"Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints" (Eph.6:14-18, NKJV).
One of the most important passages in scripture about spiritual warfare contains an interesting reference to the 'fiery darts' of Satan. Prior to a few hours ago, I had always assumed that this was exclusively metaphorical for spiritual and temporal opposition in life.
At around 3.30 a.m. - which is the time, I have noticed, that spiritual attacks often start on my household (and for which I am therefore usually prepared) - I was awakened to see a most spectacular vision which I might have described as beautiful were it not for the fact that it was depicting something evil.
I saw what looked like a meteorite shower, only these were not ordinary meteorites which burn white hot as they enter the atmosphere and (usually) disintegrate. They were balls of fire, but the fire was not ordinary, the flames - which were a blazing yellow colour - curling in a most unusual way as though embracing the sphere and giving off the occasional spark. They were hurtling through what looked like space - about a dozen at a time, and wave after wave of them - to violently impact some surface. There they did not explode but either vanished having left an impact crater, or simply were embedded in the surface which in constituency reminded me a bit of dough or thick mud. The surface was littered with these craters, which were small and deep.
As this extraordinary scene took place I was aware that these were the fiery darts of the Adversary alluded to by Satan. And the surface was by psychic body, I suppose, for I knew I was the target. The moment the attack began, I went into reflexive defence mode (this I am able to do even when asleep) and, invoking the Name and blood of Yah'shua (Jesus), returned what at first I thought were curses 70 x 7 fold to the sender.
But these were not in the nature of ordinary occult 'curses'. Though those sphere up until that moment of time when I reflexly went into prayer were instantaneously reflected, they did not multiply: they at once ascended from the surface and flew past the observing 'me'. After a minute or two of this, the bombardment ceased and I was viewing the scarred surface, and again reflexly went into prayer, but this time for healing. As I did so, the crater-like 'wounds' caused by the balls of fire began to seal over and heal one by one. I did not remain looking at this process because my attention was diverted to one of the sphere embedded in the surface.
The fire in the sphere had been extinguished, leaving a grey object whose surface reminded me a bit of pummy stone, only it was much rougher, and was pockmarked with small holes. I cannot say what happened to it as at that point the vision closed and I was left to ponder what I had seen.
This was not at all like a your typical demonic attack. There was no 'pressure' or 'pain' on the physical or psychic body, in spite of the earlier impacts, which did little more than dent the surface. Rather, I understood, the purpose of this attack was to simply tire me out - in which it singularly failed because of my state of preparedness for such things.
I suspect - though I can't as yet prove it - that such attacks by Satan are more-or-less continuous on spirituall born-again believers. And I also suspect that if we are properly armoured, in the manner prescribed by Paul, that such attacks will be harmlessly deflected from us. Where, under ordinary circumstances, they become apparent and are discerned in the sense in which I have always understood Paul's meaning - is when the Shield of Faith is down and the surface of our souls begins to be impacted.
I am reminded in some ways of a militart artillery barrage or bombing which is used to soften the enemy before a major attack. I suspect this is what this phenomenon is. When we allow our faith-guard to drop, there inevitably follows a series of pinpoint attacks by the demonic host on specific character weaknesses. At such a time it seems as though the enemy will overwhelm us. And indeed - unless we regroup and properly armour ourselves - he likewly will, especially if you are a person who has previously been in Satan's camp as a Satanist, Wiccan, or some other kind of dark servant.
It is worth daily going through the apostle's Ephesian checklist. Notice that this process always begins with 'truth' - a reality check, if you like - both in terms of our circumstances as well as making sure we are aligned with scriptural or spiritual truth. It is followed by an evangelistic covenant to be a witness both to any unredeemed parts of yourself and, of course, to the unsaved and those who are struggling in the faith. The third is faith - trusting Yahweh to be the Provider and militant Proptector ... knowledge and experience will be of no use at this point - this is simply child-like surrender and trust. Next comes the blood of salvation, without which it is impossible to defeat the enemy, followed by the offensive sword of the Ruach (Spirit), which are both the written Scriptures (Bible) and your marching orders from heaven there and then, with which to attack the Enemy. Finally, as a kind of overall bearing and spiritual posture, being in constant prayer and watchfulness - prayer led by the Ruach (Spirit) and not the psyche which we so often confuse with the the Ruach (Spirit) when we are not as acquainted with the Divine as we perhaps ought to be. And then, to remind us that this warfare isn't just about us but the whole Body of Christ - and specially, that part to which we have been attached in order to defend and edify: for we are to persevere, no matter how tough things may get, and to constantly remember the other believers who are likewise under daily assault and who need our intercessory prayers.
In regard to the latter, it is important that we are not too general (like interceeding for the whole Messianic Community) but allow the Ruach (Spirit) to guide us to pray for specific individuals, families and congregations. Ours is blitzkrieg spiritual warfare - we cannot take on the whole demonic host but must concentrate on specific points where important breakthroughs can be made. As believers, we have superior intelligence information to the enemy who relies on a fallible network of spies and spotters, since the Ruach (Spirit) is omnipresent (present everywhere), omniscient (all-knowing), and imnipotent (all-powerful).
Spiritual warfare is not white magick. We are not pitting our strength against others, nor are we 'summonsing' the Ruach (Spirit) to 'do' things for us. Many people coming our of the occult to Christ make this mistake. Rather, we petition the throne of Heaven, apply the blood of Christ, and take our marching orders from the Ruach (Spirit) in whom we are supposed to ptay always.
By following the instructions give, we are able to easily quench (put out, extinguish) the fiery darts of Satan and his deluded followers.