You’re in a Battle—Whether You Know It or Not

You are in a battle, whether you realize it or not.
In this episode of Behind The Mike Podcast, host Mike Stone uncovers the often invisible—but very real—realm of spiritual warfare. Drawing from Scripture, real-life examples, and the powerful imagery in Ephesians 6, Mike equips you with the tools you need to stand firm against the enemy's attacks.

📖 You’ll learn:
🗡️ What spiritual warfare looks like in everyday life
🗡️ How the enemy uses doubt, shame, and distraction to attack believers
🗡️ What Satan can and cannot do
🗡️ How to fight back using the full Armor of God
🗡️ Practical tips to stay grounded in truth, prayer, and godly community

🔔 If you've ever felt discouraged, distracted, or defeated… this episode will encourage and equip you to fight from victory, not for it.

✅ Don’t forget to Subscribe, Leave a Review, and Share this episode with someone who needs encouragement.

📧 Contact Mike or share feedback: [e-mail]

Visit https://www.behindthemike.net

#SpiritualWarfare #ChristianPodcast #ArmorOfGod #BehindTheMike #FaithOverFear #BibleTruth #OvercomingEvil #JesusWins #VictoryInChrist #ChristianEncouragement

⏱️ CHAPTERS / TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 – Introduction: The Overlooked Reality of Spiritual Warfare
01:07 – Two Big Questions: What is Spiritual Warfare and How Do We Win?
01:52 – How Frank Peretti Opened My Eyes
02:42 – Common Signs of Daily Spiritual Battles
03:13 – Ephesians 6: The Invisible War
03:43 – The Armor of God: A Breakdown
06:37 – How Satan Works in Today’s World
08:45 – What Satan Can Do: Temptation, Accusation, Deception, Distraction
10:15 – What Satan Can’t Do: He Cannot Win
11:32 – 5 Practical Ways to Fight Back
13:38 – Memorizing Scripture & Living a Life of Prayer
14:57 – Final Encouragement: You Are More Than a Conqueror
15:30 – Share, Review, and Stay in the Fight

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey friends, welcome back toBehind the Mike Podcast.
If you have any any topicsthat you would like to discuss
on Behind the MikePodcast, please email me at
[e-mail] .
I would love to hear from you.
That goes alongwith any feedback.
I would love to hearwhat your thoughts are
and your feedback on the show.
What you'd like to see.

(00:21):
Well, today we're goingto talk about a topic man
I think gets overlooked a lot,and we can see a lot of things
in our world todaythat are being affected
by this topic, and that isspiritual warfare.
You might not see it,you might not always feel it,
but it's happening.
It's happening in your mind.
It's happening in your homeand it's happening

(00:42):
in your relationships.
And the truth is, you're alreadyin the fight, whether you
realize it or not.
The question is, are you aware?
Are you fighting back or are youbeing picked off by the enemy
that you don't even realize?
So today we're going to answertwo big questions.

(01:02):
One, what does spiritual warfarelook like today?
And two, how can we fightand win?
So let's jump in.
I believe it was back in the 90sthat I read

(01:24):
a really amazing bookthat gave me a perspective
on this topicof spiritual warfare,
like I'd neverthought of before.
And that was by reading the bookby Frank Peretti,
This Present Darkness.
And it it really helped meto see what is happening
in our physical world,and also behind the scenes

(01:48):
of what's happeningin the spiritual world,
because both are very real.
We just don't seewhat's happening
in the spiritual world.
So picture this you wake upin the morning
and before you evenget out of bed,
your mind is floodedwith thoughts like, man,
I didn't sleep well today.
It's going to be a rough dayor you failed yesterday.

(02:09):
You're going to fail againtoday or something
like why bother prayingGod isn't listening anyway?
Friends, that is warfare.
Or maybe you'rescrolling Instagram
or TikTok or Facebookand the highlight reels
make you feelso insecure, bitter and envious.
That's warfare.

(02:30):
Or maybe you sit downand read your Bible and suddenly
you rememberI forgot to send that email.
I need to take the trash out.
There's laundry to finish, orI need to add this
to the grocery list.
That's warfare.

In Ephesians 6 (02:45):
12, Paul writes, our struggle is not against
flesh and blood,but against the rulers,
the authorities, the powersof this dark world
and the spiritual forces of evilin the heavenly realms.
We see some of this,very vivid in Scripture and,

(03:06):
I want to make surethat you understand this is not
about bad moodsor tough circumstances.
It is an invisible warthat we are fighting.
And it's personal.

