Summary

Have you ever wondered what are the types of spiritual warfare you are actually fighting? When multiple things go wrong all at once—your thoughts start spiraling, your kids are inexplicably bickering, and you feel completely exhausted—it is so easy to feel overwhelmed and assume you are simply failing as a mom. But what if you aren't failing? What if you are simply in the middle of a targeted spiritual battle?

In this episode of the Arise Women of God podcast, host Tamara K. Anderson and prayer warrior Kari Anjewierden help you diagnose exactly where the adversary is striking! We break down four distinct categories of spiritual warfare: the warfare of the mind, the warfare of the home, the warfare of weariness, and the warfare of culture.

Discover why the adversary rarely uses frontal attacks, preferring instead to whisper lies to corrupt the simplicity of your trust in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3). Learn how to recognize when the enemy is using the "Warfare of Weariness" to slowly drain your energy so you are too tired to pray. Most importantly, Tamara shares how to combat the slow drift of cultural warfare by creating a daily rhythm of truth in your home (Deuteronomy 6). Tune in to stop panicking and start executing God’s unique battle plan for your family today!

Episode Takeaways

• The Warfare of the Mind (2 Corinthians 11:3): The adversary rarely launches an obvious physical attack. He uses subtle whispers and intrusive thoughts to corrupt your trust in Jesus Christ. This creates constant mental chatter and an internal war!
• The Warfare of the Home (James 3:14-16): A family united in Christ is a powerhouse of light, so the enemy tries to wedge discord between you and your husband or trigger sharp arguments with your teenagers to isolate everyone.
• The Warfare of Weariness (Daniel 7:25): The enemy doesn't always tempt you with sudden sin. His primary tactic against mothers is slow, relentless exhaustion designed to "wear out the saints" so you are too drained to stand guard. Self-care is battle prep!
• The Warfare of Culture (Deuteronomy 6): Cultural warfare is a slow, quiet drift. The adversary normalizes compromise through media and peer influence. If you do not intentionally disciple your children at home, the culture will happily disciple them for you.

Free Resource: A Woman's Guide to Spiritual Warfare

Get our free A Mother's Spiritual Defense Guide: 6 Empowering Steps to Fortify Home & Family downloadable pdf here: https://www.womenwarriorsoflight.com/A-Mothers-Spiritual-Defense-Guide

Reflection Questions

• Review the four types of spiritual warfare (Mind, Home, Weariness, Culture). Which one feels like the heaviest front line in your family right now?
• Are you currently experiencing the "Warfare of Weariness"? How can you prioritize self-care or rest this week as an act of spiritual battle prep?
• What is one specific cultural boundary (e.g., shutting off a specific show, adding a 5-minute devotional) that you can implement today to better protect your home?

Host & Guest

Tamara K. Anderson @tamarakanderson

Kari Anjewierden @karaleeanjewierden and @pocket.miracles

Transcript

https://www.womenwarriorsoflight.com/blog/what-are-the-types-of-spiritual-warfare

Hey my friend, have you ever wondered what are the different types of spiritual warfare? Because when multiple things go wrong, maybe all at once, your thoughts start spiraling, your kids are bickering and you feel completely exhausted.

Boy, it's sure easy to feel overwhelmed and assume you are failing as a mom. This is a difficult situation because you want to know what kind of attack you're facing and how to fight back.

Well, you are in the right place and by the end of today's episode, you'll know four distinct categories of spiritual warfare how to diagnose where the adversary is striking and how our Savior Jesus Christ equips you to reclaim your family, your heart and your home. Let's dive in Ordinary Women Extraordinary Faith When God calls, we say yes.

The Arise Women of God Podcast welcome back to the Arise Women of God Podcast. I'm your host, Tamara K. Andersen, and joining me today is the wonderfully amazing Carrie Angewerden.

Carrie is an author, motivational speaker, mother of six, and an avid seeker of everyday miracles who love sharing hope across the world. And I'm thankful she's here with me.

As we talk about the different types of spiritual warfare, here are the specifics of what we will talk about today. First, the warfare of the mind two, the warfare of the home three, warfare of weariness and number four, the warfare of culture.

Let's begin with the first category of spiritual warfare, which seems to be the most common, the warfare of the mind.

In Second Corinthians 11:3, Paul writes, But I fear lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

The adversary rarely launches an obvious physical frontal attack, and instead he uses subtle whispers to corrupt the simplicity of your trust in Jesus Christ.

Perhaps he drops an intrusive thought that loops in your head, whispering lies like you're failing your children, God doesn't hear your prayers or things will never get better. Let's listen to Carrie share how the adversary weaves these mental attacks with our natural human weaknesses to create an internal battle.

In Romans 7:22 23 it says, For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind. Man, let me just tell you what I wore in my mind all the time.

There is always a conversation going in my head and sometimes it's hard to quiet it down.

I'm learning that mental chatter Carrie described often spills over into our second category, the warfare of the Home, which manifests as family division and unexplained bickering. In James 3, 14 and 16, Scripture warns where envying and strife is, there is confusion in every evil work.

The enemy knows that a family united in Christ is a powerhouse for light. So what does he do? He tries to wedge discord between you and your husband or trigger uncharacteristic sharp arguments with your teenagers.

He wants you walking on eggshells so everyone isolates into their own corners.

