The year is 2002. You’re with your mates in the woods. The sun is shining, you're off your head on Capri-Sun, and everyone’s having a good time. Your role is to defend the oak in the centre of the clearing, and because you were out last round, you’re now captain of the guard. But it’s all good. You’re quite savvy at taking other people out, calling them out, literally and metaphorically.

Your senses are heightened. Adrenaline starts to build as the quiet of the forest carries an eerie sense of the unknown. Where are they? Classic Julie makes a run past the log, but her pace was always questionable. The notorious are ousted first, and the critically acclaimed Nobel Hiding Prize goes to the same mate every summer. But will it be the same this year?

Now it’s just you and them. Everyone else has already been spotted, and the stakes are higher this time. If you lose, they take champ. If you win, it’s victory for the rest of the holidays. You’ll be laughing in your Reeboks. They’ll see.

Then a bang and a clang sends you off. You make chase toward the bushes. And just when "Supreme 90s Superstar" is about to become your official title, you realise you’ve been roused.

Billy No-Mates has done you over. The sound of a piece of wood thrown in the wrong direction was all it took to send you the wrong way. And now Billy has made haste to the oak base, with which he has now been bestowed eternal glory. There will be no Party Rings this time around.

I wonder if our spiritual lives can take the same form?

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You see, everyone had a different name for that game back then. But I think we all suffer from the same principles when it comes to engaging in warfare with the enemy.

Yes, it is right to combat the enemy using the Word of God. Yes, it is essential that we recognise we have been given authority to take down the enemy's schemes (Luke 10:19). And yes, it is right to be aware of very real scenarios where all the trying, attempts, and self-help we can muster don’t seem enough. We must critically acknowledge that there may be something deeper at work. What if there was a demonic influence attempting to rob, steal, or destroy?

In these very instances, it is imperative to combat.

In Acts 16, there’s a woman going around causing trouble, accusing the disciples, mocking them, and their authority. And it says, ‘She kept doing this for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.’

I’ve often remarked that this had been going on for a few days, i.e., Paul had actually been putting up with this for a while. That niggle, that lie, that whisper, that accusation- sometimes it can take a while to tune into the frequency of that voice to recognise that not only is it not God’s voice, but it’s a voice that smells like sulphur, a voice we must take captive. And yet Paul put up with it for a few days. Perhaps he shouldn’t have?

I wonder how long we’ve been putting up with something that we should be addressing?

For me, this is the first and most important priority: Acknowledge the enemy’s schemes. Combat against them. Repeat.

However, there are some instances where we play right into the enemy’s hand. There are times when I’ve been singing along, and only on further appraisal do I realise I’m actually singing from the enemy’s hymn sheet.

It’s like Mob Mob 40/40. Billy No-Mates throws his stick. And what do we do? We run after it.

We get pulled into the distraction, while something else far deeper, far more cunning, is going on.

Our focus has been taken away from the real war and drawn into a petty play that makes more noise than it does power.

We’ve become a puppet toward what the enemy wanted all along. We’ve been directed by his course rather than using a different tactic.

What if we flipped the script?

What if we engaged in warfare in a different way?

Yes, we should pray about everything, but that does not mean we engage with everything the same way.

What do we need to do?

We need to discern what is a distraction and what needs to be demolished.

Discernment is key.

I fear that we can spend a lot of time praying about issues, then on to the next, then on to the next fire we need to put out. And then the other struggle. The next piece of disunity. The next naysayer. The next Karen with purple hair (spiritually speaking). And while we’ve been busy ‘addressing’, we’ve actually been taken on a course that has been plotted by the enemy all along.

What should have been a moment to stand guard, what should have been a watchtower moment, has turned into a sport of tennis, playing into the enemy’s hand and allowing him to plot the course of our attention.

Sometimes the best warfare is keeping calm and carrying on.

After all, why is he creating the warfare in the first place? It’s to strategise against Kingdom advancement.

And so, rather than getting pulled into a dogfight, perhaps first discern: Is this a distraction or something we need to demolish?

“I am doing a great work and cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” (Nehemiah 6:3)

While rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah is persistently harassed and lured by his enemies (Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem) to come down and meet them.

Nehemiah refuses to engage or be distracted by his enemies' manipulative tactics. He discerns their intent and stays focused on God’s assignment, choosing not to be drawn into pointless dialogue.

Next time we find ourselves in that situation, consider: In this moment, do I need to be coming down or should I be coming up?

As leaders, it is imperative that we gain spiritual altitude to survey the lay of the spiritual land. What is really going on? What is really behind this issue? Is there something else?

That way, a God perspective allows us to exercise and employ action based on His authority and His understanding.

What if there were areas where we needed to advance, i.e., we need to keep building the wall, and rather than coming down, we must continue?

Because the work we’re a part of is too important. And the enemy knows that.

The question is: Will we come down to the enemy’s level, or will we take it captive and keep building forward?

Is the Enemy Choosing Your Prayer Life?