1 Peter 5 (03:19):
8 says, be alert and and have sober mind.
Your enemythe devil prowls around
like a roaring lionlooking for someone to devour.
That's real friends.
So how do we fight?
Well, Paul gives usan incredible picture

(03:40):
in Ephesians 6,the armor of God.
If you grew up in church,you know this picture.
A Roman soldierwith a shield, raised
breastplate, gleamingsword at his side,
helmet strappedon, ready for battle.
Now Paul says, that'show you and I should be
spiritually dressed every day.

(04:02):
So let's go through those first.
The belt of truth.
A belt holdseverything together, right?
Without truth, nothing elsestays in place.
In a world that's drowningin misinformation and deception
and half truths, you need theunchanging truth of God's
Word to hold you. Study.

(04:24):
For example, when you hearyou'll never change,
you counter it withI am a new creation in Christ,

2 Corinthians 5 (04:31):
17.
That's the belt breastplateof righteousness.
The breastplate protectsyour heart, your affections,
and your identity, not your ownrighteousness, but Christ's
righteousness covers you.
So, for example,you lose your temper

(04:52):
with your kidsand Satan whispers, you're a
terrible parent,but you remember, Christ's
righteousness coversyour imperfection.
His grace meets you right there.
The shoesof the gospel of peace.
Roman soldiers had strong shoesthat allowed them to stand firm

(05:15):
on any terrain.
The gospel gives us peace,and it equips us
to carry that peaceinto a chaotic world.
For think about maybe at work,the gossip and the negativity
swirl around you,but you can stand firm
and even bring peacebecause of the gospel

(05:38):
shield of faith.
The enemy is constantlylaunching arrows,
fiery arrows, doubts,fears, accusations.
Faith lifts the shieldthat extinguishes them.
Think about when anxietyhits about money,
or your health,or about your future.

(06:00):
Faith says God is my provider.
He's got this.
Then we have the helmetof salvation.
The helmet guards your mind,your thoughts,
your identity in Christ.
So when Satan whispers,you are so unworthy,
you rememberI'm saved, I'm loved,

(06:24):
and I'm his.
And then the swordof the spirit.
This is the onlyoffensive weapon that's listed,
and it's the Word of God itself.
We see thiswhen Jesus was tempted by Satan.
He didn't argue.
He didn't negotiate.
He said, it is writtenand he quoted Scripture.

(06:48):
That's what we need to do.
Spiritual warfare today doesn'talways look dramatic.
It looks like the temptationto compromise your integrity
just a small thing.
No one will know.
It looks like the discouragementthat makes you pull
back from prayerbecause you think God's tired of

(07:10):
hearing from you.
It looks like the distractionsthat push your
quiet time to laterand then later never comes.
For example, you sit downwith your Bible and suddenly
you get flooded with reminders,texts, emails, random chores.
You forgot an hour later,you realize you didn't

(07:32):
even open up your Bible.
For those of youthat are believers, we
we understand.
In fact, this last episodewe talked about what happens
when we die and, you know, wewe understand that we have
this physical body that we allrecognize one another
through the physical body,but we also know
there's the souland we don't always
recognize the soul.
Right?
That's the part of usthat's being attacked.

(07:55):
So we don't always see it.
We don't always know it.
So remember when those thingscreep up in your mind
while you're praying,while you're reading God's Word,
or just while you'redoing something during the day
and all of a suddenyou're sidetracked,
you're discouraged.
That's not just busyness.
That's a battle.
Now, before wetalk about fighting against the

(08:16):
spiritual warfare,fighting against the enemy,
let's let's be very clearabout something here.
I want to answer the question,what exactly are Satan's weapons
and what can't he do?
Some people underestimate himand others overestimate him.
But here's the truth things thatSatan can do, he can tempt us.

(08:39):
We all know thatstarted in the Garden of Eden
and, in the wildernesswith Jesus.
Satan likes to twist the truthand he offers alternatives
that look goodon the outside, but they lead
to destruction.
For example, how aboutyou deserve this?

(09:01):
No one will know.
Just this once won't hurt.
How many times have we fallenfor those?
Another thing he can dois accuse us.

Revelation 12 (09:13):
10 calls him the accuser of the brethren.
He reminds you of your pastand he tries to
paralyze you with shame.
Things like you're not goodenough to serve
after what you did.
God could never use you again.
How many times have we fallenfor those lies?
He deceives?

