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Have you ever noticed how the spiritual atmosphere of a room or entire house can change when a certain person enters?<\/p>\n
We all have it occur: a person with the right spirit brings joy, happiness, energy; a negative or oppressed person brings a negative \u201cvibe.\u201d They suck the spiritual \u201coxygen\u201d out of the room (and often out of those in it).<\/p>\n
Sometimes \u2014 too often \u2014 a person brings (and imparts) outright darkness.<\/p>\n
They say when the Russian dictator Joseph Stalin\u00a0entered a room, the whole place was palpably transformed, and not in a good way. Everyone was suddenly very afraid. It was not merely psychological. Can you imagine the presence of Adolf Hitler? If a person is hateful, jealous, sinful, or involved in the occult, the repercussions that are felt are not imagined.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany Christians have no idea how much the spiritual realm affects their health, thought processes, or daily lives,\u201d writes author Dawna De Silva in a book, Shiftin<\/em>g Atmospheres: The Spiritual Forces Around You; A Strategy for Victorious Spiritual Warfare<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhen Christians lack the tools necessary for identifying and rejecting the devil\u2019s schemes, they leave themselves open to demonic influence and attack.\u201d<\/p>\n Churches that remain ignorant of the spiritual realm, points out Dawna, \u201ccorrode internally as their blind leaders stand by unaware of the underlying spiritual attacks.\u201d\u00a0Indeed.<\/p>\n There are dark atmospheres\u00a0but also, as mentioned, good ones. In the presence of Maria Esperanza, many felt such joy they found themselves in a state of elation and even composing songs (Esperanza was born on the feast day of Saint Cecilia, a patron of music!).\u00a0And the ultimate example: Jesus.<\/p>\n It\u2019s right there that we find one of the strategies for combating spiritual oppression and attack.\u00a0Joy and peace.\u00a0Praise.<\/p>\n \u201cSent out as a disruptive signal, worship confounded the enemy\u2019s ranks and destroyed them so completely that the armies of Judah spent three days collecting spoil,\u201d Dawna points out, citing\u00a02 Chronicles<\/em>\u00a020:22:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAs they began to sing and praise, the\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0set ambushes\u00a0against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.\u201d<\/p>\n Worshiping (adoration) in the midst of our trials \u201cactually creates the breakthrough we\u2019re looking for,\u201d she notes.<\/p>\n If you find yourself in an oppressive, impossible circumstance, praising God may be your weapon of choice.<\/p>\n Make \u201cdeclarations.\u201d That is, speak victory upon what otherwise will become a defeat. Impart peace to the storm. In times of warfare, declare God\u2019s truth over you.<\/p>\n This illness will leave. This financial problem will be resolved. This disagreement will end. This roof will be fixed.<\/em><\/p>\n And then, of course: \u201cprayer and fasting,\u201d she says.\u00a0That brings \u201cdocumented signs and wonders.\u201d<\/p>\n Remember, \u201cthe battle is not yours but God\u2019s\u201d (2 Chronicles<\/em>\u00a020:14-14).\u00a0Turn the spiritual atmosphere around. Speak joy into yourself, amidst oppression. \u201cJoy, peace, and hope are spiritual weapons,\u201d\u00a0writes DeSilva. \u201cIn our fight against darkness, fruits of the Spirit like joy can carry us past the enemy\u2019s attacks\u201d and to victory.<\/p>\n +<\/p>\n![\"Image](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/5\/52\/Po_vodam.jpg\/250px-Po_vodam.jpg\")
\u201cIn\u00a0Mark<\/em>\u00a04, Jesus imparted peace to the storm,\u201d notes the author of this most useful and interesting book. \u201cHis inner reality became the atmosphere by which everything else shifted. The result was an instant calm and a pervading fear of God\u2019s glory.\u201d<\/p>\n
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