No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me,” says the LORD.
Isaiah 54:17 NKJV
Based upon this Scripture from Isaiah, we can see that the enemy does form weapons against us. But thanks be to our great God, because His Word also gives us a promise that none of these weapons will prosper, therefore we don’t have to fear them. Having said that, we should still be vigilant, so that we can pray against any spiritual attack which may come our way. The Lord will often warn us of upcoming spiritual attacks because He wants to help us and secure our victory. He will teach us how to be sensitive to the leading of His Holy Spirit, so that we will know when He is giving us a message or a warning. As soon as we realize that the Lord has given us a warning, we should pray and ask the Lord for His wisdom and counsel so that we can win the battle and have victory over our enemies.
Early in my journey with the Lord, I was so new to spiritual warfare that I struggled to discern what a spiritual attack could look like. I was ignorant of the schemes and devices of the enemy, and the Lord helped me understand that it takes time and experience to learn, so that we can overcome. May I also add that I am still learning daily, and by no means consider myself an expert. I would however like to share with you what I believe the Lord has taught me thus far, because I want to help others who may be facing similar spiritual attacks.
I would like to share with you some examples of what a spiritual weapon from the enemy can look like:
Example 1 – Panic attacks:
- Panic attacks are normally associated with anxiety disorders, but I believe that they are actually spiritual attacks from an invisible enemy.
I used to get panic attacks before I was born again, and I tolerated them because I was thought that it was normal for a person who struggled with anxiety. I have since then learned by personal experience that it’s not normal, and that it’s actually a spiritual attack. When I understood that, I was well able to overcome the enemy in this area because I was not willing to accept or tolerate this kind of attack ever again. When I felt this kind of attack coming over me, I stood firm, resisted the attack, and commanded the enemy to flee in Jesus’ name.
I feel like this is also important to mention:
I also understand that there may be times in our lives where we might worry or be anxious about life situations and circumstances – but with God’s help and guidance, we can overcome these. I also understand that at times we may have certain fears in our hearts, but once again – God will help us to let go of these fears as we choose to trust Him in all things.
However, with regards to panic attacks or anxiety that just seems to come over a person suddenly out of nowhere, I believe that these feelings of fear and anxiety are caused by a demon of fear. Our enemies are persons without bodies, spiritual beings that we cannot see with our natural eyes. Ephesians 6:11-12 confirms this:
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles (schemes) of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:11-12 NKJV
Therefore, things like anxiety, fear and panic attacks are not in themselves our enemies, but the entities behind these things are our enemies. Let me put it this way just for clarity – there is a demon (a spirit being) of fear and anxiety. Therefore, when we command fear or anxiety to leave, we are actually commanding the demon which brings or causes fear and anxiety to leave. We are at war with the kingdom of darkness (meaning Satan and his demons). This is very important to understand, because once we can understand and accept this, then we are ready to suit up with the armor of God and learn to fight the real enemy.
There was a time when I believed that I had anxiety as a mental illness, and as long as I believed that lie, I could not get free from it, and I had no victory over it. It was only when the Lord opened my eyes to see and understand that I was battling a demon of fear and anxiety, that I could then fight and overcome. This was my experience, and I understand that our experiences may differ because we all have our own journey with the Lord.
I felt it was important to share my experience with you, because I would like to encourage you to pray about everything and ask the Lord to reveal truth to you. If you are struggling with fear, anxiety, depression or panic attacks, it might be a battle against a demonic force which you can drive out of your life with the Lord’s help and guidance. You don’t have to accept it or tolerate it. God will help you and show you what to do.
Example 2 – Sickness or pain:
When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh (with pain or sickness), my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell.
Psalm 27:2 NKJV
- Sometimes a spiritual attack can come in the form of pain or sickness, but this is a weapon formed against us which must be fought in the spiritual, and not in the natural. A close personal relationship with the Lord is so crucial in our walk with Him, because He will show us if the pain or sickness is spiritual (meaning a spiritual attack) or physical. He will tell us if we should go to a doctor, or if it’s a spiritual attack that we should fight using the spiritual weapons He has given us.
The fact that the enemy can attack our bodies with pain or sickness was difficult for me to understand earlier in my journey with the Lord. However, I have just experienced so much and have heard so many testimonies about spiritual attacks presenting themselves as pain or sickness, that I have no doubt in my mind that the enemy can do this.
There were times when I experienced these kinds of spiritual attacks, and at these times I was very concerned that it was because I was in sin or doing something wrong. It is good to keep ourselves in check, and live a life of continual repentance, but the Lord gave me peace by showing me from Scripture that we can be attacked, not because we are in sin, but because we are following Jesus and keeping His commandments.
And the dragon (speaking about Satan) was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 12:17 NKJV
The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, for He sees that his day is coming. The wicked have drawn the sword and have bent their bow (weapons), to cast down the poor and needy, to slay those who are of upright conduct.
