Waging Prophetic Warfare: Engage Fully in the Battle

You have probably noticed that spiritual warfare has increased—and is increasing in the last days. It doesn’t take a prophet to discern the raging culture wars, the bold rise of principalities like Jezebel, or the spirit of the world that has settled into a front row seat in far too many churches.

Whether we like it or not, we are in a war.

Indeed, passive Christianity is no longer an option for those who want to live victorious lives, especially in this world where antichrist agendas are pushing all things of Jesus out of the public square and sexual immorality is celebrated rather than mourned. We have moved from peacetime Christianity to wartime Christianity. Of course, we are not wrestling against flesh and blood but against principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual forces of evil (Eph. 6:12).

Although the enemy is unseen, it is very real. Whether you are new to spiritual warfare or you’re an expert warrior, the days in which we live demand full engagement in the battle. We do not have the luxury of retreating and hoping the darkness will not overtake us. There is no cease-fire in the spirit. The devil will not back off and call a truce if we lay our weapons down and take off our armor. Quite the opposite; if we give up the fight, we essentially surrender to the evil forces that are warring against our minds, our bodies, our families, our finances, and the fullness of our destinies. But we are not going to do that!

Here is the problem: many believers are finding that the spiritual warfare tactics they have relied on in the past are less effective—or not effective at all—in forcing the devil to flee.

Yet I know that James 4:7 is true: “Therefore submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Sometimes it feels like I am submitting and resisting with everything in me, yet stubborn devils refuse to obey the Word of God. At times I have wondered if there is a line of demons in formation waiting to step up and take their best shot when one is forced to flee in the name of Jesus. If so, that means we have to live a submitted-resisting lifestyle to hold back the darkness.

I want to rally the troops—the prophetic warriors. I want to reveal to you the power of the end-times spiritual warfare arsenal. God is calling prophetic warriors—those empowered by His Spirit, flowing in the gifts of the Spirit, walking in the fruits of the Spirit, and enforcing the will of the Spirit—to the front lines. Are you ready for the challenge? I’ll guarantee you this: if you will press into paradigm, you will see even old enemies finally flee.

End Times Prophetic Insight

The signs of the times are all around us. Some are questioning if we are in the beginning of the Tribulation. Others are sure we’re at least at the beginning of sorrows. Still others suggest that some of the trumpets named in the Book of Revelation have already sounded. I don’t know about all that, but I do know this: Jesus expects us to discern the signs of the times, and the signs I’m seeing convince me that we’re in the end times. Consider Paul the Apostle’s prophecy:

“Know this: In the last days perilous times will come. Men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, slanderers, unrestrained, fierce, despisers of those who are good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying its power. Turn away from such people” (2 Tim. 3:1-5).

Beyond the dying birds, earthquakes, floods, droughts, famines, beached sea lions, blood moons, wars, rumors of wars, the rise of false prophets, abounding iniquity, health epidemics such as Ebola and the bird flu, microchip implants, and the like, it is obvious that the love of many has grown cold (Matt. 24:12). Police officers are shooting civilians. Massacres are becoming commonplace. Racists are burning down church buildings. And radical Islam has declared war on most of the human race.

The spiritual war is manifesting in the natural like never before seen in our day. Although we can’t pray the end times away, we can rise up in the name of Jesus and wage spiritual war against everything that opposes God’s will. Of course, that means we need to discern what the will of the Lord is.

And that means we need to tap into the prophetic realm to get supernatural intelligence directly from the Spirit of God. God is calling prophetic spiritual warriors to the front lines.

Now is the time to shed some new light on Joel’s prophecy about the last days. For decades we have shared it and declared it, but until now I hadn’t seen beyond the surface level of the prophecy:

“And it will be that, afterwards, I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. Even on the menservants and maidservants in those days I will pour out My Spirit. Then I will work wonders in the heavens and the earth—blood and fire and columns of smoke” (Joel 2:28-30).

I believe those prophetic manifestations are part of the end-times prophetic warfare arsenal. Many have pulled back from the battle lines—and even broken rank—because of wounds sustained in battle. But God is raising up a new breed of prophetic warriors—Special Forces—who will march in tandem with the Holy Spirit and see victories. The key to triumph is to follow the Holy Spirit’s battle plan and timing.

Excerpted from Waging Prophetic Warfare: Effective Prayer Strategies to Defeat the Enemy, by Jennifer LeClaire (Charisma House, 2016).

Jennifer LeClaire is senior editor of Charisma. She is also director of Awakening House of Prayer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, co-founder of awakeningtv.com, on the leadership team of the New Breed Revival Network and author of several books, including The Next Great Move of God: An Appeal to Heaven for Spiritual Awakening;Mornings With the Holy Spirit, Listening Daily to the Still, Small Voice of God; The Making of a Prophet and Satan’s Deadly Trio: Defeating the Deceptions of Jezebel, Religion and Witchcraft. You can visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer onFacebook or follow her on Twitter. Jennifer’s Periscope handle is @propheticbooks.