Cancer: Encouragement for HealingSample

Day 8—Spiritual Warfare

We must consider that a significant portion of any illness, including cancer, is a direct fallout from our broken world and our enemy, the devil. The Bible reveals that approximately one-third of Jesus’s earthly ministry dealt with freeing people from demonic tyranny in their lives, including demonic spirits of infirmity (Matt. 17:15-18).

The devil can only be in one place at a time, so he works through his minions to do his bidding; however, they are extremely limited beings. Jesus destroyed all their weaponry upon the cross (Col. 2:14-15). In turn, the Lord gave us His authority over these principalities and powers in His Name (Luke 10:19).

God’s Word explains that we do not war against flesh and blood but against these demonic entities. We battle them from our position in Christ seated in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). But how do we fight them? Dick Eastman, president of Every Home for Christ, writes about spiritual warfare in this manner:

Thus, prayer is not so much a weapon, or even a part of the armor, as it is the means by which we engage in the battle itself and the purpose for which we are armed. To put on the armor of God is to prepare for battle. Prayer is the battle itself, with God’s Word being our chief weapon employed against Satan during our struggle.*

Ask the Lord to what degree the enemy is playing in your cancer diagnosis. Employing the authority of the Name above all names, speak Jesus’s name directly to the spirit that is afflicting you, commanding that spirit to leave and never come back. It is always helpful to back up your words with Scripture (Luke 4:4). If spiritual warfare is new to you, enlist the help of spiritual leaders in your life to pray with you and for you (James 5:14).

We find the crux of spiritual warfare in the Lord’s prayer, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10). We are inviting heaven’s rule to take place on earth in our situation. The Lord is always available to us, and He has given us many tools through His Word and the Holy Spirit to see our victories secured in His glorious name.

* Dick Eastman, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc. 2002), note for Ephesians 6:10-18.