The dream came on a Thursday night in March. Ifechi saw her mother-in-law standing at the foot of the bed in the flat in Surulere, holding a calabash, saying nothing. She woke with her heart pounding and her nightdress soaked. Beside her, her husband slept on. Across the corridor, their six-year-old son had begun to wheeze again.
It had been a hard year. Her husband’s spare parts business at Ladipo had lost two containers to customs delays and a partner who disappeared with the money. Their son’s asthma attacks had grown more frequent. Ifechi herself had been passed over for a promotion she had been promised. And now this dream.
She took it to the women’s prayer group at her church on Saturday morning. The leader listened, nodded slowly, and said what Ifechi had half expected to hear. “This is village people. Your mother-in-law is behind this. We must pray against household wickedness.” For the next six weeks Ifechi joined the group’s midnight prayer line by phone. They prayed loudly and with great energy. “Every household witch troubling my marriage, die by fire! Every evil mother-in-law, be exposed and consumed!”
Ifechi stopped taking her husband’s mother’s calls. When the old woman sent a parcel of dried fish and ugu leaves from Nsukka with a cousin who was travelling to Lagos, Ifechi threw it into the bin without opening it. When her husband asked why she would not let the children speak to their grandmother on the phone, she told him. He was stunned, then hurt, then angry. “You are calling my mother a witch,” he said. “Because of a dream.” For the first time in nine years of marriage, he slept in the parlour.
That was when Ifechi came to see me. She sat in my office, exhausted and confused. “Pastor,” she said, “I am fighting the devil. I am praying every night. Why is everything getting worse?”
It was a fair question, and it goes to the heart of how many believers understand spiritual warfare. Ifechi was right that she was in a battle. She was wrong about who the enemy was. And that mistake was costing her far more than the dream ever could.
What Paul actually names
The central New Testament passage on spiritual warfare comes at the end of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:10-11).
Paul begins with strength, and he locates it in the Lord. The battle is not won by our intensity. It is won by His might. Then he names the threat as “the wiles of the devil.” The Greek word for wiles is methodeia, from which we get method. It suggests schemes, strategies, cunning plans. The devil’s chief weapon is deception. He works more often by trickery than by open assault.
PunchlineThen Paul tells us whom we are fighting: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).
The word wrestle describes close, hand-to-hand struggle. The Christian life involves real conflict. But Paul is emphatic about the opponent. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood. Human beings, whatever they do, are not the true enemy. The opposition is spiritual: principalities, powers, rulers of this world’s darkness, spiritual wickedness in the heavenly realm.
Notice what Paul does not do with that list. He does not give us a hierarchy of demons. He does not name their territories or tell us how to identify which one is attacking which city. He does not instruct us to research their names. He simply tells us that the opposition is real, spiritual and organised, and then he immediately turns to what we must do about it. “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:13).
The armour he describes is made of truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation and the word of God, with prayer running through it all (Ephesians 6:14-18). There is not a single piece of secret knowledge in the list. Everything on it is something every believer already has in Christ, or something every believer can practise daily. Paul’s answer to spiritual opposition is steadfastness in the Lord.
Flesh and blood is not the enemy
That phrase, flesh and blood, deserves attention. The writer to the Hebrews uses it of the very people Jesus came to save: “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14).
Jesus took on flesh and blood in order to destroy the devil and rescue flesh-and-blood people. The incarnation itself tells us which side human beings are on in this war. They are not the enemy. They are the territory being fought over. They are the captives Christ came to free.
Even when a person is being used by the enemy, the person is not the enemy. We see this in one of the most startling moments in the Gospels:
From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
Peter had just confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. Moments later, he took Jesus aside and rebuked Him for speaking about the cross. And Jesus turned and said, “Get thee behind me, Satan.”
Jesus recognised the enemy’s voice coming through the mouth of His closest friend. The temptation to avoid the cross, which Satan had offered in the wilderness, was being repeated through Peter. But notice what Jesus did and did not do. He rebuked Satan. He corrected Peter’s thinking, which was set on human comfort instead of God’s purpose. He did not reject Peter, curse him or cast him out. A few days later Peter was on the mountain of transfiguration. A few months later Jesus restored him after his denials and entrusted him with His sheep.
