What is Meant by Unseen Spiritual Warfare and Struggle?

Our principle task as a Christian is our engagement in a spiritual struggle against evil. There is no option for compromise with evil. We must be prepared to battle every type of evil. This a battle that is an inner one. It takes place in our soul. Until we root out all sinful tendencies in our own soul we will not be effective in combatting evil external to us, the evil caused by others. We need to have as a motto to “battle with evil in my own soul.”

This battle is an unseen one because it takes place in our soul. Some mistakenly think this kind of effort is only for monks or clergy. Further, that it is not necessary for those living in a secular world to practice traditional guidelines for an Orthodox way of life. Instead of the unseen warfare in the soul, it is assumed we are to engage in external battles politically or otherwise, attacking the evil caused by others. But the reality is, if we were to all defeat the evil in our own soul we would live in a much different world. Archbishop Averky says: 

Only one who has battled with evil in his own soul can successfully wage battle with evil in general and, therefore, the battle with evil must begin in one’s own soul, with unseen warfare.

The standard for this battle is based on Jesus Christ. The reason He came taking on full humanity was to show us the significance of being made in God’s image, and a path to become like Him, united as one. He teaches us: 

Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. (Matt 5:48)

We are all to seek such holiness.

This battle is one that is unceasing. It is never finished. Evil is constantly around us with the devil and demons constantly tempting us to follow them instead of God. But Christ has given us the help needed to engage in this battle. He sent us the Holy Spirit which lives in us. This we need to trust and follow. We should be continually praying for this divine help. This combined with our own efforts will lead step by step to a victory over evil. This is the reason all the elements of the Orthodox way of life are essential. These can be found in our booklet, Ten Points for living an Orthodox Christian Life.

We learn from the Church fathers according Archbishop Averky that the following four dispositions that are needed:

Never rely on yourself.

Always have in your heart hope in God.

Work at This unceasingly.

Pray always.

The greatest difficulty we face is our self-asserting pride. Pride causes us to deny any weakness we may have. It works to protect a self-image of being perfect in the eyes of others. We tend to think of ourselves as something special and superior to others. This is the root, origin and cause of the passions that lead us to sin. The Apostle Paul says, 

Do not be wise in your own opinion (Rom 12:16).

Our loving God wants us to win this battle with evil just like Christ has. This is why He allows external afflictions and grief.  These make us aware of our insignificance and awakens us to our prideful condition. He may also enlighten us with His grace. He continually calls us in various ways to awaken us to our nothingness and to follow Him. 

What are we to do? First, we must observe our life experiences and see that we can’t seem to do good without God. Saint Peter of Damascus says, 

“There is nothing greater than to realize your weakness and ignorance, and nothing worse than not to be aware of them.” 

Second, we need pray for His help to see our weaknesses and raise our awareness that we need His help. Third, we should be aware that our salvation may be in jeopardy because of the crafty nature of Satan who can only be defeated with His help. Fourth, once we observe we have sinned, failed to live up to His ideal, we must immediately recognize our weakness and repent.

The key is to observe ourselves carefully, to be watchful, to awaken our conscience, to embrace the vision of Gospel love, realizing how much we need Him to help us in this struggle. We must have the firm belief in God as Almighty who can do anything. That He is Love and always ready to give us help. This is why He gave us His only begotten Son. We can observe in the Scripture how He always helped the most disadvantaged, like the woman who lost a single drachma.

Finally, remember that the battle with evil is within. We cannot rely on our own self-will alone. We must overcome pride and discover and embrace our weaknesses. We must trust in God. We must live a life of repentance.

Reference: The Struggle for Virtue, Chapters 9 & 10, Archbishop Averky

Ten points for living an Orthodox life

State of Hesychia

When we discuss Orthodox prayer we are often led to a discussion of  hesychia.  This is a very advanced form of Orthodox spirituality.  It makes up one of the last chapters in Saint Theophan's book, Path to Salvation.  What is it?

Hesychia is a state when there is a an inner stillness and one abides alone in spirit with God.
Saint John Climacus says,

"A hesychast is one who strives to confine his incorporeal being within his bodily house."

Saint Theophan says the hesychast is one who is,

entirely occupied with being with the one Lord, with Whom he converses face to face, like as a favorite emperor speaks into his ear.  This activity of the heart is surrounded and guarded by preserving stillness of thought.

This level of spiritual effort is very advanced and cannot be attained without first conquering our passions  This is an absolute prerequisite.  Hesychia only develops in those who have tasted the "sweetness of God," says Saint Theophan.  He warns us,

"neither earnest prayer nor inviolable activity of the heart can ever be achieved if the heart is not first completely disengaged from affairs."

