How To Recognize Spiritual Attack

5. Feeling helpless and overwhelmed. Are you feeling helpless in the face of adversity? That could indicate that you're being targeted. Circumstance is made up of two words: circum (circle) and stance (stance) (stand). To put it another way, you're surrounded by what's going on. It doesn't take long for overwhelming feelings to turn into despondency. According to the Bible, “Hope that isn't realized makes the heart sick” (Prov. 13:12). It also informs us, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the proof of things unseen” (Heb. 11:1). If the enemy can persuade you to lose hope, he may persuade you to abandon your faith.

6. Old habits and ways of life surface. Old transgressions begin to emerge in your life as the sixth indicator that you are under spiritual attack. What is the definition of iniquity? Some others define transgressions as old habits that your spirit desires to revert to when things aren't going your way—things that feed the flesh. If this starts to happen, don't ignore the Holy Spirit's warning conviction.

7. Distancing yourself from Godly relationships. When old sins entice you, the next symptom of spiritual attack is likely to be a withdrawal from godly relationships. Take a look around. Have you withdrawn from relationships with folks in your small group or at church? Are you finding that your buddies are becoming more and more carnally minded rather than spiritually focused? If that's the case, you're bumbling around the battlefield, and the adversary has you marked as a target.

a fifth “Breaking the Enemy's Attack with “Do Nots” Here are five things to do once you've established a stand against the enemy's attack “You must remember the “do nots.”

• Remember who created you. God made you to withstand storms. You've been equipped by Him, and you'll make it through with His help.
• Don't forget to pray at the right time and in the right place. A time of prayer and a place of prayer are both essential components of a good prayer life.
• Do not underestimate the power of collaboration. It's beneficial to be among those who have lived longer, accomplished more, and can provide sensible advice.
• Don't forget to stay connected to pastoral care. I've often witnessed folks who are being attacked and tried to aid them, but they refused. Don't wait until the enemy is tearing you apart to seek the help of those who serve in a pastoral capacity.

What are spiritual conflicts?

• Over the last 30 years, psychological study on a number of spiritual issues has been done. Spiritual problems are one spiritual issue that has garnered a lot of attention.
• People are affected not only psychologically, socially, and physically by major life challenges, but also spiritually.
• Natural disasters, accidents, sicknesses, and other stressful circumstances can put people's spiritual lives in jeopardy or cause them to struggle spiritually.
• Spiritual coping problems are attempts to protect or transform people's relationships with whatever they consider precious, such as their connection to God/Higher Power, spiritual identity, and religious community connections.
• Terminology. Many studies on spiritual difficulty use the phrase “negative religious coping,” but we and other researchers have started to use the term “spiritual/religious problems.” Why?
• Spiritual conflicts can be watershed moments in human development or “forks in the path.”
• According to several research, persons who are able to resolve spiritual conflicts over time gain and grow from them.
• Others may choose to temporarily or permanently withdraw from spiritual challenges.
• Others who are stuck in their troubles emotionally and physically deteriorate.
• Even atheists and non-religious people may deal with spiritual issues such as feeling distanced from, unhappy with, angry with, or abandoned by God.
• See Constructs/Our Measures for more broad background information on spiritual problems.
• Spiritual conflicts refer to disagreements with God/Higher Power, oneself, and others over spiritual topics. Distressing feelings and doubts about one's spiritual journey in life arise as a result of these tensions.
• Internal/intrapsychic spiritual conflicts—inner conflict about spirituality or religion
• Spiritual conflicts with other family members, friends, clergy, community members, or the greater culture concerning spirituality or religion are interpersonal/communal spiritual challenges.
• The 7-item Negative Religious Coping subscale from the Brief RCOPE is most typically used to assess spiritual problems (Pargament, Feuille, & Burdzy, 2011). For the entire Brief RCOPE and lengthier scales to more fully examine spiritual problems, go to Constructs/Our Measures.
• For additional information on how we define these two overlapping concepts, see Defining Religion & Spirituality.

What comprehensive empirical research on Spiritual Struggles in Coping with Marital Problems has been conducted?

