Spiritual Warfare

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Hey everyone. I wanted to start a discussion about spiritual warfare. How essential is it that we be able to do effective spiritual warfare? Just how active is Satan and his demons? Are they a very serious threat to the average Catholic or are they a more mild threat to the average Catholic? What is the most effective spiritual warfare prayer out there? I have heard it said before that the Rosary is a very powerful spiritual warfare prayer and I do believe that.
 
well other than the virgin Mary and ofcourse Jesus, prayers to st Benedict and st Michael are also very effective.
 
I believe Satan is very active. Problem is he is clever enough to work in many ways, many of which people don’t quite realize. If he just went around scaring everybody, he runs the risk of scaring them right into the arms of Christ.

Another huge weapon we have is the SACRAMENTS.👍
 
Holly3278 said:
How essential is it that we be able to do effective spiritual warfare?
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It’s basically a life-and-death battle.
Holly3278 said:
Just how active is Satan and his demons?
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Tireless. They’re angelic substances.
Holly3278 said:
Are they a very serious threat to the average Catholic or are they a more mild threat to the average Catholic?
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Why should they waste energy on Catholics they have already subdued?
Holly3278 said:
What is the most effective spiritual warfare prayer out there?
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Prayer and fasting. Exorcism.
 
There are 2 extremes to avoid when talking about Satan. The first is that he does not exist. The second is that he is all powerful.
The rosary has been called the scourge of the devil. It is a very effective weapon.
Pope Leo XIII wrote and encouraged the prayer of St. Michael after a vision he had. It is one of the prayers I pray after the rosary.
 
Padre Pio once said “If all the demons that are present over the people could be visible to the human eye then the light of the sun would be blotted out.”
It’s really scary when you think about it but this is how much we need spiritual warfare! I think the Rosary is one of the greatest weapons against satan! Everytime we pray it, we are offering a rose to Mary and throwing a thorn at satan’s behind!
 
First stop is the Holy Bible. Let’s see what we have in Ephesians:

Eph 6
10 Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.
11 Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil.
12 For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.
13 Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground.
14 So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate,
15 and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace.
16 In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

OK, this gets us psyched up, but then what? In regular warfare you plan out a strategy to destroy the other person’s stuff. In spiritual warfare you are against Bad Attitudes and Wrong Thinking, basically. That’s why verse 14 says to stand ready with the truth; the truth shall set you free.

Also you need to lose your ego entirely so God can renew you in mind and heart (after being born of the spirit) before you can really play this game right, but even before that you can do it. Stand on righteousness, but not self-righteousness. Do what’s right and good, and “fail” to see the imperfections in others. Fail to be persuaded by negative, wrong, doomsday thinking and keep the promises of God in your mind.

I love spiritual warfare because I had a major bout of it and the Lord saw me through it and I can’t possibly begin to tell you the peace, joy, etc. The contest is over but satan hasn’t given up yet. Yesterday he tried to get me really bad when I made some strong proclamations to people about the power of God and his generosity. I suddenly got up from my chair, and started walking across the room and I was not scared because of my faith but it is the first time I’ve actually been unable to keep track of which way was down. I was shaking very strongly and it seemed every muscle had its own timing, making it very awkward indeed to stand up and walk at the same time.

So I fell on my knees – almost as if I was being led to fall – not quite like being pushed but more than just losing balance – skinning one of them on the concrete basement floor, and even while falling I kept the faith and knew this was nothing that could hurt me. I don’t know who pushed me down, but it ended the episode. Two seconds later I was perfectly fine except for the little badge I got on my left knee, and I felt better than ever before and went back to what I was doing.

The funny thing is, in this war it is how meek and mild and gentle and confident and positive you can be, not how destructive you can be like in a regular war or like being right, in a battle of mind and wits. Like it says in Ephesians, my war is not with another person; my war is in the Bad Thinking that has polluted the entire species since Adam. The most “fatal” blow you can strike against satan is to continue, undaunted, in the spiritual journey to achieve Divine Union. Once having done that, you will be very fruitful in the spirit and the fruit of the spirit at your service will give you protection and power all at once.

