Spiritual Warfare Series:Spiritual Warfare in Real Time - This is no Joke

INTRODUCING MY MOM AGAIN

To all those who follow my blog or Facebook posts and those who are new, I have been writing from my mom's hospital room, where I "lived" for 5 of the 8 nights she was there. Now she is in rehab. This could potentially be a long post but I will try to keep the main thing in view and not get lost in the details. I do so love to tell a full story. Where to begin?

Ok, for the 3rd time in about 19 months, my mom has come down with a mystery illness that looks like seizures but have no physical evidence of anything wrong. From all of her tests, including multiple MRI's, she is perfectly normal for an 88 years old with her history. After a 3rd time, which occurred the day after her 88th birthday celebration this month, the doctor(s) are finally willing to admit that the cause might be spiritual. Now, for a scientist that is HUGE! Even when the scientist is a Christian one. I had witnessed the 1st episode and even and told the doctor then that it was a spiritual attack, but there was no indication that I was taken seriously. I suppose that's to be expected. After a third time, the second being only 2 months ago, they are again baffled by all of the normal vitals and willing to admit that the problem cannot be explained by science. I know this. I have experienced seasons of multiple visits to emergency rooms only to reveal that everything is normal. So I have history and experience in the area. For more information, please check out my first book, Walking in Fulfillment of Prophetic Revelation: The Naturally Supernatural Life , (or see AMAZON TAP AT TOP OF THIS POST).

This is what spiritual warfare often looks like. You don't feel well, it gets worse, you go to the emergency room, they run a battery of tests and find nothing. Sometimes, it could be that the cause is evading the medical team for a season. I am not referring to those times. However, what is often overlooked even by medical professionals who are believers, is that the affliction is a spiritual attack meant to kill the afflicted. Why do I say this, because the Bible tells us that the thief (Satan) comes ONLY "to steal, to kill, and to destroy...but that [Jesus] come(s) to give life and to give it more abundantly." John 10:10. So picture this; the enemy comes and strikes a person hoping to cause total destruction. Then Jesus, Who has been there for His child all along, goes before AND responds with a sharp rebuke.
Sometimes, the believers own ignorance may have opened up a door or given a toehold to the affliction where the devil comes to totally annihilate the believer. But friend, we have to pray. That is the first act in protecting, repentance might be involved. Get intercessors you trust to co-labor with you in prayer. Yes, God protects! Yes, God is there to pick us up again, but we engage Him in prayer, worship, and a total given over of self. I, for one, know I do not pray enough; and frankly, I only know one person who prays for hours on end. Yet, God is faithful, loving, and merciful.

Back to my mom. She experienced what I truly thought would be the end with this latest episode. She knows the Lord, so I was not worried about her destination. Yet, she clearly has some more work to do.

GOD'S STEALTH SOLDIER

At 88, my mom as been a follower of Jesus Christ for over 60 years, yet I see her increasing in her connection to God and her availability to speak forth in recent months than I have see before. And, incidentally, it was just around when we were experiencing some amazing times in God's presence, more specifically after she had spent 2 morning speaking to me as an oracle of God without knowing any of my "questions" before God. It was amazing! So amazing I asked her permission to start a blog in her name, sharing with people what God has saying through her. She had said, "yes." The next day after that, she had this recent attack. The amazing thing is, and this just demonstrates how God uses what the enemy does to strengthen us and make our walk more effective, every time his happens, she advances in her walk in the Spirit. I will demonstrate that towards the end of this post.

My mom has spent her Christian walk, evangelizing, interceding, and starting Bible studies are work where she could. Sharing about Jesus was just like breathing to her, and this was more prevalent in her mid-life to early senior years before the memory problems began. [I refuse to call it dementia as I do not believe the child of God has to accept something such a diagnosis because as children of God, we have constant access to power, love, and sound mind. 2 Tim. 1:7.]

My mom has gladly operated in obscurity for all of her Christian life. No big name, no big ministry, no big following. Yet, the devil seems to "have it in for her." You might argue that he has it in for all of God's children. I would argue that some of us experience more warfare than others. My mom has had to endure her fair share of ailments and since the enemy could not get her with 2 bouts of cancer, he is now trying with demonic afflictions. Well, we who are in Christ are never victims as the world wants us to believe, but we are victors in Christ. In Romans 8:37, Paul says "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."

PRAYER REQUEST: As you are lead, please pray for my mom's continued deliverance from memory and other problems that have been manifesting. I believe we can beat this. Thank you.

WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS YET THE BATTLE IS REAL

We are the victors and more than conquerors. However, the enemy never gives up. Why is it so important to him that my mom is taken away from here? What does her life stand for.    I blogged about this here.  Whatever the reasons he is fighting you, no devil in hell can make the decision on when a submitted child of God goes to be with the Lover of her soul. All of the enemy's tactics, therefore, result in furthering  her connection to, and love for, God and elevating her gifting. See my post on suffering here.

Jesus said in this world we will suffer but that He has overcome the world. That means, since He overcame the world, we, too, are overcomers. As He has been, so are we to be. That is the only option for His followers. Therefore, we keep going "through the valley of the shadow of death." (Psalm 23:4). We don't set up house there -- not even a campsite. We go through it following the Good Shepherd. In addition, shadows are not substantive; they can only be cast when there is a Greater Light. We know Who is that Greater Light, the Light of the World: "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12). So shadows will come and go but as we walk in the light following the Light of the World Who now lives in us, we will not die unless it is on His terms. Otherwise, according to ...

Psalm 118:15-17

¹⁵ The voice of rejoicing and salvation
Is in the tents of the righteous;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
¹⁶ The right hand of the Lord is exalted;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
¹⁷ I shall not die, but live,
And declare the works of the Lord.

PROOF IN THE MAIN

It's taken me a while to get here to the spiritual warfare that happened in real time a few nights ago. What I am about to share, some will tune out because this is well outside of their paradigm, theological constructs, or realm of possibilities. Remember Ephesians 6:10-20 (We do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against the demonic spirits [paraphrased]), and Daniel 10:13, (when the arch angel Michael who had been engaged in battle in the heavenlies with a principality called the prince of Persia delaying the answer to Daniel's prayer.) We are not alone but there are indeed, more with us in the Kingdom of Light than in the kingdom of darkness.

 NOTE TO SKEPTICS AND UNBELIEVING "BELIEVERS" OF WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ

For those who will receive it, I must share this latest experience. Friends, God is real! God's power is real, and He is not to be played with. To a much lesser degree, Satan is also real, and he does have a measure of power.  Yet everything Satan does is subject to God and he is always and in every way subordinate to God. This is hard to understand, especially with all of the suffering in the world. I will say that, we live in a fallen, sinful, and corrupted world all because of Adam's sin in the Garden of Eden. God has a timetable for complete redemption of His creation but it is His timetable and it must play out in His order in time before the redemption of that which became corrupt. Jesus' death on the Cross was the single-most important event in that redemption. Everything that must occur afterwards in supplemental to that sacrificial act.

As shared before, my mom seemed to have come very close to death. I say seemed because there was no medical indication but her demeanor was as one preparing for death, even her language. I know, I spend time with her in the hospital room night after night when it sounded as if she was drowning yet when they listened to her lungs they were clear. I won't go through the litany of bad experiences, I am simply thankful to God for His marvelous works. Yet, she took a very long time to bounce back; and it was long enough that I had thoughts this perhaps, this was it. I am being honest. But it only seemed that way. [It was different this time, and I now know why.]

Although mom made progress at the hospital, she still had not returned to her normal self by the time she got to rehab, and I did not know what last night* meant until I returned that night and saw her.

     WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT?*

There are several things that occurred last night, my mom's first night at the rehab facility. She was very restless and I did not feel released to leave her alone so I stayed in the recliner, hunkering down for the night. However, like the mother she is, she waking up to make sure I was okay, and so on. We did not sleep through the night. At some point, a person, with a dark presence, came to the doorway and just stood there. She was dressed in her overcoat and bag and seemed very interested in us. I thought it was odd that she just stood there. I asked if I could help her, with something and there was no response. I thought, "How rude!"

Later on, I heard a commotion and it was a worker yelling at a crippled man whose bed alarm had gone off because he moved that warned that he was out of bed. It was terrible to hear and it seemed like one of those documentaries you see of how some old people are treated in homes. Yet, this is not that kind of place so I was shocked. She was using the Lord's name in vane and was very condescending. I know she was not one of God's and whatever she was carrying was very interested in who was in this room.  I decided I could not let this persist. I would have to say something to her. I gently encouraged her to show more patience and grace to the patients (hello, "patience!"), as they are not here for their enjoyment. I assured her that as human, circumstances sometimes test our patience, but that is never okay to speak in such a manner to an elderly person who is already suffering. She claimed I did not understand. Blah. Blah. Blah. I decided then and there, she was not caring for my mother. I even told the night nurse not to let her care for my mom. [Who told me to say that?]  I, then, headed back to my mom's room to settle down while she rested.

