Have you ever wondered why, each time you step onto the spiritual battlefield, instead of things getting better, they seem to get worse?
Back in 2014, when I first started learning about spiritual warfare and understanding the significance of dreams in revealing the enemies we face, I began engaging in midnight prayers. This was the time most recommended by my spiritual teachers because it's when many of the battles we face are planned and executed against us. Jesus Himself prayed during the midnight hour, setting an example for us to follow.
However, as I began these midnight prayers, I noticed something strange: instead of breakthroughs, things seemed to get worse. Sometimes, the enemy's attacks were so intense they scared me into thinking I was in over my head. Yet, I learned to press on, reminding myself of 2 Timothy 1:7: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."
By holding on to that truth, I eventually experienced victory.
Why Battles Seem to Get Worse Before They Get Better
As I study the Word today, I’m currently reading the book of Exodus. When I reached chapter 7, it struck me: many times, things seem to worsen in our spiritual battles because God can harden our enemies' hearts—not to defeat us, but to display His sovereignty and power.
This happens so we can gain confidence in His ability to deliver us. When God steps into our fight, He doesn’t just want to remove our enemies temporarily—He wants to completely wipe them out.
Take Pharaoh, for instance. When Moses first went to Pharaoh with God's message—"Let my people go, so they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness"—Pharaoh arrogantly responded: "Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I know not the Lord, nor will I let Israel go."
Instead of obeying, Pharaoh increased the Israelites' labor. Doesn't that sound familiar? When we pray and trust God to fight for us, things often feel like they're getting worse, and we start questioning if God is with us in the battle.
But look at God’s response to Moses’ complaint in Exodus 6:1-2: "Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand, he shall let them go, and with a strong hand, he shall drive them out of his land.' And God spoke to Moses, saying, 'I am the LORD.'”
God reassures Moses with these powerful words: "I am the LORD." It’s as though He’s saying, "Don’t worry, my child. By the time I’m done with this enemy, he will know the God you serve."
The 10 Plagues: A Blueprint for Victory
The story of the 10 plagues in Exodus is a perfect example of how God fights for His people. Let’s look at them and see what key lessons we can take from them.
God turned water into Blood, which plagued the land for 7 days. It poisoned all life in the rivers. Pharaoh’s magicians could not stop it.
God brought up frogs from the river to cover the land. When Pharaoh’s magicians did their own enchantments, it only increased the frogs even more.
Lice were the third plague and when Pharaoh’s sorcerers tried to do their magic and could not they told Pharaoh –“This is the finger of God.”
When God sent the flies, he covered his people from it so the flies only attacked the Egyptians. God knows how to shield us from any onslaught he sends against our enemies that are in our midst.
All the cattle of Egypt were destroyed while the Israelites were saved.
Boils so bad that the sorcerer could not stand before Moses.
Hail with Fire, which destroyed anyone out in the field along with all the crops.
Locust finished destroying everything the hail did not get.
Darkness upon the land for three days.
Death of all the first-born of Egypt.
With each plague, God showed Pharaoh His power while protecting His people. Here are a few key lessons we can take from this:
God Hardens the Enemy’s Heart to Display His Power: Pharaoh’s heart was hardened repeatedly, not to prolong Israel’s suffering but to demonstrate God’s sovereignty.
God Protects His People: Just as the Israelites were shielded from the flies, murrain, and darkness, God covers us in the midst of our battles.
The Enemy’s Repentance May Be Deceptive: Pharaoh often repented temporarily, only to revert to his old ways. The enemy may pretend to retreat, hoping we stop praying before the battle is truly won.
Here’s what you should now when you step into Battle
The enemy attacks because your prayers are causing havoc in his kingdom, much like the plagues troubled Pharaoh. Press on!
God promises in Exodus 6:1-2 to deliver His people with a strong hand. Fight with confidence, trusting in His power.
Sometimes, the battle takes longer than expected. If God calls you to a 7-day fast, don’t quit on day 4 because you think you’ve won. Stay the course!
God wants to rid you of your enemies completely—don’t let frustration cause you to stop short of victory.