• Despite substantial research on spiritual issues in other areas, there has been essentially no systematic research on spiritual struggles in marriage. Nonetheless, the Relational Spirituality Framework emphasizes that serious or persistent marital issues, such as infidelity, can lead to private or communal spiritual challenges with God.
• Prior research on spirituality and marital problems has relied on indirect indicators to determine if people feel spiritual struggles as a result of marital problems, such as frequency of religious attendance or overall value of religion in everyday life. We employ definitions and measurements of spiritual challenges established in past research on non-marital stressors to stimulate more in-depth study on spiritual struggles with marital problems (e.g., natural diasters, health problems).
• In practice, we have concentrated our research on Divine Spiritual Struggles rather than Internal or Interpersonal Spiritual Struggles in relation to marital issues.
• When it comes to interpreting and reacting to marital problems, we characterize Divine Spiritual Struggles with Marital Problems as having a confrontation with God. It's helpful to define conflict before delving into this definition. We define conflict as an individual's internal or external conflicts over his or her life goals and/or paths to achieving those goals. When troubles emerge, humans can be in conflict with God, just as they might have internal or interpersonal conflict. Problems in marriage can jeopardize life ambitions. An individual may have a disagreement with God about why marital difficulties have arisen and what should be done to resolve them. These conflicts with God might lead to negative feelings and thoughts regarding one's relationship with God.

For psychological research, how do we measure Divine Struggles in Coping with Marital Problems?

• We used the following three sub-scales (three items each) from Pargament's R-COPE to assess divine spiritual struggles with marital troubles in our transition to parenting study. These nine items were mixed in with R-COPE sub-scale items from other sub-scales. For additional information on the history and development of the R-COPE and Spiritual Struggles Sub-scales, see Constructs/Our Measures.
• Instructions for dealing with marital troubles include the following: The sentences that follow outline particular ways that people might manage with the inevitable marital problems that arise from time to time. When you think about the challenges you've had in your marriage, how much do you use each of the following to deal with them? When I'm having marital issues, I…

How might Divine Spiritual Struggles in Coping with Marital Problems benefit or hinder a marriage or couple relationship?

• To the best of our knowledge, our study on the transition to parenthood is the first attempt to investigate how much married couples experience spiritual struggles as a result of marital difficulties, and what impact these divine spiritual struggles have on the marriage and each spouse's psychological or spiritual well-being. We are presently doing analyses and will report back when we have more information.

What is toxic spirituality?

The solution is far more straightforward than you might think. You are practicing toxic spirituality if you believe that you must always be positive and that anything negative is wrong.

What makes this notion so dangerous is that it prevents us from learning and growing by suppressing positive emotions.

Each of our feelings has information. This information is neither good nor bad; it is simply that.

Emotions Inform Us

When you have anxiety, for example, you are not a bad person or doing something wrong. Anxiety is trying to tell you something.

It could be a sign that you need to leave the house a few minutes earlier than usual since you dislike traffic. You escape traffic and, as a result, are less likely to develop road rage if you leave the house a few minutes early.

And no amount of meditation or prayer will alleviate the stress. It will almost certainly stay until you have learned the lesson and have left a few minutes early.

When you ignore or fail to gain information from your emotions because you've suppressed them for the sake of being “positive,” you'll either be stuck in your current circumstance or, worse, start self-medicating.

This belief that you must be positive at all times is harmful to your spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical well-being.

What is negative spirituality?

“It makes obvious that the more religious or spiritual you are, the healthier you are,” said Brick Johnstone, a neuropsychologist and professor of health psychology at the University of Missouri School of Health Professions. “However, some people's health is worsened even if they have the tiniest amount of bad spirituality — basically, when people believe they're sick because they've done something wrong and God is punishing them.”

Johnstone and his colleagues looked at nearly 200 people to see how their spiritual beliefs influenced their health. Some of the participants in the study had cancer, severe brain damage, or chronic pain, while others were in good health. The participants were divided into two groups: those who reported feeling abandoned or punished by a higher power, and those who did not report feeling abandoned or punished by a higher power, according to the researchers. Participants were asked about their mental and physical well-being, as well as physical pain.

Negative spirituality was associated with much worse pain, as well as physical and mental health, whereas positive spirituality was associated with better mental health. The researchers discovered that having any level of negative spiritual belief contributed to lower health outcomes, even if people expressed favorable spiritual views.

“According to previous study, roughly 10% of people hold negative spiritual beliefs, such as believing that if they don't do something perfectly, God will abandon them,” Johnstone said. “It's a negative feature of religion when people believe that God is against them.' What type of hope am I holding out for?' People with a firm belief that God loves and forgives them despite their flaws, on the other hand, have much better mental health.”

People who have negative spiritual ideas are less likely to engage in religious practices and have lower degrees of positive spirituality and forgiveness. According to Johnstone, interventions that help battle negative spiritual ideas and encourage positive spiritual beliefs could help some people improve their pain and mental health.

