I received a text from a friend yesterday morning. “Please pray,” she asked. After giving her absolute best in delivering the message that God had given her  for the church, there had come a swarm of lies, little doubts, little niggles and nagging voices. Whispers of “not enough” unsettling a heart that should be at rest under her Father’s proud smile.

I prayed. But I also got angry and said, “Enough!”

This scenario has been much too common and way too familiar as of late.

From the start of October on I have been bombarded almost non-stop with old insecurities, doubts, uncertainties, specifically around my teaching and speaking and leadership. At first I said I was just tired and when I’m tired I’m just more anxious and insecure. But this has moved beyond a little bit of tiredness.

And then, one by one, friends have asked me to pray, or over a cup of coffee or glass of wine they have shared their recent struggles with the barrage of lies and questions around their teaching, speaking and leadership. And most of these friends are mature in their faith, have dealt with the roots of these old lies and insecurities.

So why? What is going on? Why so many of us? And why now?

We know we have a enemy, yes. But here’s the thing. Our enemy is not more powerful than the Spirit living and breathing within us. But he needs to look like he is. So he deceives, he lies. And he does what any bully that is actually afraid does – he gets you distracted with yourself and feeling bad about yourself so that you then start to feel like he is a bigger deal than he is. C.S. Lewis paints a great picture of this in his classic book, The Screwtape Letters.

But I am not writing this to focus on one who is unworthy of our focus. Instead I want to focus on a passage of Scripture – Ephesians 6:10 – 18 in The Message:

“And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.”

I notice patterns. And there is a pattern right now of a heavy battery of lies coming against those who have said a Mary-like “yes” to God’s invitation into leadership, and to using their mouth to equip others and to proclaim God’s freedom.

I think we should allow this to actually encourage us because this is a tell-tale sign of the enemy’s fear – it means God’s kingdom is advancing! This is simply the enemy’s response to a ‘rising tide’ of prayer and hunger for the presence of God happening across our world right now.

But if we are going to continue to advance and not “drop out or fall behind“, we need one another like never before! This is not a time for trying to handle things on our own. This is a time for taking all the help we can get – from God and from one another.

So at this time let’s keep our eyes and ears open and be watching one another’s backs. Let’s be paying attention to one another, building one another up in love and with words of affirmation. Let’s be praying for one another and allowing Holy Spirit to speak his life-giving words of truth into one another’s lives, reminding one another of the single greatest truth of who we are – children of God.

Let’s fight this battle being waged against us – but let’s fight it with truth and love, together as one Body.