By Dr. Francis Akin-John

One of the most basic principles of Satan is: smite the shepherd and the sheep will scatter. Therefore, ev-ery church leader will face spiritual attack from Sa-tan and his demonic ho-sts. Spiritual warfare is a reality (Eph. 6:10-20) for church leaders. Every leader will face personal battles as you attempt to do the work of God and bless others.

Unfortunately, many mod-ern day ministers only see the glamour, titles, dress-ing and packaging side of ministry, not realizing that there will always be spirit-ual attack from the devils.

Based on my years of stu-dying, teaching and practi-cing this subject, here are some anecdotal signs of attack I’ve seen – particu-larly, if not primarily, on those Christian leaders who are taking steps of faith to get the gospel to a lost world:

1. Unusual marital and family conflict. I’ve seen some of the healthiest ho-mes face surprising strife when they take strong steps of obedience to God. Church leaders Mar-riages are particularly a target. Strife, quarrel, un-faithfulness and separat-ion can erupt. It’s enemy attack to discredit you.
2. Recurring and unin-vited temptations. For example, the man who has lived in purity for decades is shocked by past images that suddenly erupt in his head. Battles won long ago erupt again. Sexual tempta-tions are rife for church leaders.
3. Strong discourage-ment and defeat. One day, hope and faith res-ounds; the next day, dis-belief and struggle reign, at least temporarily. Noth-ing has changed, except the enemy is attack-ing.
4. Crippling doubt. You may have been moving in faith for some time, but you begin to hear mess-ages like, “God is not go-ing to use you. You’re not going to make much differ-ence.” The enemy’s goal is to get you to quit.
5. Team disunity. From the Garden of Eden, Satan has sought to turn people against each other. A div-ided team doesn’t pose much threat to the enemy.
6. Personal isolation. Under attack, even extro-verts will sometimes with-draw in the battle. The pro-blem is that leaders who fight battles alone most often lose.
7. Changing focus. Satan has a way of turning faithful believers away from the blessings of obedience to the potential loss because of obedien-ce. “Look at what you’re giving up,” he says.
8. Prayer struggles. Sometimes, the leader who has always prayed diligent-ly finds prayer unexpect-edly difficult as he moves into the front lines. Prayerlessness equals powerlessness, and the enemy knows that fact.
9. Reading distractions. The Word of God is the sword we use in the battle. Distractions that keep us from reading including the “good” work of ministry at times can be a tool of the enemy.
10. Demon hunting. This one might be a surprise to you, especially given the topic of this post. But, if you come out of this reading and find a demon behind every rock – a demon that’s causing every issue you face – you’re likely under attack. Satan has a way of distracting us by claiming more power and influence than he really has.

Ministry is not a playground, but a battle ground, therefore put on your spiritual armour to withstand all the fiery darts of the enemies.(Eph.6:10-18)