The study was published in the Journal of Spirituality and Mental Health and was titled “Relationships Between Negative Spiritual Beliefs and Health Outcomes for Individuals With Heterogeneous Medical Conditions.”

What is spiritual decline?

Then we looked to see if spiritual growth, spiritual decline, and meaning-making could moderate the link between religious difficulty, anxiety, and life satisfaction. People who try to understand their struggle and whose difficulty is a source of positive changes in their world view, relationships, and aspirations or sense of self are more satisfied with life and have less anxiety, according to the theory (spiritual growth). Anxiety rises and life satisfaction falls when struggle leads to unfavorable changes in an individual's world view, connections with others, or life goals (spiritual decline).

For four types of struggle, we discovered that the mediation impact was significant: demonic, moral, interpersonal, and theological doubt. Spiritual progress and spiritual decline were important mediators in demonic and moral conflict. As we expected, demonic and moral problems can lead to increased life satisfaction, but spiritual decline can lead to increased anxiety. Spiritual decline was found to be a key factor in the link between interpersonal conflict, anxiety, and life happiness.

We conclude that the impact of moral conflict on anxiety and life satisfaction is determined by how moral pressures are addressed. When people are confronted with moral defects and personality weaknesses (religious struggle), noticing good changes in self-perception, viewing the world, and perceiving others increases their contentment with life. Moral conflicts, on the other hand, cause anxiety since they lead to unfavorable alterations in self-image and view of the world. Some psychological theories (e.g., Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development or Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development) emphasize the role of moral conflicts as a transitional stage that can lead to both regression and maturation, as well as a higher quality of life (e.g., Erikson 1968; Kohlberg 1976).

Strengths and Limitations of the Study

The study's primary flaw is its cross-sectional design, which precludes any inferences on cause–effect relationships. The interpretation strategy used in this work is based on theoretical assumptions. Longitudinal research are needed to determine the health and well-being effects of religious conflicts. Because the study relied on people's self-reports, there was no way to control for response bias. It's possible that the findings are influenced by social desirability. However, the fact that respondents completed the measures anonymously and were questioned about positive and negative results may mitigate this potential. They wouldn't have supported negative outcomes if they were aiming to present themselves in a favorable way, right? Regardless, studies in the future should include scales that assess social desirability, and if required, control for it. We also assumed that the survey instruments' performance characteristics were unaffected by their translation into Polish.

How can I overcome spiritual struggles?

It may seem self-evident, but the solution to any situation is to seek God's help. God already knows what we're going through, and he wants us to come to him with all of our concerns. If there is apparent sin in my life, I must first seek forgiveness from God. However, even when I am not conscious of evident transgressions, God might appear distant. I can still pray to God for assistance. “You make known to me the way of life,” says Psalm 16:11, “and you will fill me with delight in your presence, with endless pleasures at your right side.” I can pray that God will reveal his ways to me and fill me with delight when I am in his presence.

How do you solve spiritual problems?

When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he discovered a slew of issues. While most people remember Nehemiah for his leadership in repairing the walls of Jerusalem, he also demonstrated spiritual leadership. Nehemiah recalls the myriad spiritual challenges the people still faced—and how he handled them—in the last chapter of his record, drawing on the good will and esteem he had earned previously. While we may not face the same problems today, today's problem solvers require the same talents as Nehemiah.