(09:35):
Jesus said, Satan is thefather of lies.
And John 844, he plantsfalse narratives
about God, about you,and about others.
Another thing that he can dois he can distract us.
We're all guilty of this.
I'm sure he fills our mindsand our calendar

(09:56):
with urgent things,so you can never get around
to the most important thingsagain.
That's all.
Tactics of the enemy.
Now here's the important partto what Satan cannot do.
Well, Satancan't force you to sin.
We just talked about temptationand how he does that,

(10:18):
and he does it very well.
But the choice is always yours.
No temptation has seizedyou except what is come to man.
But God is faithful.
You will not be temptedbeyond what you can bear.
And, Satan cannot knowyour thoughts.
This is an important one.
Satan can't read your mind.
He can study your patterns.

(10:39):
He can see your habits.
He can see where yourweak spots are.
But he's not God.
He doesn't know your inner lifeunless you act on it
or speak it.
So be careful what you say.
You think about how you canobserve people
and figure things out.
Well, Satan is a masterat watching you and knowing

(11:01):
where your weak spots are.
Another thing,Satan cannot control you
if you belong to Christ.
Like if you're saved,you're sealed
by the Holy Spirit.
He can attack you,but he can't possess you
and he can't own you.
Satan cannot win.
We already know who wins.

Colossians 2 (11:21):
15 says, he disarmed the rulers
and authorities and put themto open shame
by triumphing over themin the cross.
The war is already decided.
Satan is a defeated enemyand he's just scrapping
and fighting for everythinghe can possibly get.
And he wants to take you down.

(11:42):
Remember that.
So how do you fight?
Well, well, here are fivepractical steps
that you can take today.
First of all, stay groundedin Scripture.
A lot of times I'll writeverses on post-it notes
or note cards.
Put them in your car,on your mirror.

(12:04):
Arm yourself with truththat you can draw
from when the lies come.
Memorized Scripture number twoguard your mind and your heart.
Ask yourself, is thisstrengthening my soul
or weakening my soul?
When you watch, when you listen,when you scroll,
be aware of his devices.

(12:25):
Number three make prayeryour lifestyle.
Think about asoldier's communication
with headquarters.
Constant updatesand instructions.
Prayer keeps you alignedwith your commander.
Number four don't fight alone.
Find godly friendsor small a small group

(12:46):
who can pray with youand for you.
In ancient battle, soldierslocked shields side by side.
They didn't fight alone.
And number five,stand firm and resist.
This is a comforting scripturefrom James four seven.

(13:06):
It says, resist the deviland he will flee from you.
When you standin Christ, he runs.
Scripture talks about prayingwithout ceasing,
and I think that I'vemaybe only experienced
that really the wayI think God intended it.

(13:27):
Once in my lifetime,I had a job that
I didn't have to thinka whole lot.
It was more manualwriting numbers down and things,
and I had a lot oftime to think.
And so I had a stack ofof index cards with the ring
binder on it,and I had written down scripture
with the verse, the chapter,and I would sit

(13:50):
and in between quicklittle changes
and equipment, I wouldI would look at a verse
and I would memorize it,and I would just sit
and rehearsethat over and over and
over and over until I got it.
And it reallydidn't take that long.
I'm not great with memory,but it really didn't
take that long for meto memorize that whole stack

(14:10):
of scripture.
It's amazing how God canrecall those things
and you bring them backwhen you need them.
So spend time in prayer.
Spend time memorizing scripturebecause God gives us
that to hide itaway in our heart.
There may be a day whenwe have our Scripture,

(14:31):
our Bibles taken away from us.
We need to have thathidden in our hearts
so that we can always fallback on God's Word.
So here's what I want youto come away with today.
We're in a battle, but you'renot powerless.
The enemy is real.

(14:54):
But so is your armor.
The fight is tough,but victory is secure in Jesus
this week.
When you feel tempted,recognize it.
When you feel distracted,pause and pray.
When you feel discouraged,remind yourself who's you are

(15:16):
and remember thisyou are not alone.
You're loved, you're equipped,and you are more
than a conquerorin Christ Jesus.
Thanks for spending timewith me again today.
If this episode encouragedyou or equipped you,
would you share itwith a friend?
Leave a review.
It helps so much.

(15:37):
We want to get the word outabout God's Word
and who you are in him.
Until next time.
Suit up.
Stay alert and keepfollowing Jesus.