Let's listen to Carrie share a vulnerable story about a road trip with her sister and how they paused the contention before the enemy could divide them.

It reminds me of this trip that I took with my sister last summer. We were gone for three weeks. We were in England. We're driving on the wrong side of the road and in a space that is foreign to us. Beautiful.

But as siblings often do, you've pushed each other's buttons your whole life.

And we get in this tiny car together for days on end, and we're driving places, and it didn't take long before we were sniffing at each other, like, kind of almost at each other's throats a few times. And I was starting to feel this contention and this turmoil, and I'm like, what do I do with this?

Because I'm feeling this way, and I don't want to feel this way.

And I finally, one night went into her room, and I just said, okay, we need to hash this out because we still have, you know, another week or two of this, and we can't be at each other's throats while we're doing this. We came because we love each other and we want to spend time together, right?

And so it was so good to be able to talk it out and to see that some of the things that I thought she was directing my way were her own insecurities of feeling. You know, she's going to judge me for this, or. And we were kind of doing it back and forth to each other. Like, she's judging me for this.

No, she's judging me for that. But when we could talk it through, we realized, oh, we're both on the same page. We're just coming from our own place of trauma.

And when we were able to air that and the truth came out, the rest of the trip was lovely. You know, when it came down to it, it was, I love you, and I want to be with you because I love you, and none of this other stuff matters.

What a beautiful example of stepping back from division to reclaim love. Our third category is one of the most subtle and dangerous the warfare of weariness.

In Daniel 7:25, the prophet reveals a major tactic of the adversary. Listen carefully and shall wear out the saints of the Most High. Notice the phrase wear out the saints.

The enemy doesn't always try to make you fall into sudden sin.

Often his primary tactic against mothers is slow, relentless exhaustion, designed to make you too tired to pray, too drained to read your scriptures, and too overwhelmed to stand guard. So taking care of yourself is actually preparation for battle. My sisters, let me repeat that. Self care can be battle prep.

Look at this story of David in 1st Samuel, chapter 30, verses 1 through 8. When David and his men returned to Ziklag, the enemy had burned their city and captured their families.

The men wept until they had no more power to weep, and they even talked of stoning David. It was the ultimate attack of weariness, grief, and exhaustion. What did David do at rock bottom?

Verse 6 says, But David encouraged himself in the Lord, his God. He sought the Lord, marched out in faith and recovered everything the enemy had stolen.

So when the attack of weariness hits your home, encouraging or empowering yourself in the Lord Jesus Christ is how you initiate the turnaround. Perhaps you can remind yourself this scriptural I am strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.

Finally, our fourth front is the warfare of culture the subtle ideological pressures, moral confusion, and secular currents designed to slowly pull your family's hearts away from God's word. Cultural warfare is rarely a loud, violent collision. It is a slow, quiet drift.

The adversary tries to normalize compromise through media, entertainment, peer influence, and worldly philosophies until our families stop noticing the shift in the spiritual climate. If you are not intentionally discipling your children at home, the culture will happily disciple them for you.

Look at the divine counter strategy God gives us in Deuteronomy 6, verses 6 and 7 and these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart.

And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. Notice the cadence of that defense. It isn't an occasional Sunday lecture. It is an ongoing daily rhythm woven into the fabric of your home.

When you speak God's truth as you drive in the car, sit at the dinner table, and tuck your kids in at night, you create a spiritual firewall of faith. Oh my friends, the world shouts loudly. But as Proverbs 22:6 promises.

When you intentionally train up a child in the way they should go, that foundation anchors their soul when cultural storms rage. You cannot control every voice in the world, but through Jesus Christ you have complete stewardship over the spiritual threshold of your home.

My invitation for you today is simple.

Go to Heavenly Father in Prayer and ask Lord, what is one specific thing I can adjust or eliminate today to better protect my personal and family battle line?

Whether he prompts you to shut off a specific television show, replace background noise with worship music, initiate a 5 minute devotional, or simply ask your teenager a deeper question, act on that whisper immediately. One small shift in your home's spiritual boundaries can change the eternal trajectory of your family.

Oh my sister, now that you know four types of spiritual warfare the mind, the home, weariness, and culture you can stop panicking and start executing God's unique battle plan for you and your family. If you want a step by step framework to fortify your home, run a vulnerability audit and break the cycle of weariness.

We at Women warriors of Light want to put our complete digital guide directly into your hands for free down in the show notes below. I invite you to click the link to download your free copy of a Mother Spiritual Defense Guide, six Empowering Steps to Fortify Home and Family.

Inside it, you will find the Is it Mine?

It's a three step mental health hack to help you discern between biological or physical fatigue and the spiritual darts that the adversary throws at your mind. You'll also find the not to do list.

This is a powerful tool to help you prayerfully eliminate distractions so that you can protect your energy for what matters most. Download your free copy today on our website. Oh my dear sister, you were never called to fight these battles in your own strength.

You are clothed in the armor of God and our Redeemer. Jesus Christ has already overcome the world. When weariness strikes, encourage yourself in Him.

Stand firm on the battleground of your home and watch his light push back the darkness through you. Thanks for joining me today and until next time. May you arise and do it God's way.

God Strong if today's episode helped you feel a little closer to God, please like and subscribe. It helps us grow and ensures Heaven's whispers. Stay at the top of your feed whenever you need them most.