“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places,” Ephesians 6:12.
Spiritual warfare refers to the ongoing struggle between the purposes of God and the spiritual forces of evil, as well as a Christian’s resistance to temptation, deception, fear, sin, and anything that seeks to draw them away from their faith in Jesus.
In Ephesians 6:10-17, the Apostle Paul explains that every believer who wants to fight the enemy effectively must wear the ARMOR OF GOD.
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Paul’s words leave little doubt that spiritual warfare is real. He doesn’t tell us to consider putting on the armor of God. He tells us to put it on because there is an enemy actively working against us. Without that armor, we leave ourselves spiritually vulnerable.
Sadly, many people go through life completely unaware that there is a spiritual realm beyond what our eyes can see. Yet Scripture tells us that this unseen realm is very real and very active. The truth is, demons don’t take vacations. But neither do God’s angels. Scripture gives us glimpses of a spiritual battle taking place beyond our physical sight, even as we go about our everyday lives here on earth.
We can ignore the unseen realm all we want, but that doesn’t mean the unseen realm is ignoring us.
After Paul lists the components of the Armor of God, he exhorts, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people,” Ephesians 6:18.
Pray Without Ceasing
This means we should be praying all the time! Whether we’re at work, taking care of the kids, or simply going about our daily routines, we can intercede for ourselves and others – silently or out loud, depending on the situation. We can also listen to the Holy Spirit’s voice as we reach out to the Lord for help.
For myself, I like to pray Psalm 91 daily, but I also plead the blood of Jesus over myself, my family, home, cars, and anything else that warrants protection. Here is an example of what I say.
“I plead the blood of Jesus Christ of Nazareth who came in the flesh, died on the cross, and rose from the dead over my……” Of course, you can fill in the blank with names of people and anything you want to create a hedge of protection around.
Some people go through every room of their home and do this daily, or they walk through their house and declare it out loud. I usually pray this audibly because I want the demonic forces to hear it. The blood of Jesus is a powerful weapon against them because it’s what redeems those saved by Christ. Keep in mind that in order to escape the Angel of Death, the Israelites had to place the blood of an innocent lamb on the doorposts of their homes on the first Passover. Of course, the Passover lamb, foreshadowed Jesus, who would die on a cross and spill his blood for our sins. This sacrifice would allow us to inherit eternal life, but it would also give us victory over the enemy in the spiritual realm. Thus, the blood of Jesus is a mighty weapon!
When we are marked by the Holy Spirit, which is the presence of Jesus living inside us, the enemy knows he cannot have our soul. Instead, he seeks to confuse, harass, frighten, discourage, and tempt us. This is where putting on the Armor of God comes in, as well as continual prayer!
Even though I pray every day, there are times when I sense something happening in the spiritual realm so I will pray with more fervor. Those times, I will also pray out loud as a way of letting the demons know that they have no right to mess with me, or my loved ones!
In early September, I wrote an article about a disturbing incident involving popular Christian author and Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn. If you’re not familiar with what happened, it’s quite a story! You can read my original article HERE.
According to Cahn’s account, while he was traveling by plane, a man suddenly became extremely agitated and began confronting him. The situation grew so serious that the man eventually had to be restrained and duct-taped to his seat while the pilot made an emergency landing. News reports largely portrayed the incident as a mental health crisis. But when I listened to Cahn describe what happened and considered some of the unusual details surrounding the encounter, I came away believing there was something more taking place—something spiritual.
You can listen to Rabbi Cahn tell the story himself HERE.
Interestingly, while I was writing that article, I began to feel strongly that I needed to pray for my own protection. I believe spiritual warfare is real, and when you are writing about the activity of the enemy and bringing darkness into the light, prayer should never be an afterthought.
I had written only the introduction when I left home to visit my sister, who lives about 45 minutes away. Normally, I would put on a podcast and listen to it during the drive. But that day was different. As I got into the car, I sensed that instead of filling those 45 minutes with something to listen to, I needed to spend that time praying—for myself and for the people I love.
So that is exactly what I did.
A DEMONIC ENCOUNTER?
As I drove, I began praying out loud, asking Jesus to surround me and my loved ones with His protection and angels. And because I was alone, I wasn’t whispering those prayers under my breath. I prayed boldly and emphatically, calling on the name of Jesus and standing against the forces of darkness through His authority.
At the time, I had no idea just how significant that prayer would soon become.
Shortly after I finished praying, I glanced in my rearview mirror and noticed a car in the other lane approaching quickly and weaving recklessly through traffic. Something about the way the driver was behaving caught my attention. This wasn’t simply someone in a hurry – he was driving dangerously.
As the car drew closer, I remember thinking, Surely, he won’t try to come into my lane! There was nowhere for him to go. Traffic was packed tightly in front of me, leaving virtually no room for another vehicle. But suddenly, he did exactly that.
Without warning, the car violently swerved into my lane, missing me by what seemed like an inch and nearly forcing me off the road. To this day, I don’t know how he managed not to hit me.
Actually, I do.
The Lord protected me! I had just finished praying for His protection, and I believe His mighty angels were watching over me at that very moment.
The incident on the road was frightening, but it left me with a profound reminder: PRAYER IS A WEAPON!
I know there is power in prayer, but if I’m honest, it is easy for any of us to become a little complacent. We get busy. We get tired. Sometimes we simply lose sight of the spiritual battle taking place around us. Yet the forces of darkness do not take a day off, and neither should we when it comes to prayer. We are walking through a spiritual war zone every day, and we cannot afford to enter it unequipped.
