Growing up, I heard countless stories of people being afflicted by curses, strange illnesses, or misfortunes — even death — brought upon them by local deities invoked by their enemies. Although I did not encounter these things first-hand, I have seen on national television juju men struck with machetes yet remaining unharmed, or handling fire without being burnt. The Ghanaian—the African—is thus well acquainted with the reality of evil forces.
In the traditional Ghanaian worldview, you keep good news to yourself for fear that an ‘enemy of your progress’ might jeopardise it through witchcraft or sorcery. People do not share when they are attending interviews, expecting a child, making visa applications, or about to travel. The Ghanaian lives in perpetual fear of being harmed by the ‘evil eye’—even from within their own family.
A Biblical Worldview
The first audience of the New Testament was not so very different from us. Many had come from pagan backgrounds, having been exposed to sorcery, witchcraft, and the worship of false gods (see for example, Acts 19:19). It was therefore all too easy for them to import the practices and beliefs of their former lives into their newfound faith in Christ.
Several passages in the New Testament call for a new perspective and worldview, using the pattern: ‘you used to walk in these ways, but now…’ (Eph. 5:8; Col. 3:7–8; Titus 3:3–5). We need our minds—our perspectives, our entire worldview—to be transformed through knowledge. This is what Romans 12:2 calls the renewing of the mind.
A God-Entranced Perspective on Biblical Warfare
In Part I of this article, we called for a God-entranced worldview, saturated in the sovereignty of God, to permeate our prayers. This does not mean denying Satan’s power. The Bible acknowledges that Satan and his demons are always at work (1 Pet. 5:8–9), and that he has the power to instigate painful persecution and, at times, even to kill Christians (Rev. 2:10). But the great comfort is this: Satan cannot do anything apart from God’s sovereign permission.
The biblical worldview is that spiritual warfare is normal—there is nothing extraordinary about it. Ephesians 6:16 calls us to:
In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.
The way to extinguish Satan’s darts—the way to do warfare—is simply to stand firm in our faith. It is faith in the Sovereign God that quenches Satan’s missiles. And the way we go on the offensive is by wielding the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Eph. 6:17). This means believing everything God says about Himself, about us as His children, and about Satan. The truth is that God is sovereign over Satan and his cohorts; we are hidden in Christ in God; and Satan is a defeated foe.
Doing Warfare Biblically
In light of God’s sovereignty, prayers for protection or deliverance need not dwell unduly on Satan. Our Lord once said to Peter: ‘Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers’ (Luke 22:31–32).
The word ‘demanded’ in the ESV can be easily misunderstood. The Greek root is equally rendered ‘to ask earnestly’ or ‘to request insistently’. In other words, Satan is asking God’s permission to have Peter delivered into his hands—which means he does not have the power to touch Peter in the first place. This reaffirms what we said earlier: whatever power Satan wields is entirely within the limits of God’s sovereignty. He cannot touch any child of God unless God permits it.
A text that unequivocally cements our security in Christ is John 10:28–29, where our Lord declares:
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
All Scripture is precious—sweeter than honey and the honeycomb (Ps. 19:10)— yet I confess I am tempted to call this the sweetest promise in all Holy Writ. Jesus here assures believers that they will never perish: their salvation is eternally secured. And as if that assurance were not sufficient, He adds that this security is doubly guaranteed in the might of the Father—there is none greater than He; the Father’s grip on His people ensures that no power can destroy them or wrench them from His sovereign, loving protection. Satan may do his worst, but he can destroy only the body; he can never touch the souls of God’s people (Matt. 10:28). And even that limited power is always constrained within the bounds of God’s sovereignty.
It is for these reasons that I believe the approach to ‘warfare’ propagated by the ‘dangerous prayer’ movement we talked about in Part I of this series does not square with the biblical perspective. When the Bible speaks of ‘weapons of warfare’, it points to standing on the truth of God’s Word in order to demolish strongholds of false belief—the distorted thinking that held sway when we were ignorant of God’s promises (Eph. 4:17; 2 Cor. 10:4–5).
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, (2 Cor. 10).
God Is Glorified When We Depend on Him
One final thought regarding praying for our needs. At the close of Part I, we asked whether God-entranced prayer precludes praying for our daily needs. In response, we turn to the Lord’s prayer, a model prayer Jesus gave His disciples. Of its six petitions, only one concerns physical provision—yet from this we understand that our Lord fully expected His people to bring their daily needs to Him: food, shelter, clothing, and all that is necessary for life. God is glorified when we depend on Him in this way, as creatures who look to their Creator for sustenance. Psalm 145 says as much:
The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made. All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you! They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds and the glorious splendour of your kingdom… The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing… He fulfils the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.
The Psalmist celebrates the goodness and mercy of God, summoning all creation to give thanks and His saints to bless Him. And among the glories of His kingdom that they are to proclaim, the Psalmist lists God’s faithful provision to all who look to Him. There is, then, a way of asking for provision that glorifies God—a posture of utter dependence and reliance that honours Him. He delights to fulfil the desires of those who fear Him.
Conclusion
Too often our prayers fixate on Satan, inadvertently giving him more credit than he is due. While we do not deny that Satan is at work to frustrate God’s agenda—which he cannot, we have clear biblical warrant that he cannot act outside of God’s sovereign rule and reign. We resist him, therefore, by standing firm on God’s promises. That is how we wage war as believers — wielding the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Such prayers are saturated with the sovereignty of God.
And it is God’s honour to provide for His creation. As His children, He is glorified when we depend on Him for our needs.
