Consequences of Fighting?

[traillius]

Hello everyone,
I need to ask something. I feel that I am being held back by the actions of the enemy in my life. Nothing supernatural, just the same old tricks,temptation, distraction etc. Now I am preparing to fight against them more strongly. I am not trying to go head to head in direct spiritual warfare, I am not priest or a deliverance counselor, I just want to stand up to Satan and his minions. As I do this more, what can I expect as " retaliation " ? Any common sense advice would be welcome.

 

[MarieVeronica]

Pray the Rosary, traillius. Padre Pio often referred to the Rosary as his “weapon”. It is a powerful prayer, and will gain many graces for you in the spiritual battle which we’re all in. God bless you.

 

[glenaitken]

retaliation? he is not permitted revenge, unless you or God alows it. expect to grow in hoilness and expect it to be hard. expect to pray and serve. don’t go looking for the devil, and mor importantly don’t confuse him wit hyour own fallen human nature and concupiscence (inclination toward sin). expect what the scriptures say in Peter “resist the devil and he will flee”. keep focused on Christ, and the the legions of satan are powerless. please understand that they have to have permission to act in any kind of special way, and so they are already doing thier worst against you- they are chained by the cross of Christ, and they are under His command. if you focus on them too much, you will loose your focus on Christ, and like Peter, you will sink into the ocean of the world. prayer, service, and sacraments- this is everything in the growth of holiness and they must be done in conjuncyion with each other.

 

[Lief_Erikson]

My recommendation is just to pray to the Lord for protection, appeal for the guardianship of his holy angels, and do what Glen and Marie recommend. And know that if you rely on God, the enemy cannot defeat you.

 

[Lief_Erikson]

retaliation? he is not permitted revenge, unless you or God alows it.

I have a question. Do you think that God keeps the demons on a much tighter leash than he keeps evil humans? Maybe he does, but I’d like to know what evidence exists that he does. I know that Satan appeals to God directly for permission to do evil, whereas evil humans just do what they can to assail God’s people, ignorant of what God will allow them to do and what he won’t. To me, that just shows that demons know more than evil humans do, for whereas demons won’t even try anything God forbids, humans, ignorant of the rules, might try and meet disaster. In the cases of both evil humans and demons, they only do evil with God’s permission. He could stop them from doing what they are whenever he wants.

I keep remembering all the Bible stories in which evil humans confronted the servants of God and their human powers were useless because God did not allow them victory. Repeatedly, people tried to kill Jesus and he was spared because “his time had not yet come.” Nations tried to exterminate Israel and failed over and over again, in the Old Testament (before the Babylonian and Assyrian captivities). Isaiah quotes the Lord as saying, “If anyone attacks you, it will not be my doing- whoever attacks you will surrender to you.” God didn’t permit those attacks on his servants that he was referring to, so their efforts tumbled. Servants of God repeatedly have been spared when wicked humans tried to kill them, in both the scripture and the stories of the saints, as well as in the accounts of many non-Catholic Christians around the world. The evil humans weren’t allowed to win. The references in scripture to evil nations attacking Israel also frequently describe the Lord raising up Babylon or Assyria to strike the country, rather like him giving permission for demonic forces to assault people.

I’ve heard a lot of stories about how Christians on evangelistic campaigns or spreading the knowledge of the experience of the Holy Spirit are more likely to be attacked by the devil, and I’ve experienced that firsthand, to some extent. I’ve heard about stories of Christians going to countries full of darkness and experiencing demonic attacks. St. Patrick, St. Paul and other missionaries are good examples of this. When I personally intruded on an extremely dark place, once, I experienced a demonic attack when I prayed against the spirits I sensed.

I think that just as God sometimes allows evil humans to do what they want, whereas other times he’ll pound them when they try, he sometimes allows demons to do what they want, but other times he’ll forbid it so they won’t even bother. Evil humans, to their cost, don’t usually have the spiritual knowledge to know that what they’re trying is forbidden and so will experience disasters that demons following the rules can bypass. The victories or failures of evil humans seem to depend on God’s will, in the scripture, just as the attacks of demons do.

What do you think?

 

[glenaitken]

I have a question. Do you think that God keeps the demons on a much tighter leash than he keeps evil humans? Maybe he does, but I’d like to know what evidence exists that he does. I know that Satan appeals to God directly for permission to do evil, whereas evil humans just do what they can to assail God’s people, ignorant of what God will allow them to do and what he won’t. To me, that just shows that demons know more than evil humans do, for whereas demons won’t even try anything God forbids, humans, ignorant of the rules, might try and meet disaster. In the cases of both evil humans and demons, they only do evil with God’s permission. He could stop them from doing what they are whenever he wants.

I keep remembering all the Bible stories in which evil humans confronted the servants of God and their human powers were useless because God did not allow them victory. Repeatedly, people tried to kill Jesus and he was spared because “his time had not yet come.” Nations tried to exterminate Israel and failed over and over again, in the Old Testament (before the Babylonian and Assyrian captivities). Isaiah quotes the Lord as saying, “If anyone attacks you, it will not be my doing- whoever attacks you will surrender to you.” God didn’t permit those attacks on his servants that he was referring to, so their efforts tumbled. Servants of God repeatedly have been spared when wicked humans tried to kill them, in both the scripture and the stories of the saints, as well as in the accounts of many non-Catholic Christians around the world. The evil humans weren’t allowed to win. The references in scripture to evil nations attacking Israel also frequently describe the Lord raising up Babylon or Assyria to strike the country, rather like him giving permission for demonic forces to assault people.