    AWOKEN BY "VISITORS" 

I was resting on the recliner when I heard my mom exclaiming about what she was seeing. And no, she is not on any medication that would make her see things. My mom was seeing in the spirit what I was not. She kept telling me there was something above my head yet to get her to describe it proved fruitless. What color is it? What does it look like? She kept responding with the location. Then it was over where she was. Well, clearly there was more than one entity in the room. One was like fire. I only know this because she was afraid something would catch on fire. I asked her if what she saw was dark, she said, "yes." I have not idea what she saw exactly. But I now know, that what God showed her was spiritual warfare over her health. She saw an angel or angels that were sent to set her free, and a demon or demons that were afflicting her. I would not know that had happened until later on that day.

   MY RESPONSE DURING THE COMMOTION

In the meantime, during the commotion, which lasted a good 15 to 20 minutes, my tired response was something like, "Ok, mommy. It's okay. Lets just get back to sleep." I was fine because God had not given me any unction to pray or press in or war on her behalf. She seemed fine and more fascinated with a sense of urgency. She thought I was somehow in danger. I knew God had it and just wanted to get some sleep. But my mom was seeing so clearly, she could not settle down. She thought her baby was in danger, did not feel any although the room was not very light I just chalked it up to the spiritual condition of the place with so many people and things happening. I had not idea it was a continuation of the trouble surrounding my mom and the warfare being waged on her behalf. We so often underestimate God. We pray and pray and when God shows up to deliver, we want to sleep. Again, I felt no danger but the disturbance from the dark figure in the doorway.

   MOM HEALED - GOD PREVAILS - AGAIN!

I had mostly forgotten about the previous evening's events described above until I saw my mom again that evening. I was not ready for what I would see. My mom was walking normally, speaking normally, and reasoning normally and praying in strength, to boot. I was shocked, to say the least. My sister had been with her during the day after I left around midday and she just said mom was walking stronger. She had not prepared me for what I would find. It was then that I knew, that the battle that had ensued the previous night had been over this latest affliction of the soul and body by the evil one. God had dispatched an angel or angels with the mission of warfare and deliverance. The atmosphere in the room is clean and she is sleeping soundly as I tap away at my computer. Yet, I believe we are to continue to pray for her protection and to encourage her to continually speak life over herself. That goes for all of us if and when we become afflicted with either an actual or a mystery disease. As we pray and speak life God will dispatch angels of deliverance so that we can sing Psalm 118:15-17. More and more, I believe diseases of the body, mind, and soul, do not have to result in death. We know the One Who is the Giver of Life and we need to use the authority He has given us to "heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received. Freely give." Matthew 10:8. There's no time like the present.

CONCLUSION

Why do I share these things that to some might seem imaginary, nonsensical, and unrealistic. You see, the spiritual realm is more real that the natural because the unseen world will outlast the seen world. God is merciful and in His mercy He is releasing as much revelation as it takes to gain new family members and to encourage the old ones. We need to know that this life in Christ is real, and signs, wonders, miracles, healings, and more are to be the norm. We have to question when they are not. Whatever Jesus did, we can too since we died to Him and He lives in and through us. (Matthew 14:12: Galatians 2:20). God shows me a lot, directly and through others, and I believe it's at least in part because He knows I need it and that I will share it. I still have a long way to go. Time is short! There is no time to make it sound or look pretty. It's time for action. What are you going to do with the information He has given you to disseminate for expanding His Kingdom!

SIDE NOTE: The very lady I did not want to care for my mom is the very one that turned up to do so twice during the night. God is not intimidated by those who are clearly "crying out" in some way for Him. She commented on what a nice lady my mom is. Still, I was glad I was there. 

Friends, I believe Jesus' return is very close, yet He waits so that none should perish. (2 Peter 3:9). That means the Father is seeking to include as many as would receive His Son and He is pulling out all of the stops to do so. As with my mom, He is pouring out His Spirit on all flesh, the old are dreaming dreams and seeing visions. He is pouring out His Spirit on the menservants and maidservants. Ask for eyes to see and ears to hear what He is making available to all in these days. (See Joel 2:28-32).

I LEAVE YOU WITH GOD'S PROMISES TO CARE FOR YOU IN THE WORST OF TIMES

The Lord the Shepherd of His People

A Psalm of David.

23 The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
² He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
³ He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell^[a] in the house of the Lord
Forever.

* 2 nights ago