Curious about how to spiritually protect your family, but want a practical, non-scary approach?This post will tell you the basics and a simple way to start.
You’ve heard about spiritual warfare before…maybe from a church sermon, book, or friend.
But you’re wondering what it really is…
…what it means for you and your family
…and, to be honest, if it’s anything like the horror movies, where it’s super scary. (No thanks!)
If spiritual attacks are real, is there a way you can protect your family and home…and still have time to do the other daily momlife stuff?
You bet.
Spiritual protection doesn’t have to be scary or complicated – and it should play a regular, vital part in your Christian prayer life.
This post will explain what it is, how it affects your family, and give you a simple prayer to use.
*Note: this post is a foundational precursor to the free Spiritual Protection 101 series, where I offer valuable prayer resources and a video course giving in-depth how-tos tailored for family life. Opening soon.
Spiritual protection: the practical low-down
There are so many different terms when it comes to this topic – it can be hard to tell what’s what, right?
And you know, they’re all connected:
When you hear of spiritual protection, warfare, combat and attacks, they all refer to the temptation and oppression we receive from fallen angels.
We safeguard our hearts and homes through protection prayers in the Name of Jesus, as well as living in right relationship with God and His Commandments.
Deliverance, healing ministries, and prayer journey are when we go to Jesus, sometimes alone in prayer, sometimes with the trained help of others, to be healed from a recurring stronghold of a specific belief, behaviour, or memory.
In deliverance prayer, you would face the lies fed to you from the enemy in order to be free from the effects of the lie.
Spirectual protection prayers are invaluable to my prayer life, but I need to stress that the prayer below isn’t meant to be a quick fix and suddenly all your troubles will be over.
The lies behind warfare usually come through internal wounds, fears, or trauma. To be free once and for all takes time and patience.
Deliverance is a lifelong journey of interior conversion.
WHAT THESE TERMS MEAN IN REAL LIFE
Let me share a personal story to explain clearly:
My mom has a beautiful voice and gift for singing/songwriting and wanted to share her joy in music with me. She has received years of training from professional vocalists, but I haven’t.
So when I was a pre-teen hopping around the house belting out a song, she would stop me and teach me how to sing in the proper place in my throat, how to breathe better, how to develop my vibrato.
Her intention: better training = better use of my gift of singing = better sharing of my gift to others = more joy when I sing.
What I falsely interpreted from her corrections: my singing wasn’t good enough.
Because I never told her how I was feeling, she couldn’t change how she approached my singing or affirm me as a singer.
I let that lie of unworthiness take root in my heart; those roots affected how I sang with my mom.
My singing calibre changed when I was with her. I was hesitant, I would be too quiet, my notes would be sharp or flat.
The lie I believed became a stronghold, or chain, stopping me from sharing my gift and love for music.
Now let’s see how spiritual protection and deliverance apply to my example.
Spiritual attacks
When I got up to sing, I would get spiritually attacked through temptation and oppression of my voice.
- I would be tempted to believe the lie that my singing wouldn’t be very good
- I developed a bitter expectation that I would mess up before I even opened my mouth
- Instead of enjoying the beauty of the song, I’d worry about what others were thinking of me
- It was a struggle for my voice to emit sound. There was a sensation of pressure on my throat and lungs
- I suffered from anxiety days before an event, and self-criticism afterwards
In the beginning, I thought it was just “how I am” – I didn’t know how to recognize them as spiritual warfare or how to safeguard myself from them yet.
Spiritual protection
Once I learned more about these attacks, I wanted to know what to do about them.
- Before I went up to sing, I would pray for Jesus to cover the event in protection from any attacks
- I would choose to focus on the Truth of who I am. All I needed to do was sing for Him
While a good start, this spiritual protection was more of a counter-attack measure and an exhausting cycle.
They would attack. I would ask for protection to shoo them away. Repeat.
The attacks continued because I hadn’t dealt with the root of the lies and fears yet. There was still an opening in my heart where they could enter.
The next part of my journey, spiritual deliverance, offered healing from the original wound of thinking my singing wasn’t good enough.
Spiritual deliverance & healing
Years later, I discovered a beautiful process called prayer journey. This enabled me to find deliverance from this lie and receive healing from it, so I could finally be free to sing for God’s glory.
This could be offered as a big event at your local church, where someone gifted in this ministry comes as a guest, or in my case when someone trusted and trained invited me to their home.
- We prayed through the original memory and feelings I had of my mom correcting my singing.
- I asked for forgiveness for letting the lie take root and, even though I misunderstood her, I needed to forgive my mom for my healing
- We renounced any spirits behind the lie in the Name of Jesus
- I’ve asked for His blessing in my music ministry, however He wanted me to use it
After we went through this process, I felt so much lighter. The chains were lifted and I can now sing glorifying the One who freed me.
Now, you can have spiritual protection without the deliverance part…but to be fully free, alive, and whole as God’s beloved child, you need to journey through both.
You have to be willing to take your wounds, fears, and sin and bring them out into the light.
It takes courage, humilty, and trust in a good, good Father who wants to heal you.