Let Us Create Our Own Battle Plan
Before we dive into prayer, let’s take a moment to repent before the Lord and seek His guidance. Trust in Exodus 6:1-2 to build your confidence in God’s power to deliver you from any stronghold. Below is the battle plan I created for myself. Use it as a guide, but tailor it to your specific struggle. If your battle is not related to marriage, replace the references accordingly.
💡 Tip: If possible, try to pray at midnight. This is a powerful time to wage spiritual warfare.
My 21 Days Spiritual Battle Plan using God’s Great Army (the Plagues)
Confession: Father, if I am called by your name, and find favour in your sight, allow your great army to act on my behalf and obey my voice to fight against my enemies, as they obeyed Moses’ voice against Pharaoh in Jesus name.
1. Water to Blood (Exodus 7: 15-25)—You Pharaoh Spirit keeping my marriage in captivity, I command you to let it go now. If you refuse and try to turn the mind of my next potential husband against me, in order to make him run away and quit our relationship, I smite the rod of Moses into all your water supply, from the north, the south, the east, and the west. Let that water be turned to blood and cause all life in it to perish and let the waters become stink in Jesus’ name. Pray for seven days straight.
2. Frogs (Exodus 8:1-13)—You Pharaoh Spirit keeping my marriage in captivity, I command you to let it go now. If you refuse and try to turn the mind of my next potential husband against me, in order to make him run away and quit our relationship, I stretch forth the rod of Moses around all your borders. Over all your rivers, all your streams and ponds and call forth frogs to cover your entire kingdom. Let every witch or wizard in your kingdom who will try to use enchantment against me, by bringing forth their own frogs like the sorcerers of Pharaoh did, only increase the plague upon yourselves even more in Jesus’ name. Pray this for two days
3. Lice (Exodus 8: 16-19)—You Pharaoh Spirit keeping my marriage in captivity, I command you to let it go now. If you refuse and try to turn the mind of my next potential husband against me, in order to make him run away and quit our relationship, I stretch forth the rod of Moses and smite the dust of the land of your dwelling, let lice spread through your entire kingdom. Let lice cover you, and everyone in your kingdom and all your cattle from the crown of your heads to the sole of your feet. Let all your sorcerers be put to shame when they do their enchantments or spells, so that out of their own mouths, they will acknowledge like the Egyptians did – that this was the finger of God at work in Jesus’ name. Pray for one day
4. Swarms of Flies (Exodus 8:21-24)—You Pharaoh Spirit keeping my marriage in captivity, I command you to let it go now. If you refuse, and try to turn the mind of my next potential husband against me, in order to make him run away and quit our relationship, let the Lord’s army of flies be released upon your household, your servants, your allies and all those who aid you with evil devices and supplies to use against my life. Let flies cover your entire kingdom and the very ground you walk on. Father as you sever your people Israel so the plague did not affect them, Lord I ask you to cover me and my husband with the blood of Jesus so we are not affected by this plague in any way in Jesus’ name. Pray for one day
5. The Grievous Murrain (Exodus 9: 1-7)—You Pharaoh Spirit keeping my marriage in captivity, I command you to let it go now. If you refuse and try to turn the mind of my next potential husband against me, in order to make him run away and quit our relationship, let the hand of the Lord release a very grievous murrain upon all your cattle in the fields, your horses, asses, camels, oxen and sheep. Let all your wealth be corrupted and be destroyed. Father as you severed your people from the Egyptians so their cattle were not affected, I ask that you rid me and my husband of anything that is of the enemy so the effects of this plague will not harm us in any way in Jesus’ name. Pray for one day.
6. Boils (Exodus 9:8-11)—You Pharaoh Spirit keeping my marriage in captivity, I command you to let it go now. If you refuse and try to turn the mind of my next potential husband against me, in order to make him run away and quit our relationship, then like Moses, who took a handful of ashes and sprinkled it up towards heaven and caused boils to break forth upon the heads of every man and beast, I now prophetically take into my hands ashes, and sprinkle it up towards heaven. Let boils break forth upon your head, your households and upon the head of very spirit in your kingdom so that they will not be able to stand against me in order to perform their incantations in Jesus’ name. Pray for one day.