Note that he says, "completely disengaged." Its perfection usually requires a period of isolation from worldly affairs in a monastic cell where we can be "completely disengaged." He continues highlighting the path and our need to remember that on the path the first steps must be directed to the taming of our passions.,

The path to this requires purifying from the passions by means of all the ascetic labors that strengthen goodness and exhaust evil in us.... Its essence is a completely undisturbed prayerful standing before God in the mind and the heart, by which fire is added to fire.

Saint John Climacus clearly warns us of taking any shortcuts. He says,

"He who is sick in soul from some passion and attempts stillness is like a man who has jumped from a ship into the sea and thinks that he will reach the shore safely on a lank."

Many of us pick up the Philokalia, which contains primarily advice to monks who are in a very advanced place along the spiritual path, and seek advice from these writers before we have mastered our passions.  In other words we attempt to take a shortcut along this path. Saint Theophan is trying to warn us against this temptation.  This is why a good spiritual guide is so important before entering into the practices of the hesychasts.  They will only be beneficial to us if we are properly prepared.

When we do develop the capability of Hesychia we become what is termed dispassionate.  Nothing will arouse our passions.  It is only one who is dispassionate can say, not I , but Christ lives in me (Gal 2:20), I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the [Orthodox] faith. (2 Tim 4:7)

Those who are able to perfect themselves like the hesychasts are those who are worthy of sincere communion with God.  These are  the people who we call saints.  Once achieving this state, they do not normally remain in an isolated state, but are sent by God to serve others who are seeking salvation.  They become guides and work miracles.

The last sentence in the last chapter on the ascent in the Path to Salvation reads as follows:
We know nothing higher or earth than this Apostolic state.  Here we conclude our overview of the order of a God-pleasing life. The next level of text of instruction would be the Philokalia and the Ladder of Divine Ascent.

May you all become a saint!

Now back to the work most of us need to do, so we can advance to this advanced state.  It is a narrow path demanding heroic struggles. May God support you in your journey.

Attaining Our Nothingness

Union with God is not possible without feeling like we are nothing.  But what is this feeling? I can't describe it myself. I imagine it's like knowing that whatever actions we take we can see that all actions are do to the work of God.  We  become capable to see this this reality in everything.  God's "invisible hand" that is at work in all things suddenly becomes visible to us. 


Saint Theophan gives us advice on this condition:

The person can on his part apply the following: observing how different affairs and incidents come about in order to see the power of God in the; delving with strong faith into the conditions of justification to the point of crying out: "Thou Who knowest all things, save me;" seeing the countless myriads of enemies, hidden paths, darkness before his face, perplexing crossroads, and God's hidden intentions."

The point we need to reach is where we know there is nowhere to turn but to God.  Once this becomes a reality for us then we surrender to Him and His Church. Then we see his mighty hands at work in all things.


Saint Theophan says that the ancient Church Fathers tell us,

"The feeling of one's nothingness and dedication to God unfolds best under constant sorrows and especially through extreme, providential crosses..."

With a good guide, and upon our full surrender to God's will, we begin to become a doer of His works instead of our own.


Satin Theophan says,

"He who commits himself into God's hands receives something from God and acts according to what he receives.  This is a living union, life in God, confirmation in Him of one's entire existence: the mind, heart and will."

It is at this stage he says we begin to develop mental prayer.  Notice how far along the path He begins to talk about mental prayer.  Often we read excerpts from the Philokalia, or some other holy person who speaks of the mystical heights of Christian spirituality, and think we can apply these to our own life.  Beware! As we have show in this series on the Path to Salvation, there is a long road to the state where this advice has any meaning for our own spiritual development.  We don't enter the Olympics of spiritual endeavors without first undergoing extensive training and preparation guided by a qualified coach.


I am gong to reflect more on this path Saint Theophan has so clearly outlined for us that has been described in these recent posts.  But first we will take one step higher and then come back for this reflection.

The goal is "Nothing"?

So, what is this inner ascent we are called to undertake?  It at times seems like such an uncertain and difficult path towards an unreachable goal.  Most of us cannot even imagine what it must be like to see and feel the presence of God working within us though all the members of our body.  When we start on the Orthodox path by subscribing to the Orthodox Way of Life, we are motivated with a strong desire, great zeal, to overcome our blindness and to become in full union with God, to share in His glorious light.  In the beginning had only a glimpse of this more perfect union with God. But this ws enough to set our soul on fire motivating us to change our way of being thorough God's help in the Church. We became aware that we needed to take action on our own way of life to get rid of the sinfulness of which we became acutely aware. We struggled and struggled. We found that this is the nature of the path.


Saint Theophan tels us that this inner ascent leads us to the "revelation and appearance to our consciousness of God's work in us."  It is no more than our work of salvation and purification, he tells us.

"The zealot becomes enlightened about this reality through frequent failures met in spite of all his efforts, and unexpected and great successes met without particularly trying.  Mistakes and falls are especially enlightening as they bereave us of grace.  All of these bring a man to the thought and belief that he is nothing, while God and his almighty grace are everything."

