I have served in lay Catholic ministry for the last eighteen-ish years, and in that time, I have learned some things. One of them is that if you want people to look at you like you might be crazy, bring up Spiritual Warfare. It works at staff meetings, parent meetings, football practice, or pretty much any place that people gather. Christians, as well as non-Christians, will give you the "confused dog look." You know, the one where they sort of cock their head to one side a little. You may even notice people step back just a bit, just in case. 

I have seen it many times, and you know what, it is a tragedy. Spiritual warfare is real. There is a devil. There are demons. They are active. They hate God, and they hate you. This is a truth taught by the Church. And yet, it seems to take people by surprise. I once knew a very wise priest who would say, "ah yes, we are all victims of the enlightenment." What he meant was, because we can explain something in the physical world through scientific means, we have become trapped in the idea that the only things that are real are those that can be explained through scientific means. 

The problem is, science is only good at dealing with phenomena that take place in the physical realm. Demons (and angels for that matter) are not material. They are spiritual. You are not purely physical, either. You are physical and spiritual. Science can not explain your spiritual reality. 

Why is this important? Well. The catechism of the Catholic Church tells us: 

This dramatic situation of "the whole world [which] is in the power of the evil one"makes man's life a battle:

The whole of man's history has been the story of dour combat with the powers of evil, stretching, so our Lord tells us, from the very dawn of history until the last day. Finding himself in the midst of the battlefield man has to struggle to do what is right, and it is at great cost to himself, and aided by God's grace, that he succeeds in achieving his own inner integrity.

In his letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul puts it this way: 

For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.

What the Church is saying here is that we are on a battlefield, and it is a spiritual battle. That is true whether we like it or not. That may sound. And, apart from Christ, it would be. But in Christ, it is something we need to be aware of, but not something we need to fear. 

The New Testament letters attest to something incredible. They declare in the Lord that in Christ, we are the adopted sons and daughters of the Lord. St. Paul says that we are "co-heirs with Christ." Because of that, we have authority in Christ over creation, and demons are creatures. They do not have power over us. In Christ, we have power over them. 

How does that work? We get some incredible insight into this in the account of Jesus' temptation in the desert in Matthew Chapter four. Immediately after his baptism in the Jordan, the Spirit of God leads Jesus into the wilderness. For forty days and forty nights, he fasts. By the end of that time, he is, as you might imagine, physically exhausted. The devil chooses that moment to mount an attack. 

Lesson One: Take care of your physical health. When we are tired, malnourished, or exhausted, we are less prepared to fight the spiritual battle, and the devil is an opportunist. He will attack when he believes he has the most significant opportunity to wound us. You can take away some of his chances by taking care of yourself. 

We would, however, be wise to take note of how the devil attacks. He does not appear as a ghastly beast, clothed in shadow, reeking of sulfur. No, there is no description of the evil one, other than what he says. 

Lesson Two: Most of the time, demonic attacks are not going to come physically or in an immediately recognizable way. In Genesis, the devil is described as the most cunning of the creatures. 

What the devil says is not so outwardly threatening. But, that does not make it any less dangerous. He takes truths and twists them into lies. Typically he does this to undermine the believer's faith in God or the believer's identity in Christ. The devil tries this tactic against Jesus. Look closely at what he says, 

" If you are the son of God, command these stones to become bread."

The lie is two-part. First, the devil tries to undermine who Jesus is in the Father. "If you are the son of God. . . " Second, he tries to get Jesus to place his trust in his power, instead of the Father's, "... .command these stones to become bread." 

Lesson Three: The devil will use the same attacks over and over again. In the Garden, the devil undermines God's authority, and Adam and Eve's faith in the Lord by making the Lord sounds like he is unreasonable and holding out on them. Here in Matthew, the devil tries to undermine the Father's love for Jesus, and he tries to get Jesus to take things into his own hands, rather than relying on God's faithfulness. He will use the same type of attacks against us. 

Jesus does not fall for it. He rebukes the devil's lies with truth. He quotes the scripture regarding God's provision. The devil does, not, however, stop trying. Jesus continues to rebuke each attack, and ultimately commands the devil to leave, "Get away Satan." 

Lesson Four: We should not tire of rebuking the evil one, and never enter into agreement with him. Jesus does not allow the voice of the deceiver to soothe him. When it is recognized, it is rebuked. When it returns, it is commanded to leave. That is precisely how we should handle spiritual attacks as well. 

• When the devil Whispers lies about who we are in Christ.

• When he holds condemnation over us for confessed sins, or wounds.

• When he seeks to undermine the Lord's authority in our life.

• When a spirit of oppression, depression, or attack comes against us. 

We need to do what Jesus showed us how to do. Rebuke the lies of the devil with truth, and command him to leave. 

Christ's life is a template for our new life. The Holy Spirit is calling us to live in him, as he lived. Spiritual warfare is a part of it. In Christ, we do not need to be afraid, but instead, we are called to stand in his truth, trusting in his mighty authority (that we have a share of), and in his name, we rebuke the deceiver.