Spiritual Warfare

Equip yourself for the world’s biggest battle

We are at war

There is one thing that makes me really angry! There are so many people with unused gifts, talents and dreams because the devil has managed to rob these aspirations from them. This makes me angry!

John 10:10 tell us something about the devil.
The thief does not come except to steal, and kill and destroy, I have come that they have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

The life God has for you is a great life, and he wishes you the best, but the devil doesn't want you to realize this life.
My wish is to make you aware that you are in a battle. You have an adversary who walks around trying to steal and devour your hope and joy.
It is important to know that there is a spiritual world, and everything you say and do influences the spiritual world, even things you do when nobody sees you.

The devil has a strategy

The devil attacks in cunning ways, therefore it is important to find the strategy the enemy has for you. If you find the enemy's strategy, you have an advantage, because then you will know where he will attack.The devil has a strategy for every country, city and person. Even though he tries to attack in very shrewd ways, you can know where he is going to attack you. Ask yourself this question: If I were the devil, where would I attack? The devil will always attack you where you are the weakest.
The devil doesn’t want you to discover, or enter, into the life God has for you. Take on the full armor of God and fight the good fight. You are able to win it!

The Full Armor of God

1. The Belt of truth.
The belt of the armor holds it together. Knowing the truth is very important in spiritual warfare. Lies create confusion, but the truth holds things together.

2. The Breastplate of Righteousness
The breastplate on armor is vital, it protects the heart and lungs. Solomon said:
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. (Prov. 4:23)

If the enemy hits your heart, you are dead. There are many ways the enemy can hit your heart, and one of the biggest areas is your own self-righteousness. Religiosity kills your spiritual life; religion tells you that your own deeds make you righteous. If you have thoughts such as: “I am not good enough, God is not satisfied with me!” Or the opposite: “I do a lot of good deeds and have to be righteous!” Your spiritual life will soon fade away.

3. The Feet Fitted With the Readiness that Comes From the Gospel of Peace.
Shoes make us move fast and effectively. The Romans had rivets under their shoes, so they could have a good grip.
It is important to be ready to tell others about the good news. When you have the opportunity, take the challenge right away. We come with the gospel of peace, not a gospel that gets thrown over your head with force. Many have made big mistakes in this area. (E.g. the Crusades)

4. The Shield of Faith, With Which You Can Extinguish All the Flaming Arrows of the Evil One.
The shield protects you from the enemy’s flaming arrows. On Roman soldiers, the shield was so big that it covered the whole body, and it could not be put aflame by arrows from the enemy. This is how faith functions, faith covers you so you can’t be hit. Faith is all about knowing who God is. The more you see who He is, the more faith you acquire, consequently, disarming the enemy. Keep your thoughts on God and His character; it will help you conquer every bad situation.

5. Helmet of Salvation
The helmet protects your head. This is the center of your thoughts, and it is in your thoughts that the enemy can put you on the defensive. Be aware of your position in God and don’t let the enemy get into your thoughts. Salvation means more than being saved, it involves protection and preservation (whole, intact).

6. Sword of the Spirit, Which is the Word of God.
The sword is the only offensive weapon of the armor. The sword is your attack weapon; it is the word of God. The word of God will tear down every stronghold or lie the enemy tries to give you. There is enormous power in the word of God. When Jesus spoke, something always happened, and he only had to say one word.
Declaration of the word makes the enemy tremble; it is sharper that any two-edged sword and can penetrate every stronghold.
Heb.4: 12
12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

7. Do this in prayer!
It is in prayer that you can use the armor. Without prayer, you can’t keep the armor on.

We are strong

Before Paul talks about the attack of the enemy, he says one thing: "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might." First of all, it is important to see that in Jesus you have all might, Jesus conquered Satan and his demons on the cross, defeating them.
The enemy can't touch you if you have Jesus as Lord of your life.
1John 5:18
We know that whomever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.

An easy mistake to make in spiritual warfare is to focus on the wrong side, the enemy. Remember to always stay focused on God; He is the mighty one and He is the powerful one! The devil is already defeated.

• Be aware of your enemy, but focus on the almighty God. Be impressed by God, not the devil.
  
  

We can be more that conquerors

It is possible to conquer every attack the devil makes, if you take up the fight with the armor on. A question: Is the armor of God something you have on all the time or do you take it on and off? The answer is both yes and no. You are seated together with Jesus in heaven, and you are in Him. That is a position you have, and you have it as long as you are a Christian. But, because you do sin, whether in words, acts or deeds you give the devil an opportunity to attack. There will be an opening in the armor where sin is coming into your life. So, you need to check your armor vigilantly, looking for any sin the enemy can use to win victories in your life.