And you have to be willing to accept that there is real darkness or evil at work, without falling prey to their weapon of fear.
WHY YOU DON’ T HAVE TO BE AFRAID OF THE enemy’s GREATEST WEAPON
While the Spiritual Protection 101 series is practical and matter-of-fact, there’s still a real need to recognize the enemy’s presence.
Most spiritual attacks are hidden and subtle – disguised as coincidences or behaviour.
But the scary stuff does exist. Because of my spiritual gifts, I’ve had a broad experience of the “more than subtle”, as well as my young kiddos.
If this resonates with your family and you’re struggling with feeling helpless or alone, you’re welcome to send me an email to talk about it.
It is real. You’re not crazy. And yes, it’s scary…IF you don’t know what to do about it.
But you know what?
The more I learned how to protect my heart and family, the less scared I became.
Jesus removed my fear once I started to fight for my kids. My inner Mama Bear came out when I focused less on the spirits behind the warfare, and more on Jesus who protects us.
how spiritual warfare looks like in family life
Like I said, my kids and I are spiritually sensitive and have consequently had extensive experience in spiritually protecting ourselves.
Some things we’ve struggled with, are working on, and/or have overcome?
- anger and over-the-top meltdowns
- repeating negative or anxious thoughts (+insomnia) and the inability to turn them off
- a series of “bad things” happening, like broken appliances, technological glitches, or car trouble
- distraction and foggy brain
- a sense of abandonment and fear of rejection
- an “unlistening” spirit with rules and instructions
- bitterness and stubbornness
- overwhelming emotions from a triggered memory
Yes, there could be a natural explanation for each of these things, like a health condition or you might have a really old lemon of a car. (In Spiritual Protection 101, I’ll teach you how to recognize the differences.)
But often there can be a spiritual root behind these events.
The enemy is real, present, and has a specific plan for you and each of your family members….but don’t let that jumpstart your heart and worries into overdrive.
Fear is one of their weapons…and one of the greatest lies they want you to believe: that the fallen angels are stronger and more powerful than their Creator… and that Jesus isn’t strong enough to break you free of their chains.
You are cherished, saved, and protected
What’s the Truth that counters that false lie?
That we have a God who saves.
God the Father has designed you and each of your children for a specific purpose in His Kingdom. Your personality, your gifts, your career, family, even your weaknesses.
The singular goal of the enemy is to attack your God-given Identity as His child and His plan for you so that you’ll fall away from Him.
They’re not randomly throwing up spiritual attack bombs hoping something will hit one of God’s children.
They have their own personal plan for you, by slipping through the cracks and open doors of our hearts in our moments of weakness, hurts, and fears, as well as from our tendency to sin and self-justification.
But you don’t need to be afraid.
There’s no need to focus on the darkness. You need to fix your eyes on the Light of the World who cares for you with tender compassion and delight.
But He needs to be invited in.
That’s where a practical plan of spiritual protection comes in.
EVERYDAY Spiritual protection is easier than you think
How can you start protecting yourself and your kids?
If you’re picturing having to call in the clergy each time or finding babysitters for long hours of deliverance sessions, you’re about to be relieved.
As a Catholic, I’ve often used the weapons of my Church to protect my family and home from attacks, like Confession, holy water, and had a priest come to bless my home.
And yes, for complex wounds, I’ve gone to Prayer Journey to get help from mature, trained Christians.
But I’ve also successfully been able to receive protection on the fly in my home too, using the principles I share in the Spiritual Protection 101 course.
Like when the soup’s boiling over on the stove, the phone’s ringing, I have one kid begging for math help, and I have another child losing their mind screaming upstairs and I know they need a Mama Bear to bring on a spiritual intervention.
Good news, mama.
There’s a simple and quick spiritual protection prayer I use when I need to deal with an attack quickly:
I take authority in the name of Jesus, and bind, double bind, and triple bind any spirits of [name the behaviour or unholy feeling]. I command you to be silent and place you under the foot of the Cross until Jesus is ready to deal with you as He sees fit.
Seems a little too simple?
There is power in the Name of Jesus and in the authority He gives us as His child and authority as parents over our children. That’s why this little prayer protects us and our kids so effectively when we say it in a spirit of humility and trust.
But keep in mind this prayer is only the first step of lasting freedom from strongholds. There are other actions to take on our journey to healing.
Keeping this prayer in your back pocket won’t be sufficient to set you and your family free from the struggles you’ve been going through. There’s a much deeper foundation and inner work you’ll need to do first.
Luckily enough, I have a few easy suggestions to get you started.
what to do to start protecting your family
Firstly, if you have any lingering fear about spiritual attacks, you need to admit it to Jesus. Bring your fears to His heart. Ask Him to lead you to freedom so you can grow in your identity as His child.
If you struggle with the idea of God as your good Father, consider my 40 Days to the Father’s Heart e-devotional. It was originally meant for the Lenten season, but only has a few references if you’re “off-season”.
Next, take the free spiritual protection series. I cover everything you need to get the full learning, tools, and support to spiritually protect your families – the non-scary way!
You’ll be able to easily start a beautiful, life-giving journey to fortify your heart and home.
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