The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians. 4:4

Paul is the apostle who most often mentions spiritual warfare in his letters.  In his letter to the church at Corinth he gives an explanation as to why so many people do not respond to the gospel.  He simply says that the god of this age has blinded their minds. He means that Satan, through lies and deception, has rendered them incapable of understanding who Jesus is, why they need him, and what sin is … in their own strength.

Satan is called the “god of this age” because the world worships him.  He is not deity; he is not eternal; he is a “god” with a lower case “g.”  And yet he has beguiled and deceived the great majority of people who live on this planet.  What we need to recognize is that many of the people we care about who are lost and have proven to be resistant to the gospel, are not bad people…they are blinded people.  What is most important to understand is that they are blinded by supernatural forces, therefore, they will only be able to see by the supernatural power of God.  If we expect them to hear the gospel, analyze it by logic and intellect, and accept it because it is a superior way to live…they cannot. 

Later in the same letter to Corinth, Paul writes, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:3-5). Notice he uses the language of war…wage war, weapons, divine power, demolish strongholds, and captivity.  But notice also that the war is taking place in the arena of the mind…arguments, pretensions, knowledge, and thoughts. And remember that Satan has blinded their minds.

Before we share the gospel with a highly resistant friend or family member, we need to enter into a season of spiritual warfare on their behalf. A season of praying for God to remove their blindness and give them spiritual sight seems prudent.  As in most cases, demons are also involved in maintaining the deception and erecting strongholds (belief systems) that oppose God’s truth.  Each time we try to share some of that truth with an unbeliever, some demon is whispering an objection to what we are sharing.  A season of commanding spirits to be silent when we visit with that person will be in order and our declarations of God’s word over them will weaken the enemy.  Sharing God’s word with them in a non-confrontational way will allow the seed to begin to take root.  

Like any harvest, it will take time for the seed to germinate and grow so we must be ready for a season of warfare rather than a few days.  We may need to forbid the enemy from snatching up the seed as Jesus points out in the parable of the sower.   We may need to pray for the Holy Spirit to guard and water it, and we may need to persist in loving some unlovable people in our lives.  We also need to guard ourselves against unbelief and discouragement as well.  As we pray for the salvation of another, Satan will whisper in our ears that we are wasting our time and that the person we are praying for is beyond redemption. He will discourage us at every turn so that the strongholds keeping our loved one in unbelief will not be dismantled.

Paul clearly declared in Ephesians 6 that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but spiritual powers.  Spiritual powers must be confronted by spiritual weapons. In many cases, simply presenting the gospel or showing another person Jesus through our love may need to be accompanied by spiritual warfare that prepares the ground. Power is certainly in the gospel but it is also in prayer and the authority of Jesus Christ.  When we pray, power is released toward the object of our prayer.  When we declare scripture, God’s word is released to fulfill its purpose.  When we command spirits, the authority of Christ does its work.  

When Jesus healed the blind he exercised authority and often cast out a spirit that was the source of the blindness.  Surely, when we want to free a spiritually blind person from their inability to grasp the word of God, we will have to do the same.  Blessings in Him.