7. Hail with fire (Exodus 9:18-26)—You Pharaoh Spirit keeping my marriage in captivity, I command you to let it go now. If you refuse and try to turn the mind of my next potential husband against me, in order to make him run away and quit our relationship, I stretch forth the rod of Moses towards heaven and call forth hail and fire of the Lord to appear. Let this hail be even more grievous that what Egypt experienced, and smite you, your household, your co- conspirators, and destroy all herbs and trees in your kingdom now, in Jesus’ name. Pray for two days.
8. Locusts (Exodus 10:3-15)—You Pharaoh Spirit keeping my marriage in captivity, I command you to let it go now. If you continue refusing and keep trying to turn the mind of my next potential husband against me in order to make him run away and quit our relationship, then let locust be released all around your coast now. Let it cover the entire kingdom of darkness. Everything that the hail did not destroy let the locust now consume. Let the fear and dread of the Lord be released upon Pharaoh and all his associates concerning me in Jesus’ name. Pray for one day
9. Darkness over the land 3 days (Exodus 10:21-23)—You Pharaoh Spirit keeping my marriage in captivity, I command you to let it go now. If you continue refusing, and keep trying to turn the mind of my next potential husband against me in order to make him run away and quit our relationship, then just like Moses stretch forth his hands towards heaven and darkness cover the land of Egypt, which could be even felt, I now stretch forth my hands towards heaven and call forth darkness to cover the face of the demonic kingdom. Let this darkness be as thick as the darkness in hell that you Pharaoh and all the host of darkness fighting against me will grope around in the dark paralyzed in Jesus’ name. Pray for three days
10. Death of the First Born (Exodus 11:1-10)—You Pharaoh Spirit keeping my marriage in captivity, I command you to let it go now. If you continue refusing, and keep trying to turn the mind of my next potential husband against me in order to make him run away and quit our relationship, I have one more plague for you. Let the spirit of the living God arise in me now with vengeance and empower me to have victory today as Moses did with that final plague. Lord keep your word, which you spoke in Exodus 6:1-2 and let this enemy know that you are the Lord my God. As the enemy likes to plan and plot all their evil at the midnight hours, let this midnight be one of great moaning throughout the demonic kingdom, both in the sea and the heavenlies. Let the firstborn of Pharaoh, his witches and wizard, firstborn of all his beasts and the firstborn of all inhabitants throughout the kingdom of darkness DIE NOW. Let the Blood of Jesus cover me, my husband and our extended families, against the spirit of death that is passing through the land in Jesus’ name. Pray for one day.
11. Destroy my enemies forever (Exodus 14)—Father now that the enemy has released my marriage, thank you for being a faithful God and my deliverer. Lord, I know that the same way you caused Pharaoh to pursue the children of Israel in the wilderness in order to destroy him and all his army once and for all, you will also do in my case. When fear overcame the people, you spoke comfortable words to them through Moses in verse 13-14 saying, “Fear ye not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord: which He will show to you today: for the Egyptians you see today you shall see no more, forever. The Lord shall fight for you and you shall hold your peace.” There is no other God mightier than you Jehovah Sabaoth, who can part the red sea in my life, take my marriage safely through, and use that same red sea to wipe out all my enemies forever. Help me now to stand in faith, hold my peace, and watch you fight for me. Whatever I need to do in this moment, not to sabotage this victory, Father I ask you to help me do. Cover me, my marriage and my potential husband with the Blood of Jesus and guard our hearts and minds to be where you need us to be to have this victory in Jesus’ name, Amen. Pray for one day
Question: Did this post give you the confidence you need to not quit when you fight your enemies?
Check out this short video snippet from my spiritual warfare book- The Path of the Chosen Warriors on how to fight your spiritual enemies.
You can also follow my podcast that teaches everything about spiritual warfare on YouTube called: Spiritual Combat 101. Here's the link, please subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@SpiritualCombat101
Comments