After my encounter with the reckless driver, I began thinking about several situations in my own life that needed serious prayer. Yes, I pray every day, but there are times when certain battles call for something more – more intentional prayer, more fervent intercession, and sometimes even fasting.
And there is something powerful about not fighting those battles alone.
I decided to reach out to a few friends and ask if they would join me in setting aside the same day for fasting and prayer. I was deeply encouraged when they agreed.
THE PRAYING MANTIS
That day, one of those friends joined me at a beautiful park, where we found a quiet place to pray together. We took turns interceding for the situations that had been weighing heavily on our hearts. Then, right in the middle of our time together, something caught our attention.
On a nearby bench sat a praying mantis.
We walked over for a closer look, and there it was, seemingly staring right back at us. Of all the creatures we could have encountered while spending a day devoted specifically to prayer, there before us was a praying mantis!
We couldn’t help but smile.
I know it was just a little insect sitting on a park bench, but in that moment, I received it as a beautiful reminder from the Lord to keep praying. And I have to tell you, at that particular moment, that praying mantis looked like the most wonderful creature in the world!
God knows how to encourage His children.
The timing alone was remarkable. We had deliberately set aside this day to fast, seek God, and intercede together, and right in the middle of it we encountered this tiny creature whose very name reminded us of what we had come there to do. Whether anyone else would have given it a second thought didn’t really matter. To us, it was encouragement at exactly the right time.
And that wasn’t the only thing we noticed.
After our little encounter with the mantis, we returned to prayer with renewed hearts. As we continued, a steady breeze moved through the park and across our faces. That might not sound particularly significant, but the previous few weeks had been blazing hot where I live. Day after day, the air had seemed hot and still, and I could hardly remember feeling a refreshing breeze.
But that day was different.
The wind seemed to continue throughout our time of prayer, cooling us as we interceded for the people we love. I remember feeling it against my face and thinking about how refreshing it was—not only physically, but spiritually.
First came the little praying mantis, which brought a smile and reminded us to keep praying. Then came the unusual refreshing breeze.
The Wind and the Holy Spirit
There was something else about that breeze that made the moment even more meaningful to me. Throughout Scripture, wind and breath are used as powerful imagery for the Holy Spirit. Got Questions explains that the invisible, life-giving work of the Holy Spirit is pictured in the Bible through wind and breath. Jesus Himself used this imagery when He said, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). Then, on the day of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit was accompanied by “a sound like a mighty rushing wind” (Acts 2:2).
As that breeze continued to blow across our faces while we prayed, those biblical images made the moment even more special. I received it as confirmation to keep praying, keep listening to the Holy Spirit, and keep turning the situations that seemed beyond my control over to the Lord. What may look impossible to us is never impossible for God. As Jesus said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).
By the time we finished our day of prayer and fasting, I felt tremendously encouraged. But apparently, the Lord wasn’t finished reminding me.
A Powerful Reminder
Later, I was looking at the picture I had taken of the praying mantis when something suddenly came back to me. This wasn’t the first time a praying mantis had appeared during a difficult season of my life.
About a year earlier, in 2025, I had been hiking with my son through a dry, desert-like area. At the time, I was feeling discouraged and defeated by some of the obstacles I was facing. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, my son spotted a praying mantis.
As he gently picked it up, I remember being overwhelmed by a sense of God’s love for my family and I. The timing seemed remarkable. Of all the moments and all the places where we could have encountered this fascinating insect, there it was – right when I desperately needed encouragement. My heart began to fill with hope.
But there was more.
Not long after seeing the mantis, I noticed a rock on the trail with a Bible verse written on it: “Blessed are those who do not see and yet believe” (John 20:29).
Those words spoke directly to what I was struggling with. I couldn’t see what God was doing about the circumstances I had been praying over. I couldn’t see how everything was going to work out. But that didn’t mean He wasn’t working. The praying mantis reminded me to pray, and the Scripture on that rock reminded me to believe even when I couldn’t see.
Together, those two simple discoveries became a powerful encouragement to trust God with what was happening behind the scenes. And yet, somehow, over the course of the following year, I had almost completely forgotten about that day.
Then, as I stared at the photograph of the praying mantis we had encountered during our recent day of prayer and fasting, the memory suddenly came rushing back.
Two different difficult seasons. Two praying mantises. And both times, I needed the same reminder: keep praying, keep believing, and keep trusting God – even when you cannot yet see what He is doing.
Maybe someone else would call it coincidence. But for me, the timing was too meaningful to simply dismiss. It reminded me of something I believe God continually teaches His children: Don’t stop praying simply because you haven’t seen the answer yet.
That is often where the real battle takes place.
We pray about problems in our lives for days, months, or sometimes even years, and when nothing seems to change, discouragement begins whispering that perhaps God isn’t listening. We start wondering whether our prayers are making any difference at all. But the issue is that we are judging God’s faithfulness according to our timetable.
God does not operate according to our schedule.
An unanswered prayer today does not mean an unheard prayer. God sees what we cannot see. He knows what He is doing, when He is going to do it, and how everything fits into His greater purpose. Our responsibility is not to determine the timing – it is to remain faithful while we wait.
So keep praying.
When the answer seems delayed, keep praying.
When circumstances appear impossible, keep praying.
When discouragement tells you nothing is happening, keep praying.
The answer may not come when or how you expect it. But never allow the waiting to convince you that God has stopped working.
Prayer is a weapon – and a weapon does us little good if we stop using it in the middle of the battle.
I hope this blogpost encourages you to pray without ceasing – not only for your protection, but also for any situation that feels hopeless.
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