If even Peter could be used by the enemy for a moment, then clearly the people around us may sometimes be influenced by darkness: a hostile colleague, a manipulative relative, a corrupt official. Paul says that those who oppose the truth may need to “recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will” (2 Timothy 2:26). Captives. People who need rescuing, not destroying.
That is why Jesus gave His disciples this command:
But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
Love, do good, bless, pray. These are the weapons a believer uses toward human enemies. When James and John wanted to call down fire on a Samaritan village that would not receive Jesus, He “rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of” (Luke 9:55). The prayer meetings that cry “die by fire” against people have, without realising it, taken the side of James and John against Jesus.
NuggetThe enemy is never your mother-in-law, your colleague or the neighbour who wronged you. It is the devil who would love you to treat them as though they were.
Where the devil actually gets a foothold
Earlier in the same letter, Paul tells us one of the clearest ways the devil gains ground in a believer’s life, and it has nothing to do with dreams or calabashes. “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26-27).
The word place is topos, a location, a foothold. Paul says that unresolved anger gives the devil a place to stand. A few verses later he continues: “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:31-32).
This is spiritual warfare at its most practical. Bitterness opens a door. Malice gives the enemy a foothold. And forgiveness closes the door. Paul makes the connection explicit in his second letter to Corinth, where he is urging the church to forgive and restore a member who had caused great pain:
To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it , for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
“Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” What device was Paul thinking of? In context, it was the danger that the church would refuse to forgive. Unforgiveness was the trap. The devil would gain his advantage through a church that held a grudge. No dramatic occult attack was needed.
That changes how we think about warfare. Many believers imagine that the enemy’s chief strategy is frightening manifestations. In fact one of his most effective strategies is to turn brothers against brothers, wives against husbands, and children of God against the very people they are called to love. If he can persuade you that your mother-in-law is the enemy, he has won a significant victory without ever showing his face.
Ifechi’s midnight prayers were full of energy. But while she was shouting at an imagined witch in Nsukka, the real enemy was sitting comfortably in the foothold of her bitterness, splitting her marriage in two.
Weapons that are not carnal
Paul’s other great passage on warfare comes from his second letter to the Corinthians. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
The context matters. Paul was dealing with real human opponents in Corinth, men who were undermining his ministry, questioning his authority and leading the church away from the gospel. If anyone had reason to treat people as the enemy, Paul did. Yet he insists that his warfare is not fought “after the flesh.” He will not use manipulation, intimidation, personal attack or worldly methods.
And look at what he says the strongholds are. Imaginations translates logismous, reasonings or arguments. Every high thing refers to proud ideas that raise themselves against the knowledge of God. The strongholds Paul pulls down are mindsets, lies and false beliefs. He brings “every thought” into captivity. The battle is for truth.
That is why Paul’s warfare looked like preaching, teaching, writing letters, praying and modelling the meekness and gentleness of Christ, which is how he opens the chapter (2 Corinthians 10:1). He did intend to deal firmly with persistent disobedience when he arrived (2 Corinthians 10:6), and church discipline is part of that. But even that firmness was aimed at restoration under the truth, not at the destruction of persons.
Ifechi was fighting with carnal weapons dressed in spiritual language. Suspicion, accusation, cutting off relationships, throwing away gifts: these are the weapons of the flesh. The stronghold that needed pulling down was the lie she had believed about her mother-in-law and about the source of her troubles.
The victory already won
Before we go further, we must remember that spiritual warfare is fought from victory, not toward it. Paul describes what Christ accomplished at the cross:
And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
The order of these verses is significant. First God forgave us “all trespasses.” Then He blotted out “the handwriting of ordinances that was against us,” the record of our debt, and nailed it to the cross. And only then does Paul say that Christ “spoiled principalities and powers,” stripped them, and “made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”
Why does forgiveness come first? Because the chief weapon the powers held against us was our guilt. The devil is “the accuser of our brethren” (Revelation 12:10). His leverage was the record of our sins. When God cancelled that record at the cross, the accuser was disarmed. He has nothing left to hold over those who are in Christ.