This is the final destination, the realization that we are "nothing." 


Saint Theophan says, 

"It is not possible unless the person comes to feel that he is nothing."

Spiritual Warfare VI - The Ascent

This last stage of spiritual warfare involves our ascent, a new state of inner being where the union with God becomes meaningful. This final ascent, according to Saint Theophan, involves preserving this new new state where we sense the sweetness of God's inner presence.  He advises the following:

1. Force oneself to ceaselessly behold God and lift oneself to the feeling that one is being seen by God.

2. Do everything for the glory of God.  Seek nothing in all action other than this.

3. Do everything with an awareness that it is being done by God's will.  Embrace all that comes your way as part of His will.––joy and sorrow.

Eventually he says,

"You will become accustomed to mentally standing in the vision of God with His infinite perfections."  

This sweet feeling of God's presence will become a norm during your times of prayer.  Your yearning for God is no longer something you seek, but rather it is now something quite natural, something you want to preserve.  


Saint Theophan says, 

"It should be made real, alive, like a natural pull that is sweet, earnest, and uncontrollable... This is the sign of this birth: earnest, quiet, and unforced inner concentration, before God accompanied by a feeling of reverence, fear, joy and the like."

You are now happy to be alone with God and begin to experience what the hesychasts describe as inner silence.


He says,

"Like a ray of sunlight carries away a drop of dew, so does the Lord enrapture the spirit that comes into contact with Him."

At this stage our heart has been purified.  You are now able to totally dedicate yourself to God.  God now begins to guide your intellect, will and feelings and permeate all of your actions.  He becomes  the doer of everything.  You are now an instrument of His love.  


This final movement is what the Lord was telling Peter when he said,

Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” (Jn 21:18).

Reference: Path to Salvation pp 312-317

Spiritual Warfare V - The Final Act

Having conquered the passions and tamed our thoughts, becoming effective spiritual warriors, we are ready for the final movement –– surrender and ascent towards a living communion with God. Please recognize that much work is necessary to prepare for this final act.  Having developed a keen ability for inner concentration, one will find that their inner being begins to reorganize.

Saint Theophan says,

Little by little is revealed to him the main goal that he should be seeking and which had previously ben hidden behind a multitude of activities.... This goal and striving is :longing for God as the highest good. 

We we began our efforts we acted mainly out of fear for our salvation.  We sensed an important duty and obligation to do the will of God as described to us in the Scriptures. Divine grace awakened us to these duties.  But there is another step where all changes.

Saint Theophan says,

"Then the fear subsides and, without disappearing, gives way to the sweetness of labor for the Lord and a pleasant feeling connected with it.  This is the beginning of the soul's coming alive to God, the ripening of its bright goal."

Now our spiritual work changes and we must focus on preserving this new condition of our inner being. All our previous ascetic efforts have cultivated a strong yearning for union with God.  Now they need to be redirected to protect this new inner sense of God's inner presence.

Spiritual Warfare IV - Conquering Thoughts

We know that sin begins with a thought.  We have a thought and then we become attracted to it.  Next, we act on it.  To overcome sinfulness, in addition to arraigning our life to avid temptations, we must be ever wary of our thoughts.  The key for doing this is to become a student of your thoughts.
Saint Theophan says,

"Attentively follow the course of affairs and watch what thoughts accompany them and conclude them, in order later to judge by this what initially lay within."

Think of being in a boxing match.  In the boxing ring you have to defend yourself from the punches of your opponent. You receive many little jabs that have no direct impact.  But these small punches only set you up for that big punch which can knock you out.
Saint Theophan says,

"The enemy has a law––not to begin suddenly with a passion but with a thought, and to repeat the thought often." 

These repeated thoughts may not always be bad thoughts.  The bad ones are easy to reject, but others require keen discernment.  When new thoughts come about be wary.  Don't immediately incline to accept them.  Be patient.  Watch and objectively reflect.  Don't trust in your own reasoning but share new thoughts with a trusted friend or  your spiritual father.

The risk is disillusion. Saint Theophan describes it this way.

"Their foremost characteristic is that a person assuredly considers himself to be something he is not––for example, call to teach others, capable of an extraordinary life, ad so on  Our pride is always lurking in the back ground waiting to be satisfied."

Our challenge is to free our mind of unnecessary thoughts.  Saint Theophan states,

"The result of warfare can be a mind free of thoughts, a heart free of passions, and a will free of tendencies.  When this develops, the person has achieved passionlessness.  His inner being becomes a clear  mirror that reflects spiritual things."

