Today I have the pleasure of introducing Donna Pyle to you. She’s been teaching a bible study on spiritual warfare! (This makes me excited as I anticipate my spiritual warfare book releasing February 1st. Here’s a link if you’re interested.)

Here’s everything you need to know about Donna’s study:

It seems odd that Christianity and warfare are intertwined. Isn’t Christianity about love and peace? Yes, but dark spiritual forces launch continuous attacks against us, our loved ones, and every area of our life. Satan’s goal is our complete and utter destruction. Suiting up in God’s armor provides our only hope of survival. God did not provide our armor so we could admire it hanging in our closet. Walking through our day without His armor means walking onto the spiritual battlefield surrounded by snipers we cannot see nor triumph over. Journey with Donna to dig verse-by-verse through Ephesians 6:10-18 as we discover the battle, our armor, His protection, and our place in God’s army.

Keep reading for an interview with Donna!

What prompted you to write this study?

I needed to understand the level of protection that God has provided to us. I had heard of “suiting up” and “standing firm”, but until I really dug deep into this study, I only vague understood what that meant. This study has changed my faith walk on every level. We are so loved and uber protected by God Almighty Himself!

How have you seen lives transformed as you’ve taught it?

It has been amazing to hear the personal stories of many women, previously shackled by fear, step out in faith in new areas of their personal, relational, and ministry-related journies. Knowing that God’s armor provides impenetrable protection has fostered a renewed trust and confidence that nothing the enemy attempts will take them out. In the recent Texas wildfires, a dear friend watched her house burn down to the studs. They lost everything. Yet she and her two adopted daughers, who attended the live taping of this series, remembered to stand firm (Eph. 6:13) because their spiritual armor wasn’t hanging in those closets – they were wearing it. The flames didn’t get her and her daughters, it only got their stuff. In hope and His strength, they have relocated and work to rebuild their lives as they help their neighbors do likewise. Let His praises ring!

How has God changed you in the past year?

Where do I begin?! After enduring an unexpected divorce two years ago, God has seared into the marrow of my bones that His love never changes. It never fades. It never walks out. God enabled me to stand in His peace when the relational storm threatened to drown me. I wouldn’t have chosen that painful path, but I am so thankful for it. The complete forgiveness that He has allowed me to experience, and also share with my ex-husband, has been one of the greatest gifts I’ve been privileged to receive. I talk about that at the end of Lesson 5 in this Bible study series. Grab a hanky! God calms the storm when nothing else can. This past year has increased my contentment and faith in God 100-fold.

What do you think it means to live uncaged?

I believe most of the time we form our own cages. Whether it’s a denominational cage, the bars of social status, the prison of fear, or the darkness of a meager faith, we put a lot of work into creating our own cells. Sometimes we even feel safe in them. We shine the bars, hang pictures, and get comfy. Therein lies the problem. Living uncaged means surrendering our comfort level to follow God into scary territory. Living beyond the prison bars opens us to being fired upon with fiery darts of the enemy. That’s the litmus test for me. If I’m not being fired upon, why not? Satan isn’t concerned with pew sitters – he wants to take out front line warriors. Living uncaged means suiting up, trusting in God and His armor, and being fully engaged in the war of the ages – whatever that looks like in our areas of influence.

Why do you think spiritual warfare is a difficult topic for some?

I have seen some people choose to ignore the raging spiritual warfare because of fear. They abdicate their post on the battlefield because the reality that a powerful, unseen enemy actively labors to destroy them is simply too frightening to bear. Also, we are an exhausted generation. Technology, over-crowded schedules, and overcommitted lives allow no margins. Dwelling too long on the topic of spiritual warfare seems overwhelming in light of other obligations, so they just remove it from the list. One less thing to “deal” with, so to speak. And so the cage-building process begins.

To order the study (an 85-page, color-print, spiral workbook is included), go to www.artesianministries.org and click on the Store tab.