Spiritual Warfare: Invasion of the Heart

By Sarah Meece –

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might…to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.” ~Ephesians 6:10,16 (NIV)

Over 2.5 million home intrusions are committed each year, one every 13 seconds, leaving homeowners with a vast array of emotions including losing their peace of mind. Thirty percent of the burglaries occur because homeowners have inadvertently left a window or door unlocked. Statistics prove that homes without a security system are 300% more likely to be invaded.

Have you ever had something stolen from you?  As Christians, we have been blessed with God’s divine power; incredible joy fills our hearts. Yet daily, that joy is being invaded by Satan. When worry gets you down, your child is being bullied, your spouse loses his or her temper, your work load becomes unbearable, and your friend is showing signs of jealousy—is it tough to find joy?

We are told in John 10:10, “The thief (Satan) comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.”  He is sneaky—invading our homes, families, careers, and friends—entering any place he can find a slightly open window or door. He is a master at choosing the exact targets that will bring us great grief, confusion, and heartache; and unfortunately, at times, he enters our lives with such force that it knocks us down and out. Never believe for a second that Satan’s attacks are not calculated. He has a plan of spiritual warfare—a plan to damage our joyful hearts and diminish our peace of mind. 

The recently-released movie, War Room, illustrated a young family who was being attacked by Satan. Priscilla Shirer, Christian speaker and author, played the leading role as the wife, mother, and businesswoman who was struggling to keep her family intact. In her moments of desperation and discouragement, she was encouraged by a prayer warrior to fight the devil’s scheme by creating a strategy—a prayer strategy. She fought off Satan by converting her beloved closet to a war room (aka prayer room) where she posted notes, letters, and scriptures on the wall, but more importantly, a room where she spent hours upon hours reading the Word and praying to God.  

In Priscilla Shirer’s new book, “Fervent,” she shared that the movie producers had encouraged her to be vigilant in praying for her own family during the movie-making process. Since her grandmother had taught her the value of prayer, she fully understood how Satan could steal her joy by attacking her family; however, she openly admits that she had no idea how much the on-site shooting would affect some of the dynamics in her family. Priscilla said, “By the time we made it through our final wrap on the film set, we were exhausted, not just physically but relationally.”

Isn’t it interesting, it doesn’t matter who we are, how grounded we are in Christ, or how many years we have been serving Him, Satan is a master at gnawing at our faith, family, and relationships. Anytime we follow Jesus, Satan is all over us throwing spears of jealousy, self-absorption, bitterness, arrogance, fear, doubt, and resentment in our direction.

Stay strong, my friends! Put on your boxing gloves! You cannot let Satan invade your space and have the satisfaction of winning, especially when it pertains to your marriage, your family, or your relationship with God.

As we strategize our prayer lives, it is important for us to remember that we have a powerful, burglar-proof security system—our creator, our God. He is all-knowing, loving, sovereign, holy, merciful, and filled with grace! My friend, there is no “room” for Satan to invade your house if your heart is filled with faith in Jesus Christ!

Sarah Meece is a survivor. Having weathered numerous life-threatening events—from bullets to breast cancer—Sarah definitely credits her survival to God’s grace. After retiring from education, Sarah has devoted her life to glorifying God. She founded Sarah Meece Inspires.