Psalm 37:12-13 NKJV
The Lord fights for us, and He will also help us by telling us what our battle strategy is. Sometimes we can just leave the battle in the Lord’s hands knowing that He will fight our enemies for us, and other times He may instruct us to fight back. I love these next two scriptures which tells us that the Lord fights for us by disarming the enemy of their weapons:
Then I (the Lord) will knock the bow out of your (the enemy) left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand.
Ezekiel 39:3 NKJV
There He broke the flaming arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.
Psalm 76:3 AMPC
There were times when the enemy attacked my body with pain, and the Lord instructed me to not accept it. He gave me the understanding that if I accepted the pain, I was coming into agreement with the lie and therefore allowing the enemy to continue with the attack. We have to stand firm, say “no” to the enemy and really mean it. The enemy may test us to see if we believe what we are professing, but at these times we must hold fast the confession of our faith in God’s word and in His promises. The attack of sickness or pain may linger for a while, but if we stand firm against the enemy in God’s truth, the attack will stop, and the enemy will leave.
There were other times when my body was attacked with sickness, and God instructed me to walk by faith. Faith that He has healed me, and that I am in good health, regardless of the symptoms I was experiencing. Unfortunately, I didn’t always get it right. I remember one particular time the Lord told me that medication would not work because what I was experiencing was spiritual and not physical. I wasn’t sure that I was hearing correctly, so I did get medication – which did not help. I had to stand my ground, command the coughing to stop and really mean it. Praise God, the coughing immediately stopped and that was confirmation for me that it was in fact a spiritual attack from the enemy.
There were other times when I experienced spiritual attacks of sickness/pain, and at these times the Lord instructed me to fight back, but to use praise as my weapon. The Lord is good, and He knows how to give us victory over our enemies, He will tell us how to fight against the attack. Thank You Jesus!
I would like to share a powerful testimony with you of a dear friend of mine, who is also a sister in Christ.
Testimony and message to the church (by Talitha Pienaar)
A few years ago, I found myself in what I thought was the early stages of COVID. It started suddenly on a Sunday afternoon – immense body aches, almost as if something was pulling at my muscles with claws, accompanied by fever. My husband immediately prayed for healing, but as he was praying, we both sensed that this was more than just an illness, it was a spiritual attack.
In my heart, I asked God for confirmation. I specifically prayed that if this was indeed a spiritual attack on my body, He would tell a certain sister in Christ to confirm it. Not even five minutes later, my husband’s phone rang – it was the very sister I had prayed about. She said she felt led by the Holy Spirit to call us and warn me not to believe the lie, but to pick up my sword and fight. As her words came through, Psalm 23 came to my mind:
What stood out was:
“He restores my soul.”
Psalm 23:3 NKJV
and
“I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
Psalm 23:4 NKJV
That night, I meditated on the entire chapter and these specific verses, declaring their truth over myself. The pain and fever lifted, and I was able to rest.
However, in the middle of the night (and into the early morning hours), I woke up again with the same intense body pains and fever. This time, it felt even worse, and I began to doubt what had been revealed earlier. I felt the urge to wake my husband for help, but the Holy Spirit led me instead to go into another room and fight in prayer.
I knew I had to tap in and push until the ‘release’ came. I fell to my knees, praying in tongues, declaring healing, and rebuking any attacks or lies of the enemy. Again, I continuously whispered Psalm 23:3 in my heart and on my lips.
After some time, I felt something shift – a heavy darkness lifted, like when a room fills with light. The pain and fever were gone. Overwhelmed and exhausted, I went back to bed, knowing I had just overcome an attack of the enemy. But more importantly, for the first time, I truly understood what it means to pick up my sword – the Word of God – and fight in the Spirit.
The verse below became so real to me:
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12 NKJV
The next day I woke up feeling much better, praising God for both the revelation and the healing.
With this testimony, let us learn not to stay conformed to the worldly way of thinking, where we immediately accept the lie, and out of fear, run to doctors and medication as our first response – when He is ultimately our Healer, and has already won the battle and paid the price.
The Word of God declares:
“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5 NKJV
We must trust His Word above the mindset the world has conditioned us to accept. Instead of agreeing with fear and sickness, let us accept that we are a new creation in Him and that we can indeed step into victory over the enemy – because Jesus already won the battle on the cross.
“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me,” says the Lord.
Isaiah 54:17 NKJV
May this testimony bless and equip you. If you ever find yourself under attack – especially in the physical (meaning a spiritual attack on your body with pain or sickness) – may you discern it, stand firm, and fight with the living word of Christ.
Bless you in Jesus’ mighty name!
Talitha Pienaar
We don’t have to accept the warfare weapons from the enemy. We can stand strong against them and choose to walk by faith in the truth of God’s eternal word. Jesus said that ALL authority has been given to Him in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18), and when we stand firm against the enemy in His name, we are standing in His authority. Jesus also told us that He has given us authority to trample on snakes and scorpions, and over ALL the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19).
Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Luke 10:19 NKJV