Alan
 
Holly3278 said:
Hey everyone. I wanted to start a discussion about spiritual warfare. How essential is it that we be able to do effective spiritual warfare? Just how active is Satan and his demons? Are they a very serious threat to the average Catholic or are they a more mild threat to the average Catholic? What is the most effective spiritual warfare prayer out there? I have heard it said before that the Rosary is a very powerful spiritual warfare prayer and I do believe that.
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Hi Holly

I looked up “spiritual warfare” on wikipedia, and there was a lot of reference to protestant ministers, and some loose reference to the gospel and letters of Paul.

It is not a stretch to say that Jesus was not into warfare. There were plenty around Him that were interested in overthrowing Roman rule, and the Romans were most certainly considered evil, but warfare was not on Jesus’ agenda. Of course you are talking about something different, but just as a matter of approach, a violent or aggressive approach towards our own sinfulness is only going to bring short-term results, and such a never-ending internal battle continues a lack of inner reconciliation and the perception of a dualist creation. Not that short-term results are to be discounted, but I think the Lord’s Prayer points to a different approach to addressing our enemies.

I really think it is best to first understand what we are up against. We may be ascribing something to the devil that really comes from God, and then we are inadvertently battling God. What would be an example of an occurrence or attribute you would ascribe to satan?
 
OneSheep said:
Hi Holly

I looked up “spiritual warfare” on wikipedia, and there was a lot of reference to protestant ministers, and some loose reference to the gospel and letters of Paul.

It is not a stretch to say that Jesus was not into warfare. There were plenty around Him that were interested in overthrowing Roman rule, and the Romans were most certainly considered evil, but warfare was not on Jesus’ agenda. Of course you are talking about something different, but just as a matter of approach, a violent or aggressive approach towards our own sinfulness is only going to bring short-term results, and such a never-ending internal battle continues a lack of inner reconciliation and the perception of a dualist creation. Not that short-term results are to be discounted, but I think the Lord’s Prayer points to a different approach to addressing our enemies.

I really think it is best to first understand what we are up against. We may be ascribing something to the devil that really comes from God, and then we are inadvertently battling God. What would be an example of an occurrence or attribute you would ascribe to satan?
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Jesus is the author of and power for spiritual warfare. The name 'warfare" is good because it emphasizes importance, but bad because too many people think “warfare” means hostility and/or aggression. Not so. Spiritual warfare is all about being just like Christ told us to be, in the face of adversary.

If you haven’t already, I suggest you scroll up and check out what I clipped from Ephesians about the topic.

Alan
 
As Jesus fasted in the desert, Satan tempted Him with riches and power. He himself gives us an example of how to fight against Satan and his temptations.
“He who dwells within us is more powerful than he who is in the world.”
 
AlanFromWichita said:
Jesus is the author of and power for spiritual warfare. The name 'warfare" is good because it emphasizes importance, but bad because too many people think “warfare” means hostility and/or aggression. Not so. Spiritual warfare is all about being just like Christ told us to be, in the face of adversary.

If you haven’t already, I suggest you scroll up and check out what I clipped from Ephesians about the topic.

Alan
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I see what you are saying. I agree that spiritual awareness and development are a matter of importance, and that learning to keep our own drives under control is a struggle.

We have different opinions on the use of the word “warfare”. To me, to start with such a word would distract from the importance of first forgiving my adversaries. I understand your approach, though.

I did read the quotes from Paul’s letter above. What do you suppose he was referring to when he said “flaming arrows” and “tactics of the devil”?
 
OneSheep said:
I see what you are saying. I agree that spiritual awareness and development are a matter of importance, and that learning to keep our own drives under control is a struggle.

