Children and Spiritual warfare

[Guest seeknface38]

Hi, I'm new to this board and new to the entire topic of Spiritual Warfare, though I suppose I've been at it all of my life.

I read the post by Jaqueline and was amazed by the responses and the hope that she found. My question is this, our 12 year old daughter has been tormented by visions and presences around her all of her life. We have her involved with a wonderful Christian Therapist, but I don't understand so much of this.

How is it possible for this innocent child to be tormented? She gave her life to Christ a little over a year ago (praise God!!!), and the incidents seem to have slowed down. In times of great turmoil she's visited more frequently.

How do we help her? I read the Praise and Worship CD idea and loved it, but what types of prayer can we pray together? How can we give her the security that she so desperately needs? She's so frightened most nights that she can't even stay in her room!

I would sincerely appreciate any and all input. Thanks!

[Guest ReflectionsofHim]

First...welcome! The Jesus in me loves the Jesus in you!

Feel free to contact me anytime with personal messages and know that I will be praying for your sweet child and for all of your family.

I won't bombard you with advice, suggestions, Scripture, and so forth. You are sure to get lots of replies to your post! But I do want to share with you one of our Lord's most valuable resources for all of us, His children! It is important for all of us to be dressing ourselvs in the spiritual clothing the Lord provides for us. You will find it in Ephesians 6:10-18. There are 6 pieces in the whole armor of God and only ONE is a weapon and that is the Sword of the Spirit...which is simply God's Word aka Scripture. There could be many reasons why this is happening and I'm so comforted that you are getting Christian guidance counseling for your daughter and that she has also accepted Jesus as her personal Lord and Savior! Glory!!!

Praise BE to Jesus!!!

Anyway, I always tell people to put on their spiritual clothing, the whole armor in Ephesians, every morning when they are getting up and dressed in their regular clothing and to put it on outloud. The main reason I say to put it on outloud is because it is just refreshing and edifying to put it on by speaking it outloud. Many say it has no purpose, but I so believe it does! Pardon the simple example...but no different than saying outloud to ourselves anything that encourages us! Sometimes when I hit an obstacle in something I'm doing I'll say outloud "I can do this!" So, while there are more serious reasons for speaking the armor on outloud (which you can ask me more about in a personal message) there are just basic reasons that are for encouraging ourselves.

Well, as I said, I won't bombard you with lots of stuff, but I wanted, had to, share the armor of God with you. Spiritual warfare is the area of ministry the Lord has had me in most all of my life so it's in obedience to Him that I respond and share that vital part of His Word with you! There are some really wonderful books out about spiritual warfare and how to pray for various members of our family. I can recommend some to you only if you are interested and many of them can be found right there in your public library! Let me know if you want some guidance with those.

As a child I went through what your daughter is going through and as I said it can be for many various reasons. One thing is for certain, however, you all already have the victory over this through Jesus! We have authority through Him and the enemy and all his workers have to flee at the Name of Jesus. Just keep that knowledge upon your heart and in your mind at all times, put on and wear that armor, and know that there ARE people out here that love you, know what you are going through, and are here for you...truly here for you!

Love to you through our Jesus!!!

ReflectionsofHim aka Reflections/Ref

P.S. Psalm 91 is considered to be a prayer about and against spiritual warfare and has brought many much peace and hope!!!

Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.

[other one]

seeknface38 While I am nowhere near an expert in this, I have had a bit of personal experience.

First of all make sure it is a spiritual problem and not physical. It is possible to have something to effect brain chemistry that can produce these kinds of things. Extreme sleep deprivation can cause these things, I know from experience. I have also known of people who had food allergies that gave them bad experiences. Many other things that is a bit much to get into in a thread.

Beyond that if it is spiritual, it can come from many different ways. There are ways of opening up doors to the negative spiritual realm that can seem innocent. My neighbor when growing up got mixed up with a demon while playing with a Oji board at a friends birthday party.

Oji boards, tarot cards, some computer games or most any occultic thing can be a door from the demonic realm. It would be very hard to get into the kind of in-depth discussion on the net to discover the cause, if in fact this is the problem.

Make sure that your Christian councilor does not lean toward either end of the possibilities of physical or spiritual.

If it is spiritual, remember that not all demon entities are equal stature, for some require fasting and prayer to deal with. Something of this nature you might want to get many of your Christian friends involved. I think you have a few here.

Sleep, and I mean good deep sleep is very important for good mental health.

I might add though, if you have a Oji board or tarot cards in your home, you should burn them. Take care you don't take the house down with them

If I can be of any help just let me know. I'll have your daughter in my prayers for a while and if everyone else joins in maybe it will help.

Sam

[Guest seeknface38]

other one....

Thank you for your reply! We have nothing of the kind in our home. Since this has been happening since the child was born, I really don't believe it's anything that she's done. Honestly, I believe that there's a great call on this young woman. She's so full of gifts... it's amazing, even though I am a bit prejudiced !

I thank you for your prayers... and I will take all prayer cover that I can get. Our daughter has told the presence to leave in the name of Christ, and it will go... but it returns. Lately these things haven't materialized into a form, they've just been a presence. Before that, however, they were always right out in the open and very bold.

As far as her sleep habits are concerned, she doesn't sleep overly well and never has. She's too frightened! Even with a nightlight... she only sleeps well when she's sleeping in our room, or with me on the couch.

I hope that you'll feel free to discuss any knowledge you have with me. Please feel free to e-mail or pm me.

