After I had been serving with my organization for several years there were some glitches in my support. Checks were not getting to my account and supporters were getting confusing messages. In this long-ago time of no internet, I asked my stateside mother to call the office and inquire. The problem had already been solved and the staff member apologized profusely for the inconvenience. 

“We’ve really been experiencing a lot of spiritual warfare lately.”  

In recounting this to me my mom, who had been an office manager, exclaimed, “Spiritual warfare? Somebody messed up!” 

We are in a battle. Not a squabble or a struggle for tolerance. Not a misunderstanding. A war. Prayer, as John Piper points out, “is a war time walkie-talkie to call down the power of God in the battle for lost souls.” Jesus did not come to live, die and be resurrected to fix the world up a little and make us nicer. Scripture is clear. 

But stop. Before I find myself using ‘spiritual warfare’ as a final explanation for a situation, a friend suggested I ask myself a few questions. 

Have I just differed with another believer on a matter that is important to me? “That’s not a mountain to die on” can sound good at my team meeting but do I maybe have too many mountains? 

Have I just been blindsided with a decision or action that totally changes my world? 

Have I received criticism? Was their truth in it? 

Have I been sick lately? Could it be my failure to take care of myself? 

Am I late for the Bible study because of traffic or my lack of an alarm clock? 

Are the gate guards’ comments on my comings and goings something sinister or just some bored guys finding me entertaining? 

None of the above questions negates the existence of a battle between the Triune God and Satan. But my answers will be revealing. Am I quick to say ‘spiritual warfare’ instead of putting on His armor and using the “war time walkie-talkie to call down the power of God” into my own life?