We have different opinions on the use of the word “warfare”. To me, to start with such a word would distract from the importance of first forgiving my adversaries. I understand your approach, though.

I did read the quotes from Paul’s letter above. What do you suppose he was referring to when he said “flaming arrows” and “tactics of the devil”?
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A flaming arrow could be a message to a person that is destructive, such as “you are a failure.” It is a meme that can harm a person (it can help too but that’s another discussion) and all I have to do is stand on the Word to quench it. For example, “OK, Satan, nice try but I know my value in the eyes of my Maker, I love myself, and your words don’t sting because they have no substance.” If you’re not that confident in prayer, you can fall back on the promise of the name of the savior, like, “In Jesus’s name, I reject your attempts at turning me against myself.”

Alan
 
The St. Benedict medal, properly blessed is very effective. Some places provide them already blessed, in bulk packages of small aluminum medals and so they are a very inexpensive donation – and it is true that more are helpful than one.

The Rosary is greatly a help, especially at least 1/3rd of it. But also, short prayers aloud using the Holy Names.

For example, ‘Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, protect us. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, save souls.’ said even ever so softly – but aloud, are of the greatest use in spiritual warfare. If these prayers are said repeatedly and devoutly, they can bring peace to a room where it was lacking.

And too, perfect acts of contrition and acts of spiritual communion are priceless.
 
Shin said:
And too, perfect acts of contrition and acts of spiritual communion are priceless.
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Yes, and the Good News is that you can do any and all of the spiritual acts of mercy right here over the Internet.

Alan
 
AlanFromWichita said:
A flaming arrow could be a message to a person that is destructive, such as “you are a failure.” It is a meme that can harm a person (it can help too but that’s another discussion) and all I have to do is stand on the Word to quench it. For example, “OK, Satan, nice try but I know my value in the eyes of my Maker, I love myself, and your words don’t sting because they have no substance.” If you’re not that confident in prayer, you can fall back on the promise of the name of the savior, like, “In Jesus’s name, I reject your attempts at turning me against myself.”

Alan
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Let’s say I look at something I have done, and I say, “OneSheep, you are a failure”.

Let me take a shot at translating that “flaming arrow”:

“OneSheep, you have not met your own expectations concerning your performance in this task. This clearly breaks rule number 548, which states that you must perform to perfection, which has been modified to tolerate the most minimal of performance standards, and yet you have still violated. In addition, you have violated rule number 11, which says that repeated violations of any rule, despite pledges to improve, are an additional violation. For this reason, you are to self-condemn, in order that you will be motivated to improve your future actions.”

Now, I could say to this “flaming arrow”:

“Away from me, you @%#!”

or I could say:

“Okay, I feel guilty about not doing as well as I could have. It’s okay to feel guilty, and it’s okay to have a rulebook, but I don’t have to be a slave to it. Sure, it can be motivating to self-condemn, but I’m going to forgive the compulsion and move on. I am going to focus on Love, especially love of others, to motivate myself rather than guilt, though, because the guilt can really bog me down.”

Does this illustration make the point? This way, my mind turns to acceptance, and this is a much better way, to me, to walk through my day. “The yoke is easy, and the burden light” so to speak. I have forgiven myself for poor performance, and I have forgiven my own ego for the self-criticism.
 
I think to be truly effective in Spiritual Warfare you have to be properly educated. I suggest everyone visiting heartofthefather.com on deliverance. It is highly praised by Catholic exorcists. It is a process that is kinder and gentler to the oppressed victims than dealing directly with demons and less exhausting for the priest. I attended a conference called “unbound.” If you cannot attend the conference you could purchase the book.

I was doing spiritual warfare and was severely oppressed. I even went to a priest who prayed exorcism prayers over me. I was not relieved of the oppression until this conference. Not because the priests prayers were ineffective but because i wasn’t addressing the “right” issue with him. This is why it is so good.::knight1:
 
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