Is there a spiritual realm, an unseen dimension to what happens here on earth? Is spiritual warfare just our imagination? Does what we do spiritually make any difference to what happens here on earth?
Understanding the reality of an unseen dimension that affects what goes on here on earth jolts us out of religious complacency and a legalistic, religious Christianity.
For many years we were involved in a church plant in the East End of London in the UK. At that point in time, the area was not the gentrified place it has since become. It was a very run-down, neglected area of around 120,000 people, with 93% government housing. The unemployment rate, if I remember rightly, was about 17%. Within our church, (effectively a network of home groups) we had maybe 10 or 12 people who had been out of work for some considerable time with no prospect of employment.
As a fellowship we decided that this wasn’t just a natural problem but it had a spiritual component to it. So in one particular gathering, we put all the people who were looking for a job in the center of the room, while the rest of us prayed for them. Someone suggested that we treat it like the battle of Jericho, so we actually marched round them 7 times, shouting praise to God the final time. Then we prayed for each person individually.
Were we crazy? It must have looked crazy to any outsider. But over the next few weeks, every one of those people found a job.
Another example from a similar time period: There were riots going on in London, and they were approaching our area of town. The fear in the air was so palpable, you could almost smell it. There was a small corner store across the road from where we lived, and I remember looking out our living room window and watching the owner board up the windows. In the front yard of the house next door, a young teenager was preparing his arsenal of weapons to throw. We pulled together a few people and started praying, using the spiritual weapons of praise and the Word, believing that God would intervene and that Satan had no right to come onto “our ground.” As we listened to the news, the reporters gave a street by street blow on which areas of town were affected. The riots stopped at the very first street we regarded as our territory.
The spiritual realm is real! In 2 Kings 6, when Elisha is under attack, surrounded by the troops of the enemy, he prays that his servant will see the reality of the spiritual realm. All of a sudden, his servant can see horses and chariots of fire. God delivers them from the hand of the enemy. We need to have our eyes opened to see what’s really going on.
I’d love to hear some of your stories too.
7 replies on “Is the spiritual realm real?”
I can vouch that spiritual warfare is true, Felicity. One occasion that comes to mind: I had to represent myself in court over a period of two years and was weary of the whole business. A friend used to come with me, sit at the back of the courtroom and pray. During what ended up being the final session, I also had to stand in the witness box and give testimony. Suddenly the whole atmosphere changed, I knew exactly what to say, and the other party crumbled. Even the judge seemed puzzled, and the case was dismissed. Later I asked my friend what she thought had happened. She answered, “Oh that’s easy. It was the angels!” I asked her what she meant, and she replied, “I saw huge angels standing all around the courtroom, against the walls. They were massive… and powerful. I knew then that everything was all right!”
That’s a great story, Ann, and a wonderful illustration of spiritual warfare. Thanks for sharing it.
I to can vouch that the spirit realm is real and spiritual warfare handy when you know how!
I got a phone call late one night from my sister who had just had her second son. He was experiencing breathing problems an had been rushed to ICU. My sister rang asking me to pray. I got of the phone and began to do warfare.
This was about 3am, has I was praying God showed me a spirit of suicide up stairs in my neighbours flat. Then God told me to command it to leave. I did an saw in the spirit realm when it left.
The next day my neighbour came down and said, ‘I was going to kill myself last night Marsha, I had all the pills ready then I heard your praying and suddenly blacked out’.
He woke up and threw the pills away.
I’m encouraged by your story of what you guys did for the unemployed. We live in a similar area in Nottingham. Just today I met a young man desperate and on the edge of returning to a life of crime. Because he can’t get work and his benifets have been stopped for 12 weeks!
We prayed for him and prophesied over him. He cried. Then we took his number. Now when we gather to pray this week, we will pray for the walls of unemployment to come down!
Marsha, I love how you talk about knowing how to conduct spiritual warfare. Tony and I quite often pray that God would train our hands for battle and our arms to bend a bow of bronze. There’s something about using/practicing spiritual warfare that makes us more proficient at it–like exercising.
Great stories.
I’ll pray with you that the young man gets a job.
Oh yea this spirit realm is no joke..that’s a big problem in the Christian realm these days..too many people say they believe in the bible and they go to church but taking this spiritual realm seriously ? I’ve been saved for 38 years and I’ve had countless times that if The Lord had not been present with me I would have been killed
When you live in the reality of the spiritual realm being real, it changes everything.
Many people talk about the realm of spirit, but not fully understands it really.. It takes a really pilot to land a plane safely.. There is this book call Deep into the Realm of Spirit.. Very interesting book.