Thanks! seeknface38

[Guest aka_mary]

Hi seeknface 38,

I agree with you that there is probably a calling on your daughter's life. My husband and I have 4 chillins, and there is no doubt that 2 of them have a major calling on their lives. Both have experienced major attacks, and major victories. The supernatual seems to follow these 2 around lol.

We have several really good books on spiritual warfare. One that I would like to share here is by Barbara Wentroble, the book is called Prophetic Intercession.

Chapter 11 covers BACKLASH.

Websters dictionaries definition of backlash is a "quick, sharp recoil".

Considering the enemy is likened to a serpent or snake, we can understand this definition.

Here are her principles for preventing backlash.

FAITHFUL FOLLOW_UP

Many times we engage in powerful times of intercession, and when the victory is won, we let down in our prayer life. This is a time when we need to pray the most.

STEP BY STEP INQUIRY

Inquire of the Lord each step of the way. David demonstrated this principle.

GUARD YOUR HEART

After a hard battle it is easy to let anger, bitterness, or pride get in. We cannot afford to become bitter after a battle, the price is too high.

MAINTAIN CONNECTIONS

Maintain God's chosen connections in our lives. If the 'enemy' can get us to detach ourselves from the Body of Christ, he will devour us. Jesus understood this principle when he summoned the twelve to send them out in pairs. He was giving them authority over unclean spirits (Mark 6:7)

Intercessors are too often lacking proper spiritual protection. Leaving them vulnerable to spiritual attacks, deception, and the fiery darts of the enemy.

SPIRITUAL ACCOUNTABILITY

Be sure that you are accountable to spiritual authority. Accountability is a blessing from the Lord. It brings freedom.

Barbara goes on to say that Jesus promised to build His Church and said that the enemy would not be able to resist this Church (Matt 16:18). We can engage in spiritual warfare without fear or intimidation. The Lord has given us principle to follow that will provide protection from the onslaughts of the enemy.

I hope there was something useful in this information for you. I pray that you be strengthened, and encouraged. I also pray God's protection over your family. May the yolk of fear be removed from your daughter. Lord God reveal the areas that need to be addressed in this family. We call upon your intercessor's Lord to pray without ceasing. We claim victory in Jesus' precious name.

Blessings,

Karen

[other one]

I see, it does look spiritual and in a very forceful way. Your family will be in my prayers for some time. Looks like it is starting to be pushed away, and that is good, but we must not let your/our guards down; and she must never let her guard down for her whole life for they will be watching. (that sounds awful I know but it must be said)

May she lead many to the faith....

Sam.

[Guest LadyC]

seek,

children are, by nature, much more sensitive to the supernatural than adults are. and some are more sensitive than others. i was one of those.... always very aware of the supernatural realm and what went on in it. my oldest daughter was another. the difference between my daughter and myself though is that i didn't give my daughter as strong a foundation of faith as my parents gave me, and she became drawn to the wrong side.

what your daughter "sees" may not be visions. i can tell you story after story of things i recall seeing as a child, and i know without a doubt those things weren't just hallucinations. they were real. it's just that most people couldn't see what i saw.

my daughter, i will never forget her first experience seeing something supernatural. she was about two years old. it terrified her. i could tell you stories about her experiences over the years too. but i'll save all the stories for another time.

as for advice, the only thing i can tell you is to make sure you teach her that God is more powerful. and don't let her sense any negativity from you regarding her sensitivity. it is a GIFT.... it's called spiritual discernment. she has got to understand that she can call on the power of the Lord when she witnesses these spiritual battles, and that He is her strength and protection.

so many times in our society when people talk about the gift of supernatural sensitivity, it's championed as being a good thing... and it is! unfortunately, it's generally only championed by those who do not know Jesus. christians seem to treat this as a curse, and it's not! why? because God is supernatural! because there is a constant battle going on in the spiritual realm between satan and his minions and the heavenly host of angels! and the Holy Spirit works through those who are atune to this for intercessory prayer.... and that is extremely important!

make sure she is firmly rooted in her faith. if her christian therapist is treating this as a negative thing, seek out a therapist who can help her understand what she's going through and encourage her to use that ability for God's glory. seek out one who will affirm the importance of putting on the full spiritual armour of the Lord, and one that will encourage her to pray, pray, pray.

[Guest LadyC]

ps... i wrote my post before reading any of the responses. i see you've already recognized this as a calling... that's good!

[Guest seeknface38]

Lady C,

Oh! I so appreciate your passion and your response. I wasn't at all offended. What you said is so sound. Trust me, her therapist is ALL OVER THIS. She is constantly telling my daughter what a wonderful gift God has given her, and that the enemy is trying to scare her away.

My daughter is so young in her faith, and we've only recently found an awesome church... a body to which we belong (PRAISE!!! PRAISE!!!!) Since she's always wanted to go to church, it is no trouble to get her into the groups that are there, where she's accepted and not afraid to be who she is in Christ. I love her, I love her mighty gifts, but most of all... I love the One who gave her these gifts and will use them to the Glory of God.

Basically, I try to encourage this blessed baby in all of the ways that I can, I pray with her, for her, and it never fails that when she has an incident, the Lord awakens me so that I can meet her halfway. We go upstairs and speak the Word, trusting in the Lord.

The reason why I turned here is because I'm woefully ignorant about how to handle this correctly. As Jesus intended, I found wonderful encouragement, education, and edification. Thank you so much...

Much love,

MaryBeth

[Guest LadyC]

seek, it sounds to me that you're "handling" it just fine! :hug: