and true. However, the truth is the spiritual realm is very real. If you know my story, you know in my early twenties I experienced the reality of the demonic realm. For 3 years during my mental breakdown, I encountered demons and battled spiritual warfare every day.

After years of being oppressed by the illusive power of the demonic realm, I found true freedom when I acknowledged my battle was “not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” It is common to retreat and ignore the spiritual battle knocking at your door in an attempt to find peace and solace instead of pressing in to defeat the enemy. However, I’d propose true freedom lies in confronting the spirit realm by stepping into your inherent victorious position as sons and daughters of God.

It is incumbent upon me that as believers we step up to the battle line and brave what’s been besieged by the enemy. The reward of peace rests in our resistance of the enemy, not in our retreat. It is critical that we step into our royal identity, stand firm on the battleground, and become rightful recipients of God’s protection.

COMMON QUESTIONS

I want to bring clarity to the complexity of the spirit realm and answer some of your most commonly asked questions on the topic of spiritual warfare. Please note, these are not the last words on spiritual warfare. I strongly encourage you to process your questions with the Lord and with people that you trust in your life.

Additionally, in this week’s video blog I discuss further the answers to these questions!

Question 1: Are you still leaving an open door when you choose to forgive, over and over, but still feel bitterness when you think about the person?

Forgiveness can feel like you’ve jumped on the never-ending forgiveness track. What I mean is, even though you’ve forgiven someone, you may lay in bed at night recounting the painful memory over and over. But the truth is when you forgive someone once that is enough for the redeeming power of God to reign over the situation.

You might ask, “then why do I still feel pain when I think of them?” Well, the truth is that forgiveness is not an emotion - it is an act of your will. If you still feel a negative emotion when you are around the person who caused pain in your heart - take it as a sign that you need to heal the pain. Being aware of the pain opens an opportunity for healing; the redeeming love of God can arrive on the scene and turn the shattered parts of your heart into a masterpiece. Be encouraged, feeling pain after you’ve forgiven someone is not a sign that the forgiveness “did not work.”

If you have found yourself on this journey of continually forgiving someone, I would encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit what you need. You may want to meet with a counselor or call a trusted friend to help you process the pain that is residing in your heart.

Question 2: I'm trying to understand the warfare of praying for people and then getting a heavy night of demonic dreams and battling. The next day I often feel tired from lack of sleep and disturbed by what I saw or felt. How do you end this cycle?

First of all, the whole spirit world works by faith. I am aware of the belief “greater levels, greater devils.” However, this creates a doctrine where you empower the devil up to your level. The truth is, the more God promotes you the more God protects you. If we begin to create an expectation that in our victory resides an attack, we have suppressed the power of God and sanctioned the force of the enemy in our lives.

Let me be clear, this is not to say that the enemy won’t try his best to violate a victory in Christ. I’d urge you to resist the fear that this may happen and become focused on praising God for the victory you have experienced. Remember, you are a child of God that is protected by a heavenly army. Your victory in Christ is celebrated in the heavenly realms. You have won; you are victorious! I encourage you to allow joy to be your weapon and celebration to be your continual freedom - turn your praise louder and your focus higher!

I hope these answers help answer your questions and bring further insight into the spirit realm. My prayer for you is that you are victorious and filled with peace! I’d love to hear any more questions you have on the topic of spiritual warfare in the comment section below.

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