• One important thing: To live a victorious Christian life doesn’t mean you can't fall, it means you will arise when you have failed.
  

A scripture I often use when I have fallen is from the prophet Micah.
Micah 7:8
Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; When I sit in darkness the Lord will be a light to me.

Don’t let the devil rejoice over you when you have fallen, but take up the fight! Arise again and claim victory in Jesus. He who is within you is stronger than the one that is in this world.
1Joh 4:4
4You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Remember too that you will not win every battle, but you will win the war, Jesus has already won it for you. I like to quote this sentence: We may lose some battles, but we will win the war.

Battlefield of the mind

The place where the enemy attacks you first is in your mind. He wants to create negative strongholds in your thoughts. If you allow the enemy to create strongholds in you, the devil can control you.
Negative thoughts from the devil are: You will never succeed, you are not good enough, and you will never overcome this sin or problem. Look at your dreadful past experiences! You have never succeeded in this before, and it will not be any different now. Or, it doesn’t matter if you sin, you get grace anyway.
Two thoughts of doubt from the devil are: Are you? And: Did God really say?

Are you?
When Jesus was tempted in the desert, the devil said: Are you really the Son of God, then throw yourself down from there (Matthew 4:6). He tried to place a thought of doubt into Jesus’ mind.
The devil uses the same tactic today, by saying: If you really are a Christian you have to pray more, or you would not have bad thoughts.
He tries to create a negative image of God. The devil always tries to say that you should have done this, and you have to do that to satisfy God.
If the devil tries to attack you with this thought, confess who you are in Christ; you are his son or his daughter (E.g. read Rom 8).
If you have received Christ in your life, you are a son or a daughter of God, and you don’t have to fulfill a lot of demands to be a child of God. You are born into it!
In reading about the prodigal son in Luke 15, we see that both sons failed to identify themselves as sons. The one that had squandered his entire heritage felt condemnation for all the bad things he had done, and thought that his father would not look at him as a son any longer. The son that had been home all the time, did not identify himself as a son either, but as a servant. When his brother came home he said:
Luke 15:29-32
`Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
31" `My son,' the father said, `you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "

Notice how the oldest son says “This son of yours”, not my brother. He had an identity problem too; he thought that he had to do something to earn his father’s love.
You don’t need to do anything to please God, but the devil loves to trick you into believing that you have to fulfill demands for yourself and for others, making you legalistic.

Did God really say?
The devil wishes to sew doubt about what God has called you to. I know that God has a calling over your life! Has the devil robbed you from having hopes and visions for the future?
The devil tries to give you the same thoughts of doubt that the snake gave to Eve: Did God really say? For example today it can be: Did God really call you into mission?

Condemnation

One of the best weapons the devil has is self-condemnation. If he can get you into condemnation, you will become weak and powerless. After taking a challenge in your Christian walk, the enemy will soon arrive and try to get you in the same old position as before. It is when you are taking new challenges that you really discover that you are in a war.

• Condemnation comes because of lack of knowledge about who God is.
  

In Matthew 14:25-32 talks about Peter walking on water. He had literally taken a step in faith, on a word that Jesus spoke. But then, a thought of doubt came into his mind. He started to look at the circumstances, taking his focus away from Jesus and so he started to sink.
This is the fist strategy of the devil when you take a new step in faith; to be more focused on the circumstances and problems than on God. He also gives you more temptation. The next step he does is to condemn you for not having your focus on God and to fall. He sometimes says: I thought you were strong now, but you are no better than before, this has not been a breakthrough, everything is still the same. You can’t count on God anymore!
When thoughts like this come, you should go to the Bible and see what it says.
When looking at this story about Peter, you can see that Jesus doesn’t reject Peter in spite of his unbelief, but he stretches out his hand and helps him. God wants to do the same thing in your unbelief.

• The more you know about God’s character, the more equipped you are to resist attacks from the enemy.
  

Matt 14:25-32
25During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.
27But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. don’t be afraid."
28"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."
29"Come," he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"
31Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"
32And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

Bad experience

There is another way the devil sows the thoughts of doubt in your mind, he uses your bad experiences against you.
For instance, after having prayed for a sick person in faith while believing for a healing, but nothing happens. You pray for another one, and still nothing happens. After this experience, you will be attacked with thoughts such as: Do you remember the last time you prayed for the sick and nothing happened? Well, healing won't happen this time either.
After an experience like you this, you may fall into another trap: It was possibly not the will of God.

