“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:10).

As I walked out of our hallway into the living room around 5:40 in the morning Greg startled me, “Whoa! What was that, a bird?” For a brief moment I though Greg was losing it, but then I turned to look at my curtains and sitting on top of the curtain rod sat a bat!

I shouted, “Greg that is a bat!”

Both of us jumped into action shutting doors to other rooms so the bat could not fly where the children were sleeping. I grabbed my camera hoping to get a picture, but every time I tried to take a picture the bat flew at me. I discovered that my feet move faster than the click of a finger!

Instinctively we turned on every single light in our living room and dining room. We had opened our front door hoping to coax it out. Without realizing it our entryway remained the only dark space left so the bat naturally flew toward the darkness. I tried one more time to take a photo, but the flash or my presence made the bat fly at me again. I jumped up a flight of stairs and ran as fast I could down the hall. The bat swirled around and fled our home out into the safety of the darkness outside.

Greg shared with me that the bat had flown just a few inches above my head as I entered the living room. Both of us instantly realized that this is exactly how spiritual attack happens. It swooshes over us when we least expect it. We do not know how the bat entered our home, but it did. Maybe it entered through the cracked pane of glass on our fireplace. And last night I held the patio door open for a long time for a doggie that refused to enter and over the weekend we had a garage sale. While we were loading things in and out of our house the door was open for hours. We provided three entry points for the bat.

Isn’t this the same for spiritual attack? We can have cracked beliefs that allow false truths to enter that steal us of the truth in the WORD of God. We can also provide an open door for someone or something that allows other things to enter our world. Sometimes we simply open wide the doors to our lives without protecting ourselves against the enemy that seeks to enter. No wonder the LORD tell us to be alert and to always keep on praying for the saints once we have put on the armor of GOD (Ephesians 6:18). We forget to be alert. Sometimes we forget to put on our armor. Other times we forget to pray and we don’t make it a regular habit to pray for the saints and sadly we forget to abide in the Spirit of GOD. Each of these allows that which is not of GOD to enter our lives unawares.

Where do you have a crack, an open door or unguarded place that might allow the enemy of GOD to enter?


Father, make us alert in all occasions to the cracks in our belief systems, to the doors we have opened that allow things to enter that should not be in our lives, and to the places we have left unguarded. In Jesus’ Name, AMEN!

Tara Rye, 8/19/09

Do you ever feel out of balance spiritually?

Establishing a stable stance spiritually is crucial to our ability to stand firm in times of difficulty or trial. A stable stance can keep the most awkward from falling. Standing firm provides balance. A sense of stillness portrays confident rest in the LORD. Psalm 46:10 reminds us that in our stillness we will watch and see the LORD is and will be exalted. Stillness brings the LORD glory when the focus is upon Him. By way of example in ballet, instructors constantly remind their students to find their focal point and remind them often to not lose sight of it because when a ballerina pirouettes multiple times her sense of balance will be shaken; however, “IF” she keeps her focal point as the center of her focus then she can spin without loosing her stability. Her stability is what enables her to enthrall audiences with the simplicity of how she spins and moves bringing a sense of awe to all who observe. The entire armor of God, a believer dresses in, is made up of the qualities or characteristics that are their personal resources obtained through a saving knowledge of the LORD Jesus Christ. The choice to focus upon Christ during times of spiritual attack properly attires a believer with the needed stability to withstand the attack of the enemy. Consequently, despite the circumstances surrounding them, those watching are able to observe with awe the glory of the LORD revealed through them as they take their stance.

What does your stance look like spiritually? Are others able to say I want to stand with him/her? Pray now asking the Father to give you a set focus upon Him alone and observe how your sense of stability becomes secure!

This is an excerpt from a paper I wrote on Spiritual Warfare (p.21).