Facebook Live Q&A: Spiritual Warfare

This past week I had the opportunity to go LIVE on Facebook for a Q&A Session about Spiritual Warfare. We received great questions that you can always go back and watch again here: Spiritual Warfare Q&A – Below you can find answers to the other questions I didn’t cover live:

Question from EC: Sleep paralysis is something I often had and it is described as a transitional state between being awake and being asleep where one is temporarily unable to speak, move or react. It is often accompanied by hallucinations of a person or supernatural creature suffocating the individual or an intruder lurking about. Some say its psychological or neurophysiological however every time I said ‘the blood of Jesus’, I was able to break out of the sleep paralysis and get relief from the feeling of something pressing me down. Could this be a spiritual attack that is being explained without a realization of (another dimension), the spiritual world or is it just that the name of Jesus breaks through any kind of hold neurological, psychological or etc? (long question, sorry)

Answer from PDK: EC, thanks for the question. I don’t think I have ever prayed for someone with this condition, nor do I claim to know much about it. We always encourage people to fight on all three fronts: physical, mental and spiritual. There is a spiritual battle that is certainly playing a part based on what you have described. The fact that you break out of the sleep paralysis when you say the “blood of Jesus” and that there is an evil fearful presence with a “kill, steal and destroy” mission, indicates the activity of demonic spirits.

My suggestion is:

1. Do all you can in the “natural” to set yourself up for a good sleep and have a routine before bed that will help your mind be at peace. There is a reason why children sleep better with the ritual of a story, a lullaby, putting on pajamas, etc.
2. Play worship music before you go to sleep.
3. Let your last thoughts be on God’s word. I suggest memorizing Psalm 91(especially verses 5 and 10) and quoting it as you go to sleep. Claim Psalm 127:2 and Proverbs 19:23.
4. Before you sleep address the invisible spiritual realm and declare that they have no legal right to harass you as you sleep.
5. Have others agree with you in prayer.
6. Be tenacious – remember this is a battleground, having done all stand. You have the victory through Christ!

We are praying for you!

Question from MM: How do we balance the spiritual realm and just natural rules of our world – for example, someone once said they were suffering from a spirit of sickness or something along those lines because they had a cold, but at the same time, they weren’t wearing very warm clothing on a very cold day. Lust has a biological element etc, so where does the spiritual realm come in there? Sorry, big question, hopefully you can see what I’m getting at!

Answer from PDK: MM, thanks for the question! I have often thought the same thing and drawing a clear line between the spiritual and the natural realm is not simple. It helps me to understand that there are three sets of laws we need to obey; man’s laws (such as speeding), nature’s laws (such as the law of gravity) and spiritual laws. Break anyone of these and you face the consequences. If someone goes outside in the cold and gets sick they broke a natural law. Likewise, sickness can come from living an unhealthy lifestyle. We live in a broken world because of the fall of mankind. Sin came into the world and the Bible makes it clear that there is a link between sin and sickness. Someone once said “Scripture makes it clear that Satan is often the agent of sickness, he is not always the author of sickness”. So just because someone is sick does not mean it is a “spirit of sickness”.

There are however times when a sickness is directly related to an evil spirit. If that is the case, we can trust the Holy Spirit to show us and pray accordingly. Dr. Luke tells us in Luke 13:11 that a woman had a spirit of infirmity, and in Acts 10:38 we read that Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil.

You are right, this is a big question but hopefully this helps!

Question from AL: What is the role of angels in our spiritual battle and how do we engage their help?

Answer from PDK: AL, thanks for the question! Angels play a huge role in the spiritual realm as seen from the story of Daniel and his battle with the prince of Persia. When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane He said: “Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?”. This shows us that Jesus did not command the angels in His role on earth and gives us the example that we need to pray and ask the Father for angelic help. Also it is good to remember that angels are activated when we speak God’s word according to Psalm 103:20. As we speak and confess God’s word the angels that are assigned to us as heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1:14) will be engaged, praise God!

Question from II: Can you speak to us about God’s healing power at home?

Answer from PDK: II, thanks for the question! Yes, you can, and should speak about God’s healing power at home! Jesus prayed for Peter’s mother-in-law in her home, and healed a little girl in her home. Paul prayed for Publius in his house and of course the early church met in homes where they prayed for the sick. Our homes should be a place where we life up God’s word and pray for the sick.

If everyone is a believer in your home, or you are a parent who can set the spiritual climate of the home, then you can easily proceed. If on the other hand, your parents or spouse are not believers and don’t want you to speak about God’s healing power, you will need to begin by praying for an atmosphere in your home where you can freely speak and pray. I have found if people are battling sickness they are usually open for pray if approached with humility.

Keep on declaring God’s goodness in your home II! Check out Psalm 34.

Question from PW: How can we tell whether things present and normalized in our culture (e.g. content of jokes, books, movies, or even societal convictions) are things that should be avoided when we believe it’s bad but there are other believers who believe it’s alright? Is it a subjective experience? If it is, how do we approach a situation where something another believer does (that they believe is alright) makes us very uncomfortable/upset (because we believe it’s wrong)?

Answer from PDK: PW, thanks for the question! This is a good question and as we see the moral decline in the world around us it becomes more challenging. I think of what Joshua said when the people of Israel where being pulled into the culture of the land they lived in. He knew even as a leader he couldn’t dictate their spiritual lives but declared, “as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord”.

The Bible tells us to flee the appearance of evil and take a hold of what is good. (1 Thess. 5:22) If you feel in your heart a joke, movie or book is bad then you need to follow that nudging of the Holy Spirit and avoid it. Both the Holy Spirit and God’s word are to be our guide on this. By not participating in certain events it will cause you to stand out which may cause some light persecution or an opportunity to share your faith. We are called to be salt and light in this world and the choices we make for righteousness cause others to thirst for God.

In approaching someone else who is participating in something we feel is wrong we need to proceed carefully. First we need to pray for them and this may well be all we should do. Secondly, we should talk to them based on our relationship. If we are in a position of leadership, have a position of authority like a parent, or they are a close friend, we can look for the right moment to share with them. (Prov. 27:5) Thirdly, we should walk in love and be gentle. As we read in Galatians 6:1 “Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.”