• Many times you don't get answers to your prayer because you are impatient, wishing the answers would happen instantly.
  
• The word of God always speaks the truth, your experience doesn't.
  

After the Exodus, God tested the Israelites by leading them through the desert. While there, they encountered a lot of problems. One of the first was the lack of food.

Exodus 16:2-3
2In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death."

The Israelites stayed very focused on the past; in spite of all the miracles they had witnessed when they were delivered from the Egyptians. Even though bread fell from heaven as an answer to prayer, the Israelites still lacked faith when they met the next problem.
As a Christian you will meet resistance, especially when you decide to do something for God. Whenever you face problems but focus more on the problems and the past experiences than on God, your dreams and vision will soon be gone, giving the devil a victory.

1 Cor 10:6
Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did

Endure

Endurance is a very important thing in spiritual warfare. Western society is used to instant things, expecting everything to happen fast. But, the kingdom of God is very different. When you read in the Bible about Abraham, Joseph and David, you see that the promises God gave to them were not fulfilled on the same day. In some cases, it took decades before they saw them fulfilled.
The person who endured the most was probably Jesus, who you need to have as your role model.

Heb 12:1-3
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

These verses contain many keys on how to win a victory in battle. First of all, when you have many witnesses that God has used and raised up, put away your burden and the sin that entangles you. I don’t know if you have noticed, but sin and worry hinders our fight and makes us ineffective in battle. You have to put this behind you so you can run the race ahead of you with perseverance. Perseverance itself can even become a big battle, that’s why the author of Hebrews writes: Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,
The strategy of the enemy is to always get your attention away from Jesus. The more you see who Jesus is, the stronger your faith will become, because faith starts with Jesus, He is the founder.
Jesus had joy ahead of him and he continued to have the right focus, despite the difficult circumstances of pain and suffering. This led Jesus to victory, he knew the joy would come later and he held on.
When you have great battles it is very easy to be faint-hearted and lose courage. It is easy to think: I really want to give up now; I can’t fight this any longer. I have said this sometimes myself. I remember a team I led on an outreach. I really had a hard time, and at one point I almost had the whole team against me, and I knew that part of it was because of one big mistake I made. It felt like hell was letting loose on me. I was almost drowning in self-condemnation and frustration and I also felt that the situation was very unfair. I could almost hear the demons whispering and mocking: “You can’t get out of this one!” “Now you should laugh, be glad.” However, in this situation, I actually felt the presence of God, in a supernatural way with His grace upon me. Even though it was hard, I got my focus away from the circumstances and back upon Jesus and the problem eventually diminished.
In this situation, I really wanted to give up everything - my ministry, my dreams and hopes - but the grace and power of God saved me. Jesus had to go through something that was a hundred times worse than my situation, and he won a victory. I am glad that he won that victory, because he won it for me, that’s why it is so important to consider Him, and how much opposition He endured.

Because of impatience, you give the devil an opportunity to attack, filling you with fear and despair. When you are impatient, you are not trusting God.
Is 28:16
So this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
"See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.

Fear is from the devil, but perfect love drives out fear.
1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Take every thought into captivity

Don't give the devil access to your thoughts so that he can create bad thought patterns in your mind. But, take all thoughts that are not according to the character of God, into captivity.
2Cor 10:4-5.
For the weapon of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds
Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

If you often think negative thoughts you will soon begin to speak it out, and then it's easy to utter curses.
The devil brings negative thoughts to you, either by your own thoughts or by what others say: You can't do this, you are never going to make it. You can’t win over this sin or that situation.
After hearing these lies over and over, it is very easy to start confessing it, with the end result being that you believe it.

• Pay attention to what you are saying, because you could say curses!
  
• Listen to your own words, because it is the power of what you believe.
  

What does it mean to speak a curse? To say a curse is not only saying I curse you.
One time, Jesus and his disciples were on their way to a city called Bethany, and Jesus was hungry. He walked to a fig tree, and it was fruitless. Then Jesus said:
Let no one ever eat fruit from you ever again. The next day while passing the same tree, Peter saw it and said to Jesus: Look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered away
(Mark 11:12-13 and 20-21)

To say a curse is to say things like: I’m never going to make it, that church is never going to grow, you are stupid, you can't do anything right, or you are a loser.
If you start to say and believe in lies about yourself; you become what the lies tell you.
Prov 23:7:
For as he thinks in his heart so is he.

