What's Spiritual Warfare?
Sep 14, 2026Summary
Have you ever wondered what is spiritual warfare? When you are trying your absolute best to raise faithful kids and create a peaceful home, it can sometimes feel like you are swimming upstream against an invisible current. You might even feel like there is a target painted on your back! If you are exhausted and want to know who you are actually fighting, you are not alone.
In this foundational episode of the Arise Women of God podcast, host Tamara K. Anderson and guest Kari Anjewierden pull back the curtain on the unseen world. We dive into Ephesians 6 to reveal why your moody teenager, a difficult neighbor, or your spouse is never your true enemy. Discover the incredible reality of the invisible battle taking place around your home, and learn how to discern the opposing agendas of God and the adversary.
Tamara shares a deeply vulnerable story of surviving a midnight crisis with her son, Nathan, and how a simple prayer for angels completely shifted the atmosphere of her home. We also explore the story of Elisha in 2 Kings 6 to remind you that the unseen armies of heaven surrounding your family are vastly greater than whatever is coming against you! Tune in to learn the golden rule of discerning your thoughts and how our Savior Jesus Christ equips you to stand strong today.
Episode Takeaways
- The True Enemy (Ephesians 6:12): We wrestle not against flesh and blood! Your spouse, your children, and your neighbors are not the enemy. The battle is against organized, unseen spiritual darkness targeting your family's unity.
- You Are Never Outnumbered (2 Kings 6): When Elisha's servant panicked because they were surrounded by an enemy army, God opened his eyes to see the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire. Heaven's armies surrounding your home are vastly greater than the culture or crisis coming against you!
- The Battlefield of the Mind (John 10:10): The adversary is an active strategist looking for vulnerable moments to steal your peace and kill your joy. The most frequent everyday conflict plays out right between your ears.
- The Golden Rule of Discernment: How do you know if a thought is from God or the enemy? If a thought makes you feel small, ashamed, or trapped, it is not from God. If it enlarges you, brings you light, and points you to truth, it is from Heaven!
Free Resource: A Woman's Guide to Spiritual Warfare
Get our free A Mother's Spiritual Defense Guide: 6 Empowering Steps to Fortify Home & Family downloadable pdf here: https://www.womenwarriorsoflight.com/A-Mothers-Spiritual-Defense-Guide
Reflection Questions
- Read Ephesians 6:12. Who in your life have you been viewing as the "enemy," and how does recognizing the unseen spiritual battle change your perspective toward them?
- When was the last time you felt completely surrounded by a crisis? How can the story of Elisha and the chariots of fire give you courage today?
- Apply the "Golden Rule of Discernment" to your current thoughts: Are the things you are telling yourself making you feel small and ashamed, or enlarged and loved?
Host & Guest
Tamara K. Anderson @tamarakanderson
Kari Anjewierden @karaleeanjewierden and @pocket.miracles
Transcript
Tamara K. Anderson
00:00:00.640 - 00:06:37.420
Hey, my friend, have you ever wondered what is spiritual warfare?
Because you're trying your best to raise faithful kids and create a peaceful home, but sometimes it feels like you are constantly swimming upstream against an invisible current with a target painted on your back.
This is an exhausting and relatable situation because you want to know who you are really fighting and how to protect your family.
Well, you're in the right place.
And by the end of today's episode, you will understand the invisible battle taking place around your home.
Who is your real appointment, and how our Savior Jesus Christ surrounds you with an unseen army of angels.
Let's dive in Ordinary women extraordinary faith When God calls, we say yes.
Hello, and welcome back to the Arise Women of God podcast.
I'm your host, Tamara K. Anderson, and joining me today is the wonderfully amazing Kari Anjewierden.
Carrie is an author, motivational speaker, mother of six, and an avid seeker of everyday miracles who love sharing hope across the world.
And today we are pulling back the curtain on the unseen world to answer the foundational question, what is is spiritual warfare?
And here's what we're going to be discussing in today's episode.
First, the core definition of spiritual warfare found in Ephesians 6.
We'll also talk about the angelic hosts and what Elisha and the Chariots of Fire can teach us, as well as my personal story of angels showing up in a midnight crisis.
Third, we'll cover the opposing agendas.
What John 10:10 and Carrie Angel Weirden are going to teach us about who is for us and who is against us, and how to discern on those days when life is just crazy and chaotic.
So let's begin with the biblical definition of this spiritual battle.
At its core, spiritual warfare is the invisible battle between good and evil, light and darkness, God and the devil playing out in our everyday lives.
And what's at stake?
Nothing less than your eternal soul and the souls of those you love most.
If you've ever asked yourself, why does raising good kids feel like an uphill battle?
It's because it's a war.
Teaching truth in a culture drifting towards moral compromise is an active spiritual conflict.
Look at the divine reality revealed in Ephesians 6:12.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high place.
Sometimes we see characteristics of evil in the people around us and in ourselves when we're listening to the devil and his philosophies.
But we must remember that Satan and his angels are the true enemy.
Your husband is not the enemy.
Your moody teenager is not the enemy.
The teacher or neighbor who rubbed you the wrong way is not the enemy.
The battle is against organized, unseen spiritual darkness targeting your family's unity.
When you realize the battle is spiritual, it can feel overwhelming.
But scripture proves that you are never outnumbered.
One of my favorite scripture stories in the Old Testament is Elisha at Dothan.
In 2nd Kings 6, 15, 17, the king of Syria sent horses and chariots and a massive army to surround the city overnight.
