Tag-teaming through spiritual battles
What does spiritual oppression look like for believers? It can present itself in things like nightmares for both children and adults, nearly irresistible temptations, heaviness that feels like brain fog, trouble with breathing or with even being able to speak the name of Jesus. It can be random irritability with your spouse in things that make no sense, uncontrollable emotions, and the list goes on.
Does this look different depending on where you live or what you are involved in? For those who serve in prison ministry, they may talk about the darkness abiding in the hearts of the men and women who have perpetrated unspeakable evils. For those who work with street children or trafficking, the evil that is present can be sickening when they see how the innocent and vulnerable are abused. For those who work in countries or with people groups who have no knowledge of Jesus and in fact are walking in religious darkness, spiritual oppression can include team members with undiagnosed sickness, hearing or seeing demonic shadowy figures in homes, dealing with emotional or physical violence committed toward them, or having curses spoken against them.
Jesus tells us that the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, but he, our Saviour, comes to give life—abundant life. All Christians face spiritual oppression, some more and some less. So, how do we care for one another in this regard?
Jesus tells us that the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, but he, our Saviour, comes to give life—abundant life. All Christians face spiritual oppression, some more and some less. So, how do we care for one another in this regard?
For our mission workers serving far from home in cultures that are often very secular and oppressive, these spiritual battles are often compounded by not having a strong body of believers around them, making them more vulnerable. Loneliness opens the door for the enemy to send discouragement, temptations, or a desire to give up. Not singing worship songs in your own language and style with other like-minded people can prevent you from refuelling properly.
And then there are places where the enemy has had a foothold, a stranglehold on people’s lives for generations. The soil of their hearts is rock hard, and the enemy has no intention of loosening his grip. It is into this darkness that the church sends our workers who need to use the Sword of the Spirit to introduce the light of Christ, against all odds. And it is these workers who repeatedly plead with the churches back home to pray spiritual protection over them and their loved ones. To pray for a softening of hearts. For eyes to see the light. For God to give courage to face the enemy and speak truth.
As we all face these battles, let us remember that we need one another to carry us, to bring victory, to be bringers of light and life to a world caught in the devil’s hold. As you pray for protection over your loved ones, pray also for those far from home who face similar, yet different, spiritual oppression as well.