I’ve heard a lot of stories about how Christians on evangelistic campaigns or spreading the knowledge of the experience of the Holy Spirit are more likely to be attacked by the devil, and I’ve experienced that firsthand, to some extent. I’ve heard about stories of Christians going to countries full of darkness and experiencing demonic attacks. St. Patrick, St. Paul and other missionaries are good examples of this. When I personally intruded on an extremely dark place, once, I experienced a demonic attack when I prayed against the spirits I sensed.

I think that just as God sometimes allows evil humans to do what they want, whereas other times he’ll pound them when they try, he sometimes allows demons to do what they want, but other times he’ll forbid it so they won’t even bother. Evil humans, to their cost, don’t usually have the spiritual knowledge to know that what they’re trying is forbidden and so will experience disasters that demons following the rules can bypass. The victories or failures of evil humans seem to depend on God’s will, in the scripture, just as the attacks of demons do.

What do you think?

i think that any evil that a demon does is only permitted by the wisdom of god- otherwise satan and his legions would have killed all of us immediately after we commited our first mortal sin so that they could drag us to hell. i don’t think that i want to pretend that i know the particulars about how God controls them and why He permits some things, but i will say with certainty that the devil can only do what he is allowed to do. this is evidenced by many of the lives of the saints in very many stories. just because a demon does attack, it doesn’t mean that it what it wants to do- it wants to kill and damn. i am convinced that they are on a much tighter leash than hollywood would like to admit. remember, Chirst is the lord of all, even conquering sin and death and hell- there is no reason to suppose that christ is not in charge, for he has “bound the strongman”. maybe this wasn’t always the case before the cross, i don’t know- but i am certain that it is after the ressurrection.

 

[Lief_Erikson]

Yes, but don’t the scriptures indicate that God has evil humans on the same kind of leash? I think that demons did try, through the Roman Empire and Israel, to exterminate the Church in its infancy. They also, I think, tried to exterminate Israel through the wicked nations it encountered on their way to the Promised Land. They may well have tried to exterminate Jesus in his infancy, through Herod. They were set against God’s ways from the start, and evil men are servants of Satan, for he is the “ruler of this world.” But evil humans are bound so that they can only do so much, just as demons are. Don’t you think?

There are so many scriptures referring to God clobbering the efforts of evil humans to interfere in his plans. There are so many such accounts of saints being spared in the presence of evildoers by God’s intervention, and in the scripture, Israel being saved repeatedly in spite of the malice of so many vicious attacking nations. It really looks to me like evil humans are bound so that they can only do so much, just as demons are.

 

[glenaitken]

Yes, but don’t the scriptures indicate that God has evil humans on the same kind of leash? I think that demons did try, through the Roman Empire and Israel, to exterminate the Church in its infancy. They also, I think, tried to exterminate Israel through the wicked nations it encountered on their way to the Promised Land. They may well have tried to exterminate Jesus in his infancy, through Herod. They were set against God’s ways from the start, and evil men are servants of Satan, for he is the “ruler of this world.” But evil humans are bound so that they can only do so much, just as demons are. Don’t you think?

There are so many scriptures referring to God clobbering the efforts of evil humans to interfere in his plans. There are so many such accounts of saints being spared in the presence of evildoers by God’s intervention, and in the scripture, Israel being saved repeatedly in spite of the malice of so many vicious attacking nations. It really looks to me like evil humans are bound so that they can only do so much, just as demons are.

sure, i’d say that humans are also on a similair "leash’, but I think that it may work a little differently than it does with pure spirits. i think that since living humans are not yet confirmed in either glory or damnation there is a little more slack on the leash- enough rope to hang yourself, so to speak. that is not to say that people are able to thwart God’s will, but it means that He redirects the evil to turn out some spiritual benefit. i really don’t find your statements objectionable, and in fact, i agree with them. God does protect his people from every kind of evil being. it is hard to see the way of providence in these situations, however.

 

[beckycmarie]

Hello everyone,
I need to ask something. I feel that I am being held back by the actions of the enemy in my life. Nothing supernatural, just the same old tricks,temptation, distraction etc. Now I am preparing to fight against them more strongly. I am not trying to go head to head in direct spiritual warfare, I am not priest or a deliverance counselor, I just want to stand up to Satan and his minions. As I do this more, what can I expect as " retaliation " ? Any common sense advice would be welcome.

The best advice I can give you is BE NOT AFRAID.

Demons can do nothing to you that God doesn’t permit for your own good. That is a win-win situation.

Of course demons don’t like it when we grow closer to God, and will do whatever they can to discourage us. Often it is through temptations, doubts, and playing on our weaknesses.

When demons attack in this situation, I take it as a compliment. But I also say a prayer - the Hail Mary and St. Michael prayers are my favorite - since I cannot on my own “stand up to Satan and his minions.”