And when Elisha's young servant woke up, walked outside and saw the enemy surrounding them, he panicked and and cried, alas, my master, what shall we do?
Elisha calmly answered, fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
Then Elisha prayed, lord, open his eyes that he may see.
And God opened the young man's spiritual eyes, and suddenly he saw the entire mountain full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha.
That is the invisible reality of spiritual warfare.
When cultural pressure or family crisis make you feel surrounded, Heaven's armies surrounding your home are vastly greater than whatever is coming against you.
I experienced this reality in a deeply personal way years ago with my son Nathan, in the early days of his autism diagnosis.
Nights were brutal.
One night, Nathan woke up crying and screaming, completely inconsolable.
I was running on empty and feeling so desperately isolated in the dark.
After several hours of trying to help calm him, trying every trick I and my husband knew to try, I finally fell on my knees again by his bed and wept, pleading, lord, I have done everything.
I don't know what else to do or what to even pray for at this point.
Please help me.
The whisper came.
Pray for angels.
And I did.
In that quiet room, my physical eyes saw only exhaustion and tears.
But a tangible, sacred peace entered that space.
I didn't see physical chariots of fire, but I felt the unmistakable presence of ministering angels surrounding me and Nathan.
Nathan's cries quieted, and my heart finally was able to calm down and steady.
And I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that heaven was standing guard in his bedroom.
Oh, my friend, you are not fighting in the dark alone.
The Lord Jesus Christ commands the hosts of heaven on your behalf.
So where does the everyday conflict play out most frequently?
Right here, ladies.
Right between your ears, in your mind.
In John 10:10, Jesus lays out the two opposing agendas.
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, to kill, and to destroy.
But I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it.
More abundantly.
Let's tack to that first Peter 5, 8, where Peter warns, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour.
Here is what Carrie Ann Jewerden has to say about this verse.
Kari Anjewierden
00:06:37.830 - 00:07:15.120
Spiritual warfare is necessary for us because we do have an opposition to the Savior and that is in the devil.
And he is like a roaring lion, you know, ready to destroy us.
That is his main goal, is to destroy us.
God's trying to build us up, Satan's trying to destroy us.
And so this spiritual warfare is teaching us skills.
It is building our character, it is building strength.
It is helping to create in us a likeness of God.
Tamara K. Anderson
00:07:15.520 - 00:07:32.880
Oh my friends, the enemy is an active strategist looking for vulnerable moments to steal your peace, kill your joy, and make you feel small and effective.
Let's go back to Carrie to share a powerful realization she had about how the battle of thoughts and words impacts our spiritual identity.
Kari Anjewierden
00:07:33.230 - 00:09:08.470
I had an experience this last week where I was in a therapy session and I started getting this download about my self worth and where I stood.
And in the middle of that, God was teaching me my importance as his child.
He taught me about the importance of words and that sometimes words make us feel guilty or make us feel shame and those can affect our choices.
If we are over emotional about something, our choices may not be the best choices.
And to be able to bring God into that and to help make the best choice.
Right.
But those choices then create action.
What is the action that I'm going to take because of this thing that has happened to me that maybe was hurtful or whatever?
Am I going to take it out on somebody close to me because I'm feeling sad or can I turn it for good and instead love somebody more?
Because I see my own insecurities and faults and somebody else also has those.
We're not perfect.
Right.
And God has already paid for those things.
And so this idea of just being able to let God lead those actions and make the choices that build us instead of the choices that make us small.
And if it makes you feel small, you can know it's not from God.
If it enlarges you, it's from God.
He's always building us.
Tamara K. Anderson
00:09:10.230 - 00:09:19.340
It just speaks to the power and the importance of being careful what thoughts we let stay in our brains, you know?
Kari Anjewierden
00:09:19.900 - 00:09:35.180
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Words matter.
Words.
Well, Christ is the word.
If we are using him as the pattern, as the example, our choices will always follow.
Right.
Tamara K. Anderson
00:09:35.420 - 00:11:54.560
Carrie gave us the golden rule.
If A thought makes you feel small, ashamed and trapped.
It is not from God.
If it enlarges you, brings you light and points you to truth, it is from heaven.
Spiritual warfare is not something we should fear.
When we recognize that the real fight is in the unseen realm, we stop fighting with our families.
We cast out the lies in our minds and we receive the spiritual armor of God God has already provided.
Oh my dear sister, once you know what spiritual warfare is, you can stop living in a defensive panic and start walking in daily proactive peace.
If you want a step by step roadmap to audit the spiritual environment for your home, recognize the enemy's devices more easily and establish an unshakable defense over your family.
We at Women warriors of Light want to put our complete digital guide directly into your hands for free.
Down in the show notes below.
Click the link to download your free copy of a mother's spiritual defense guide 6 Empowering Steps to Fortify Home and Family Once you have it, turn straight to step number three, Mastering Discernment, where you'll learn how to identify the subtle fingerprints of darkness versus the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
Also check out the Home Sanctuary Audit where you'll find practical steps to help you discern darkness and where it's sneaking into your living room.
And also use the Cast out the Adversary word for Word prayer script to help you clear the darkness from your home.
In the name of Jesus, download your free copy today on our website and fortify your home.
Oh my dear sister.
Remember you are not fighting for victory, you are fighting from the victory already won by our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
Open your spiritual eyes.
Trust those who are with you are far greater than those who are with Satan and the world and stand strong in God's light.
Thank you for joining us today and until next time.
May you arise and do it God's way.
God Strong.
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