⏱️ Estimated Reading Time: 5 min read
Stop Trusting Quick Fixes: Biblical Wisdom for Spiritual Warfare
By Doreen Virtue
Excerpted from Armor of God: Biblical Help for Spiritual Warfare 30-Day Devotional for Christian Women at: https://a.co/d/gG73WKF
If you’re exhausted from spiritual warfare, it can be tempting to turn to quick fix promises for relief. The devil knows that if he grinds you into vulnerability, that you’d likely try anything to make it stop. Instead of trusting and following the Bible’s guidance to put on the Armor of God, submit to God, and resist the devil, you become prey to false teachers who promise to cast out your demons. Or your co-worker recommends a new age healing session to bring you “inner peace.”
It can sound appealing to hear about a method to make the demons go away. There are ministries and books that promise immediate results. Maybe they tell you that if you pray their specific prayers, or if you’ll book a session with them (including maintenance deliverance sessions), the spiritual warfare will stop.
One danger is that “quick fixes” can take your eyes off the Gospel and make you focus more upon the enemy than on Christ. When this happens, you may obsessively fear that everything’s being controlled by demons. Quick fixes can lead you to trust in human systems or man-made formulas rather than depending upon the sovereign power of God. People become dependent upon the quick fixes, instead of turning to God in sincere prayer and trusting the Bible.
These deliverance ministries will angrily argue that “Jesus gave us authority to cast out demons.” Yet, authority isn’t the point. It’s about efficiency. Why would we send a toddler (humans) into battle with demons, when King Jesus promises that He is with us always? Demons are terrified of Jesus, not of deliverance ministers (even when they add the “in Jesus’ name” tagline).
Besides, who in their right mind thinks that it’s a good idea to argue one-on-one with a demon? Why would a being who is pure evil and who hates us, listen to our commandments, even when we add “in Jesus’ name”? We can play “Buffy the vampire slayer” or we can pray for Jesus to help us. I chose the latter. Again, it’s not about authority, it’s about wisdom.
The demons may theatrically pretend to leave in response to a deliverance minister’s commands, but they’ll soon return. That’s why deliverance ministries make their clients go to “maintenance sessions.” Even the ministries that offer to perform exorcisms for free often pressure their clients for donations or “love offerings.” Deliverance ministry is a big lucrative business, and they don’t like anyone criticizing their business model (like Paul upsetting the pagan Artemis silversmiths in Acts 19:23-27)!
Then there’s the books which offer formulaic prayers for you to recite to “rout out demons.” I fell for this scheme when I was first saved and desperate for relief from spiritual warfare. We must turn to God in prayer for protection and wisdom in spiritual warfare situations. Yet, using formula prayers is a gimmick that uses the Lord’s name in vain. God can’t be coerced or manipulated to answer prayers. He wants our heart and our heart-felt prayers, not scripted prayers that we say like commands to make a dog do tricks. Decreeing and declaring is not Biblical! That’s man-centered false teaching that twists Scripture. Really, these books are insulting to God and to us!
Another quick fix is the market for “protective charms” such as the evil eye pendant, dream catchers, idol statues, and crystals that are supposed to block “negative energy.” It’s a crying shame that professing Christians put their faith in these man-made items, instead of in God and His Word.
Nowhere in the Bible are we told to turn to objects for protection. Idolatry, in any form, is something God warns us about throughout the Bible. Relying on these items is inviting the presence of something other than the Holy Spirit into your life. These items don’t belong in the life of a Christian because they don’t line up with the truth of who God is and what He has already done for us through Jesus. We are to trust in the Lord, not in idols.
Reflection Questions:
- Do you own any evil eye pendants, or other objects that people use for protection? If so, how might they be distracting you from putting your whole trust in God for protection?
- Have you seen those books or seminars that offer to cast out demons? Was there any temptation to try them, and if so, how did you resist this temptation?
- Have you ever relied on something other than God for protection, even unknowingly? How did that affect your spiritual life?
- How can you begin to trust God more fully with your safety and peace, instead of turning to items or practices that might seem like quick fixes?
Excerpted from Armor of God: Biblical Help for Spiritual Warfare 30-Day Devotional for Christian Women at: https://a.co/d/gG73WKF
Further resources:
Dave, Doreen, and Dawn on Exposing the Dangerous Theology of Come Out in Jesus Name Movie