The picture in verse 15 is of a Roman triumph, when a victorious general paraded his defeated enemies through the streets of Rome for everyone to see. The cross, which looked like Christ’s defeat, was actually the parade of their defeat. John says, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).
This means two things for us. First, we do not need to be afraid. The powers are real, but they are disarmed. We do not fight to win a battle that is still in doubt. We stand in a victory already secured. Second, our warfare is grounded in forgiveness, the same forgiveness by which Christ triumphed. A believer who refuses to forgive is, in effect, picking up the very weapon Christ took away from the enemy and handing it back to him.
Pentecostal and charismatic believers are right to insist that demonic oppression is real and that believers have authority to resist it. Jesus cast out devils. The apostles did the same. Believers today see people set free in the name of Jesus, and we should not be embarrassed about that. But the authority with which we do it rests on Colossians 2:15. We are enforcing a triumph, not achieving one.
When speculation replaces obedience
One of the great dangers in spiritual warfare is that fascination with the enemy can quietly replace faithfulness to the Lord. Some believers spend more time thinking about demons than about Christ. They want to know the names of territorial spirits, the hierarchy of the powers, the ancestral covenants behind every misfortune and the exact spiritual cause of every delay.
Sincere believers hold different views about some of these questions. Some see value in what is called strategic-level warfare, praying against spiritual powers over particular cities or nations, and they point to passages such as Daniel 10, where a heavenly messenger speaks of resistance from “the prince of the kingdom of Persia.” Others are deeply cautious, noting that the New Testament never instructs believers to identify or address such powers by name. My own conviction is that we should pray boldly for our cities and nations, and that Scripture gives us no mandate to map the demonic realm or to build our prayer lives around speculation about it.
Paul warned the Colossians about people “intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind” (Colossians 2:18). Moses said, “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us” (Deuteronomy 29:29). What has been revealed is enough: the victory of Christ, the call to stand, the armour of God, the duty to pray.
Jude adds a striking example of restraint:
Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
Michael is an archangel. If anyone could have spoken with personal authority against the devil, it was he. Yet he would not hurl a railing accusation at the devil. He said simply, “The Lord rebuke thee.” He did not boast or rail. He appealed to the Lord’s authority. Jude contrasts this with false teachers who “speak evil of dignities,” treating spiritual realities with careless bravado.
There is a lesson here for loud warfare prayer. Volume and aggression are not the measure of spiritual authority. Michael’s quiet appeal to the Lord carried more weight than any amount of shouting. The confidence of the believer rests on what Christ has done, and that confidence can be calm.
We must also beware of blaming spiritual powers for things that have ordinary causes. A child’s asthma needs a doctor, an inhaler and a clean environment. A failed business may need better accounting, an honest partner and a lawyer. A difficult season at work may need patience and wise conversation. Prayer belongs in all of these situations. But to attribute every hardship directly to a witch or a demon is not more spiritual. It is often a way of avoiding responsibility, and it can lead us to treat innocent people with terrible cruelty. Some of the most painful accusations in our communities, especially against elderly women and vulnerable children, have come from exactly this habit.
Steadfast in the Lord
What, then, does spiritual warfare look like for an ordinary believer?
It looks like standing firm in the truth of what Christ has done. “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” Your strength comes from Him, not from your volume or your schedule of midnight prayers.
It looks like prayer. Paul ends his warfare passage with “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:18). Prayer in the Spirit, including praying in tongues for those who have received that gift, is one of the great means God has given us to stand. But notice that Paul’s prayer is aimed outward, “for all saints.” Warfare prayer is intercession for others more than it is attack on anyone.
It looks like resisting the devil directly when he presses on you. Speak to fear, oppression and torment in the name of Jesus. Refuse his lies about your identity. When there is genuine demonic activity, take authority over it with calm confidence, as Paul did in Philippi.
PunchlineIt looks like forgiveness, kindness and reconciliation, because those close the doors the enemy most loves to use.