• Negative speaking, or negative thoughts about yourself or others is the way the world thinks. Repent from your negative way of thinking, speaking and bad thought patterns. Let them not guide your words and behavior.
  
• What are God’s thoughts for you? Does he want you to fail? Does he want you to suffer? Does he want you to look upon yourself as a loser? NO!!! He wants the best for you!
  

Jer 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

God has made it possible to overcome the negative thought patterns the devil has imparted in your mind.
Rom: 10:9.
That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that Jesus has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

This scripture is not just for non-believers. The word saved has a much wider meaning than to be saved out from something. In Greek the word saved is: sozo; it means to be whole, well, completed, saved from danger, destruction, sickness and death, and out of bondage.
If you feel depressed you can say the verse this way: When I confess you as Lord over my depression I will be delivered from it, because you are the Lord of my depression.
The truth is, He is the Lord over all your problems!

Force back the attack of the enemy

James 4:7
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Psychological warfare is a tactic the enemy has used against people throughout all time. If the one who is in a war believes he cannot win the battle, he has already lost. The enemy fashions a more frightening picture of himself than what he really is.
The people of Israel fell into this trap. When the people of Israel tried to capture the land of Canaan, they sent twelve spies into this land. Ten of the spies were fooled by the enemies’ psychological warfare.
Num 13:33.
There we saw the giants; and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and we so we were in their sight.

Many of the Israelites did not enter the Promised Land because of their unbelief. There were only two spies who didn't loose faith and become frightened by the enemy: Joshua and Caleb.
Num. 14:9.
Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the lord is with us. Do not fear them.

Joshua and Caleb knew a God who was bigger than the enemy, and they had their eyes fixed on Him instead of the problem. They knew that the power that was with them was greater than any other forces or giants. Because of their faith, they were allowed to enter the Promised Land 40 years later.
Don't let the enemy overcome you, don't let him attack you with his lies! Lies that say: “It is not possible; you will never overcome this problem.” Remember: You are not on the losing side!
Let the word of God penetrate your thoughts so you can strike back when the enemy attacks you. A part of the armor of God is the sword, which is the word of God. When Jesus was tempted in the desert, he used the word. When Joshua and Caleb met problems, they confessed God’s greatness. This is what happens when you speak the word of God.

• The word of God covers all darkness.
  

Come up against the enemies’ attack so you can be part of the victorious and offensive army in the last days; learn to fight! Reclaim the things the devil has stolen from you and recover the territory the enemy reigns in today, such as in your life, in others’ lives, in your church and in your land.
There is one thing the enemy is afraid of: That you should discover how much God really loves you.
The more you see this, the more dangerous you are to the enemy, because your knowledge of God will create a bigger and stronger joy in you.
The devil wishes to steal your joy, but the joy of the Lord is your strength.
If you have your eyes fixed on your problem and all the weakness you have, there will there be no joy left. If you have your eyes fixed on all the things Jesus has done for you, you will have the strength to overcome everything.
In Nehemiah, we read about the Israelites. They had been in exile in Babylon, and then were allowed to go back to their country to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. When the day came that the city and the walls were finished, they read the Law of Moses and then started to cry. Maybe the reason for their tears was that they saw their forefathers’ mistakes and sins, along with their own. But, God was merciful and gave back their land. That’s why Ezra said:

Neh 8:9-10
9Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, "This day is sacred to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep." For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.
10Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

Nobody is perfect, but if you continue to focus on your weaknesses you won’t have the strength to overcome. So, you need to stay focused on the One that gives you strength and shows you compassion in your weakness. Then, you can rejoice for what the Lord has done for you. The reason the Israelites should be glad was because of the grace God had shown them.
Neh 8:12
Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.

You should really understand what Jesus has done for you, so that joy can be a part of your life. You have to tear down every stronghold the devil has put into your mind, telling you how weak, poor and worthless you are. The more God tears down these strongholds in your life, the more you will see his great love towards you.
I know too that God will come and pour out His spirit more magnificently than ever before. He is equipping His bride, the church, right now for the last harvest. You will see churches where the joy and power is very visible and His power is being manifested in a whole new way, even seeing the dead arise.
Resist the devil, don't let him overcome you, be mindful so you can determine the strategy of your enemy.