• Problem solvers build their solutions on the foundation of God's Word (Neh. 13:1-3). People who are solution-oriented foster a culture that values the truth of God's Word, establishing the standard by which all problems will be appraised and all solutions will be derived. Instead of resorting to either the expectations of the congregation or their own past practice, problem solvers make God's Word the consistent judge by which they assess all things, rather than bringing it up when it's convenient or using it to justify a personal perspective.
• Sinful situations are not tolerated by problem solvers; they are addressed and changed (Neh. 13:4-9). The first step is to preach about a sin or a doctrinal issue. Solutions-oriented thinking exposes people who are to blame and offers spiritual alternatives to harmful practices. It'll probably take some time and a lot of knowledge, but focusing on the long-term godly solution makes the effort and patience worthwhile. A leader, on the other hand, who fails to rectify erroneous behaviors out of fear of receiving complaints or losing numbers isn't really leading at all.
• Problem solvers pick up on minor details that point to greater concerns (Neh. 13:10). Problem solutions does not always entail identifying flaws. Recognizing when something or someone is absent is a big part of it. People that are solution-oriented look for ways to include people who have previously been disregarded. They pick up on leadership inconsistencies immediately, which create a distrustful environment. They are aware of the ramifications of minor details, allowing them to work in principle to correct critical errors.
• When the leadership is in the wrong, problem solvers stand up to them (Neh. 13:11). In many congregations of the Lord's church today, we have come to accept an incorrect concept of authority. While people accept the Bible as the ultimate authority in theory, they frequently defer to the leadership in practice—even when those leaders are behaving in direct opposition to the Bible. Instead of sitting on their hands as if they can do nothing, solution-oriented people take a stand against leadership when the leaders themselves are sinning.
• Problem solvers look for people who are willing to rise to the occasion to meet the issues that God's people confront (Neh. 13:12-13). People who value solutions over the status quo are always on the hunt for others who share their values. True solutions, on the other hand, necessitate consistency rather than change. As a result, issue solvers must not only discover people who are open to change, but also those who are devoted to doing what is better and right.
• Problem solvers work for the glory of God, for the good of God's people, and for the future of God's people (Neh. 13:14). The American corporate culture has had an adverse impact on how many Christians see church work and those who work especially with the church. A preacher who sees himself as the congregation's stooge will be unable to assist them in resolving their issues. Only by looking at his work from a divine viewpoint and with eternity in mind will a man be able to rise above the employee mindset and accomplish what is best for people, even if those impacted are unaware of it right away.
• People who commit sin are chastised by problem solvers (Neh. 13:15-18). If you refuse to acknowledge a problem, you will not be able to solve it. You must first eliminate the problem before you can find a solution. Unfortunately, the most common response to difficulties these days is to try to wait them out, talk them out, or ignore them entirely. People that are solution-oriented see that these aren't exactly solutions, but rather attempts to shift the problem down the road. We cannot be spiritual leaders unless we are strong enough to correct others who are in sin.
• Problem solvers come up with ways to keep the same problems from recurring (Neh. 13:19-22). Some people act as if yelling and whining about an issue, pointing fingers at people, and bullying them until they give in is the same as problem solving. It isn't the case. People who are solution-oriented not only address the issue, but they also have the vision to devise a feasible solution that incorporates people in a positive way and includes safeguards to avoid the problem from recurring.
• Because they realize that personal and congregational concerns are intertwined, problem solvers handle both (Neh. 13:23-28). A congregation's spiritual health is only as good as its members' daily lives. Leaders who assess the health of a congregation only on the basis of Sunday attendance and sermons are not shepherding sheep; they are monitoring the congregation. Because the problems that most affect people are personal, solution-oriented persons must be prepared to offer personal solutions to people both inside and beyond the congregation.
• Problem solvers do not make concessions. They purify, correct, and implore (Neh. 13:29-31). You can't fix a problem unless you're ready to handle every aspect of it, eliminate the factors that contribute to the problem, and put forth all of the necessary steps to find a solution. Unfortunately, many people are satisfied with doing merely a portion of each. This is not a viable option. It's a half-hearted attempt to persuade others (and possibly ourselves) that we're doing anything, in the hopes of being judged on our effort rather than our output.

We live in a world that is full of issues. We know from personal experience that we all confront a variety of issues. As a result, we must accept that congregations will face difficulties. Accepting the reality of problems, on the other hand, is only the first step. We must prepare ourselves to address the problem, remedy the problem, and then move on from it, or we will not be able to truly solve the situation. This is something that solution-oriented individuals are aware of, which is why more preachers and elders need to become solution-oriented.

How do you pray against your enemies?

I command the storm of destruction to gather upon every satanic power that is against my health IN THE MIGHTY NAME OF JESUS! I decree and declare great casualty upon witches and wizards operating in my neighborhood, the judgment of God shall torment the powers of darkness working against me both at night and in the morning, the night shall carry terror and anger against all satanic powers that are standing against me, the night shall carry terror and anger against all satanic powers that

RIGHT NOW, IN THE NAME OF JESUS, my prayers have become earthquakes and storms in the devil's camp that is against my life; the Lord shall gather his armor against powers that are against my intellectual growth; all sickness in my life, known or unknown, receives heavenly storm; all conspiracy against any part of my body receives destruction now!

I order the deep wells inside me to be freed and broken forth in the name of JESUS!

How do you pray to God for protection from evil?

As I begin this day, I pray for Your protection. You are my safe haven, and I can always find sanctuary under Your wings. Keep me safe from harm wherever I go, and keep evil at bay. I shall look to You as my Protector, the one who battles for me every day, no matter where I am.

Your love and constancy, as well as Your goodness and mercy, surround me on a daily basis, so I will not be afraid of anything. God, I put my trust in You and thank You for Your kindness and protection.