It also looks like fellowship. Every command in Ephesians 6 is addressed to a church. The ye and you of Paul’s warfare passage are plural throughout. The armour is put on by a body of believers who stand together, pray for one another and correct one another. A believer who fights alone, especially late at night with a phone line full of strangers, is easier to deceive than one who brings her fears into the light among trusted, mature brothers and sisters. Ifechi needed people who would pray with her. She also needed people who would ask her gently whether a dream was enough evidence to condemn an old woman. Wise fellowship is one of the ways God protects His people from the wiles of the devil.
And it looks like addressing real human wrongdoing in the right way. Saying that people are not the enemy does not mean pretending that people never do wrong. If someone is abusing you, defrauding you or endangering your children, the answer is not to pray against them and stay in harm’s way. Get to safety. Involve the appropriate authorities. Seek legal counsel and qualified help. Paul himself appealed to his rights as a Roman citizen when he was unjustly treated (Acts 22:25). Recognising that the ultimate enemy is spiritual should make us clearer about human wrongdoing, not more passive. We can confront it firmly while refusing to hate the person.
“And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly” (Romans 16:20). Notice the title Paul uses. The God who crushes Satan is the God of peace. The final victory over the enemy comes from the One whose purpose is peace, and His people share in it as peacemakers.
Ifechi and I spent two sessions going through Ephesians 4 and 6 and 2 Corinthians 2. At the end of the second, she was very quiet. Then she said, “I threw away her fish.” She started to cry. “She sent me fish, and I threw it away.”
She did not stop praying. She left the midnight prayer line, but she began to pray with her husband in the mornings, something they had not done for years. They prayed for their son’s health and for the business. They took their son to a specialist at the teaching hospital, who adjusted his medication and recommended they remove the old carpet from his room. The attacks became much less frequent. The business recovered slowly, after her husband found an honest accountant and took his former partner to court.
And at Easter, Ifechi travelled with her husband and children to Nsukka. She knelt in front of her mother-in-law in the old woman’s parlour and asked her forgiveness. She did not tell her everything. She told her enough.
The old woman lifted her up and held her face in her hands. “My daughter,” she said, “I have been praying for you every morning since your wedding. Every morning. I asked God to protect you from the devil.” She laughed, a little shakily. “It seems He heard me.”
Ifechi told me later that she had been fighting in the right war against the wrong enemy. The dream had frightened her, but it was the bitterness that had nearly broken her home. “I was shouting at my husband’s mother,” she said, “while the devil was sitting in my heart.”
That is the warfare we are called to. Not against flesh and blood. Against the schemes of a defeated enemy, in the strength of a victorious Lord, with truth, prayer, forgiveness and love.
Teaching Companion
For Reflection
- Who in your life have you been tempted to treat as the enemy? How does Ephesians 6:12 change the way you see them?
- What do Jesus’ words to Peter in Matthew 16:23 teach you about rebuking the enemy while still loving the person?
- Where might bitterness or unforgiveness be giving the devil a foothold in your life (Ephesians 4:27; 2 Corinthians 2:11)?
- How does knowing that Christ has already triumphed over the powers (Colossians 2:15) affect your fear of the enemy?
- Have you attributed hardships to spiritual attack that might need practical, medical or legal attention as well as prayer?
This Week
Read Ephesians 4:26-32 and Ephesians 6:10-18 each day this week. Then write down the name of one person you have been tempted to see as an enemy. Each day, pray for that person by name, asking God to bless them, as Luke 6:28 commands. If there is something you need to forgive, forgive it before God. If there is a relationship that needs repairing, take one concrete step toward it this week: a phone call, a message or a visit. If someone is genuinely harming you, take a concrete step toward safety and appropriate help instead. Close each day by thanking God that Christ has triumphed over the powers at the cross.
A Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You that You took on flesh and blood to destroy the works of the devil and to set captives free. Thank You that at the cross You forgave all my trespasses, cancelled the record against me and triumphed over every principality and power. Forgive me for the times I have treated people as my enemies and given the devil a foothold through bitterness. Teach me to love, bless and pray for those who hurt me, and to address real wrongs wisely without hatred. Make me strong in You and in the power of Your might, so that I may stand firm against the schemes of the enemy. Keep my eyes on Your victory and not on fear. Amen.
Truth received brings freedom. Truth believed establishes the heart.
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version. · Illustrations using first names only are composites unless stated otherwise.