1Pet 5:8-9.
Be sober; be vigilant because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith.

The truth set will set you free

Joh 8:31-32
31To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

If you are filled up with the word of God and stay close to Him, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. The devil tells you lies all the time and the only way to resist him is to know the word, because the word is the truth.

My testimony
Before, I had a very low self-image, and not much faith in myself. I felt there were very few things that God or others could use me for, because I was shy and very insecure. To be a “good” Christian I thought I had to fulfill some spiritual demands like: read the Bible and pray every day, for at least 30 minutes, give testimonies, pray out loud in the church and evangelize my fellow students at school etc. But, I had problems with doing all of these things, especially the last one. I felt a lot of self-condemnation because of it.
During the summer of ’89, God revealed a truth to me that changed this view of myself and who God is. I had heard it before, but this time it really became a revelation for me. God told me: It is not your deeds that make you valuable or useful to me, but I am after your heart. The thing God wants first of all is to have fellowship with us; he is not after how much we can do “for” him. We sometimes believe that we will be more spiritual if we keep these spiritual commands, but God wants friendship first of all. Out of a friendship, all of these other things will come naturally. Now I do all these “spiritual law things”; I spend at least one hour a day in prayer and reading the word, I pray and testify at meetings, I tell others about Jesus, actually around the whole world. But, all of this comes from my relationship with Jesus, and not because I feel like I have to. The devil often lures us into the trap of being legalistic. Also, we can know a lot about God, but not really know Him. For example, I know a lot about our Norwegian king, King Harold, but I don’t know him personally. There is a big difference. God wants us to know Him personally, not just that He exists and that we know something about Him.

Lies can come to us in different ways; I have another example from my life.
Someone told me a lie when I was studying to be a mechanic; it was actually a curse. I made a mistake and the other person said to me: “You will never be anything; you will always be a loser.” He continued to say this during the last two months of my school. Even though I knew that this was a lie, this thought followed me for a long time, especially when I had experiences that I felt confirmed this thought. Now, God has set me free from this, but it took many years.
When I experience a defeat, I have two choices: Should I believe the lie and wallow in self-pity or claim the truth? For instance, should I say: "He was right I will be a loser," or should I believe in the word of God? The choice seems easy in this example, but sometimes the battle is bigger and more complicated. Sometimes, we don’t even see the truth. One scripture I use when I experience things like this is:

Ps 1:1-3
1Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
2But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
3He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

When I choose to believe in the truth, nothing can harm me, no spoken words, no thoughts from the enemy, no wrongs done to me. God is on my side and I can go into His freedom. What He tells is the truth, and I can be free!

Ps 118:6-9
6The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
7The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies.
8It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.
9It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.

If I choose self-pity in situations where I felt that someone had hurt me, I am trusting in people more than in God; I am giving other people the right to hurt me. I trust the things people say and do rather than what God has said and done.
To be free from lies and psychological wounds is a process. You constantly fill yourself up with the truth so that it will set you free.
Many believe that you only have to seek prayer in meetings and then everything will be ok. You will be free from bad habits, problems and bad memories etc, but that is not quite true. You can have an experience with God, and he can reveal truth to you, and it can be a great experience. I don’t say you should not do it either, because it is often the starting point, but you need to take up the fight yourself too.
The Christian life is not the easiest one, but it is the best, because it will lead you to freedom. When you became a Christian, you joined the army of God. You became a solider, whether you like it or not. How far you will come with God depends on how much you fight. The devil uses sin as your biggest enemy! (Remember too that self-pity is a sin) Take up the sword today and start to fight, you can win. Use the Bible to fight against sin and evil, because the word of God is our sword!

Heb 4:12
12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Two important thoughts to end with

The spiritual reality
The spiritual reality is closer that you think! One of the tactics the devil uses in the western world is to get you to believe that the spiritual world is far from you and doesn’t exist. If you comprehend how close it is, your faith will grow in whom God is.

Don’t blame the devil?
When you fall into sin, don’t give the devil all the blame, because you have your free will. He might have tempted you, but you took the choice and committed the sin. When the devil tempted Adam and Eve, he did not force them to eat, this is what they chose. This is what it means when it is said: stand against the devil's schemes. (Eph 6:11): He is very clever, but you can resist him!
So don’t say: “The devil made me do it,” but take full responsibility and confess your sin!
The devil can never force you to sin and God won’t force you not to sin. In the end, it is up to you. You make the choice with your free will.