"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
- Ephesians 6:12
Articles define spiritual warfare as existing in the unseen, supernatural dimension, where God is all-powerful and Satan is in revolt. And though many, including Christians, do not believe in its existence, spiritual warfare is real.
Having had much personal and shared testimonies, Shanika Sutton, a God-gifted and spiritually-sensitive young woman, strongly believes that the warfare projects even into the personal lives of many who are struggling with sinful habits that they can't seem to outgrow.
"Since 2017, God has been teaching me that demons are always behind sinful struggles and that they are responsible for keeping His people bound in sin and preventing them from living a holy life before Him.
"Since then, I have been seeing what I would call 'spirit activity', so instead of only seeing what sins the individual struggles with or what their future entails, I now see and expose the demon hiding behind the scenes," she said.
Sutton, who worked as a lecturer before - according to her she was instructed by God to resign - recalled an instance when one of her then students constantly requested prayer.
She told Family and Religion that when she finally prayed for him, she saw 'homosexual demons' creating said thoughts in his head though he wasn't a homosexual - something that the student admitted after she shared what she saw.
"Another remarkable example that really convinced me all sinful struggles are demonic is when someone asked me to pray for her flatmate. When I did, I saw murder demons, demons causing her to cut herself, and suicide demons. When I told her what God showed me, she admitted that she was indeed suicidal and she has scars from cutting herself. Sometime after that, her roommate told me that she keeps a huge knife under her bed and she often expresses that she wants to kill. She also told me that she often writes notes about how much she wants to kill and how much she loves blood," she said, adding that this revelation came only as confirmation.
Sutton, who often uses her gifts to help others via social media, explained that oftentimes people struggle with pornography, masturbation, and heightened and unusual sexual urges, abuse of alcohol and drugs, not knowing there is a spirit behind it.
The 27-year-old woman of God shared that evil spirits tend to remain silent unless identified, therefore, it is important they be exposed and removed.
According to Sutton: "Many Christians are trying to live right, but find it so difficult because they have secret struggles and addictions. That's because there is an evil spirit behind the scenes that needs to be removed. Once we sin, we give evil spirits the legal right to dwell in our vessel and they will stay and wreak havoc if they are not told to go in the name of Jesus. It cannot be done if the carrier of the spirit is still entertaining it. Repentance and casting out of the spirit is necessary. The legal right given to it whether through sex, ungodly music, porn, ungodly TV shows , books, sinful conversations or even through the family line, must be revoked and it must be told to leave.
"Because sinful struggle is a spiritual struggle, deliverance ministries are so important in the body of Christ. It entails identifying and casting out the demon that has held the individual bound for years in the form of sinful acts. In other words, delivering the individual from the stronghold of demons, that's the only way to be set free from sin."