Spiritual Warfare III – Afterwards

Once you have encountered a spiritual battle and you were successful in averting any sinful act, give thanks to the Lord.  But, do not be over joyful as this can lead to you to complacency and even lead you to a greater sin of vainglory. Assume that there may be an ambush laying around the next corner.  Do not share this victory with anyone.  Remain humble and ready for another battle.

If you were not successful and succumbed to the temptations presented, humble yourself.  Fall into repentance immediately.  Accept that God knows that you will not aways be successful and is always merciful if you remain humble and repentant.

Saint Theophan says,

"Our Lord is like a mother who leads her child by the hand and does not abandon him..."

Repeated failures should spurn you to engage in greater ascetic labors.  Look for new strategies, new ways to avoid such situations.  The worst thing is to become stopped by any form of depression over your failure.

Remember everyone has a different task––will face different spiritual battles of differing degrees.  We all have a central tendency for sin but it is different for each of us.  Saint Theophan assures us,

"One only needs to have the zealous desire to conquer himself."

Spiritual Warfare II - Preparation

Once we are well aware of our sinfulness (the sign of a mature seeker of God) we can then seek to anticipate the battles we will encounter during the coming day.  Our sinfulness is often triggered by our interactions encountered in the activites of our daily life.  When we know we will be facing situations where we often find ourselves falling into a sinful activity we need to protect ourselves and prepare for these battles.


Saint Theophan recommends,

"At the beginning of each day, sit and go over all possible meetings and occurrences and all the possible feelings and movements that they could cause."  

This can be a routine activity at the end of your morning prayers.  Mentally go through the day and the situations you are likely to encounter.  Think about how you can deal with those situations where you know it will be difficult for you––especially situations where you may be tempted with lust or anger.


Predetermine the best approach if temptations do arise.  Think about how you will fight it off, or will it be better for you to avoid the encounter.  When we have a weakness it is often best to predetermine a way to walk away physically from the situation. 


As you enter into the trials of the day, remember you have some important weapons.  Both of these give me great aid. One is the Jesus Prayer which you can say at any time (if you make it part of your regular prayer rule), and even more powerful is the sign of the Cross.  As you enter into a situation where you know you are facing temptation, make the sign of the Cross and say quietly to yourself, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner."


By being vigilant, and aware of the potential battles you will face, you can begin to change the way you live your life transforming it into an Orthodox Way of LIfe.  


Become a proactive spiritual warrior.

Spiritual Warfare I

Our spiritual life is one where we continually struggle against our "self-opinon and proud mindedness." It is a struggle aimed at breaking our will so we can dedicate ourselves to God and live in a manner where we only do His will.  We have to shift from a worldly orientation to one that is oriented towards God's kingdom.  It is a shift from a world filled with temptation and evil to one that is oriented only to doing good.  The task is to tame the intellect and free it so it can be directed by divine grace.  It is an inner struggle involving our outer actions.  It's a battle of grand proportions called spiritual warfare.


Saint Theophan tells us that the attacks we must deal with are soul-related and bodily powers.
1. In the body: the source of passions is pleasing the flesh...There is sexual lust, gluttony, love of pleasure, sloth, comfort, adulterous feelings, loquacity, absent -mindedness, restlessness, will fulness in everything, unseemly laughter, idle talk, sleepiness, daydreaming, craving the pleasant and all manner of pleasing the flesh in lust.
2. In soul: a) In the mental part––opinion, exclusive belief in one's own intellect, criticism, attacking the mind of God, doubts, puffing up and arrogance, curiosity, mental plundering, straying thoughts. 
b) In the sensual part––passions that shatter peace and tranquility of heart, or various kinds of pleasantness and unpleasantness: wrath, envy, hatred, anger revenge, judgment, contempt, vain glory, ambition, pride, boredom, sadness, sorrow, depression, joy, cheerfulness, fears, hopes, expectation.


How do we get at the root of these?  This is our challenge.  Saint Theophan says that the source of all these passions is self love. At their root, he says, are pleasure, covetousness and pride.  The way to conquer them is to "cut off pleasure by self-directed wrath, covetousness with unacquisitiveness, and pride with humility."


The main challenge is to maintain an awareness of the attacks so we can counteract them. The main enemy is our thoughts. Our actions are always preceded by a thought.  This is the battle ground.  The pattern of our actions is "the onrush of thoughts, contemplation, delight in it, desire, passion, attraction, resolve, and then the deed."  Therefore Saint Theophan says, "all the ascetic's attention should be directed inside himself––at thoughts, desires, passions and attractions.  It should be most of all, incidentally, be directed at thoughts, for the heart and the will are not so mercurial as thoughts; and passions and desires rarely attack themselves––they are most often born of thoughts.  From this we can make a rule: cut off thoughts and you will cut off everything."


The battle ground has been identified and next we will deal with Saint Theophan's rules for this spiritual warfare.


ref: Path To Salvation, pp 280 - 289