How to Overcome the Battle of the Mind: 5 Ways
Have you ever dealt with the battle of the mind? If so, how did you overcome it? The battle of the mind is spiritual warfare, a spiritual stronghold on the mind that seeks to separate us from the Lord and get us to stop trusting Him. The battle of the mind is, arguably, one of the worse forms of spiritual warfare we can experience. When you feel you’ve lost control of your own mind, you feel you’ve lost control of your life. Since spiritual warfare takes place in the spiritual dimension, we must fight against it spiritually with God’s Word and the power of God’s Holy Spirit.
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Ephesians 6:12
“For, though we walk in the flesh, we do not war in the flesh, (For the weapons of our warfare are not canal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds).
2 Corinthians 10:3-4
Why We Experience Battles of the Mind
Christians experience battles of the mind when they are not living righteously. When we don’t live righteously, we’re not living in God’s will, surrendering to Him and obeying His Word. So, the presence of the Holy Spirit isn’t with us protecting us from Satan. The more we engage the things of the world, the more Satan will entice us to sin; and sin starts in the mind. Satan’s goal is to keep us away from God by attacking our carnal minds and getting us to disbelieve God; the Word states that sin is unbelief. He knows this causes spiritual separation between us and God, that’s why he attacks our minds.
“For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God. For it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So, then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But, ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.”
Romans 8:6-9
As Christians, we must be on alert and ready for when Satan comes with his spiritual attacks in our lives. As the above scripture reminds us, the devil is walking about seeking whom he may devour. Whom may he devour? Christians who are not living under the submission of Christ, living unrighteously, and therefore, vulnerable and unprotected. When we live under Christ’s submission, we live under His divine control and protection. So, Satan can NEVER penetrate our minds with sinful, negative and unwanted thoughts. Of course, he will try, but he will always fail because we’ll be able to rebuke and resist him from the onset.
“Be sober, vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walking about, seeking whom he may devour.”
1 Peter 5:8
Moreover, Jesus commands us to love Him. When we love Him with our whole selves, we prioritize Him in our lives. And His Holy Spirit will always be with us, guiding and protecting us from all harms. Thus, He gave his “first and great commandment:”
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”
Matthew 22:37-38
1. Love God with Your Heart to Overcome the Battle of the Mind
Loving God with all our hearts helps us overcome the battle of the mind. We love God with all our hearts when we keep it righteous and pure and holy, and only let Him in, and keep sin out. Scripture tells us that from out of the heart comes the issues of life. Everything begins in the heart. Therefore, we must guard our hearts against all unrighteousness. King David said, “I carry your Word in my heart that I may not sin against you.”
Having said that, the mind is connected to the heart, and whatever we think affects our behaviour. When we have a sinful thought, we will be likely to act on it, engaging in sin. Satan knows this, that is why he bombards our minds with sinful thoughts because he wants us to act on them. But, if we love the Lord with our heart, and keep it free from sin, we will not have the thoughts to act on them.
“Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it is the issues of life.”
Proverbs 4:23
2. Love God with Your Soul to God to Overcome the Battle of the Mind
How do we love God with all our souls? Well, this takes living a life of complete devotion and faithfulness to Him, expressing our love and surrendering our hearts to Him every day. And when we love the Lord with all our souls, the Holy Spirit will reside within us and protect us from all evil and we’ll be able to resist him.
“Submit yourself, therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
James 4:7
3. Love God with Your Mind to Overcome the Battle of the Mind
When we love God with all our minds, it means we think only pure and holy thoughts. We keep our minds free of sinful, unrighteous thoughts as a deliberate act to honour Him. But, we also know that our minds are where Satan starts spiritual warfare against us. Therefore, we must commit our minds under the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome the battle of the mind. Once we commit our minds to the hands of the Lord, bringing every unwanted, intrusive, negative and sinful thought captive, the battle becomes His. We need only be still, stand back and see His salvation and mighty power defeat Satan on our behalf.
“Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of God.”
2 Corinthians 10:5
4. Empower Yourself with the Armour of God to Overcome the Battle of the Mind
“Wherefore, take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day; and having done all, to stand. Stand having on the breastplate of righteousness. Above all, take the shield of faith; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.”
Ephesians 6:13-17
The Apostle Paul encourages us to empower ourselves with the whole armour of God to fight against spiritual warfare. Without the whole armour of God, we will not be well-equipped to fight against Satan and win. Think of King David when he was just a teenager; he went up against Goliath, unequipped with physical armour. But, he went in the name of the Lord, with faith and His Word, which was his spiritual armour. Therefore, he was well-equipped when it mattered. And, because he went in the name of the Lord, the power of the Holy Spirit took over and fought on little David’s behalf defeating Goliath.
“Behold, I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. And, nothing shall, by any means, hurt you.”
Luke 10:19
Likewise, the above scripture reminds us that Jesus has given us His power to prevail against the enemy so that nothing can hurt us. This is a promise He has made to us; so, when the enemy comes to attack us spiritually, all we need to do is, by faith, speak God’s Word and rebuke any evil seeking to harm us. Also, the Word teaches us that, “when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of God raises a standard against it.” Therefore, in Jesus, we have the power to defeat Satan’s warfare and overcome the battle of the mind.
5. Request Prayers by Church Elders to Overcome the Battle of the Mind
Sometimes, when spiritual warfare becomes serious and we are longsuffering, we cannot overcome it by ourselves; it takes reinforcement. Therefore, you must seek out a church elder to pray with you and anoint you with oil. Elders are anointed men of God, whose role is to pray for the sick for healing and deliverance. But, it is imperative to have faith. The scripture also says, where two or three are gathered in my name, there I will be. So, you can be sure that when you go to the church elders for prayers, the Lord will be present waiting to deliver you. Go with faith and trust in God for deliverance from mind battles.
“Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.”
James 5:14
To end, the battle of the mind is serious spiritual warfare, which we bring on ourselves because we choose not to live under God’s submission and thus, the power of His Holy Spirit. We bring it onto ourselves when separate ourselves from God by fulfilling the lust of the flesh. Satan attacks our minds with sinful thoughts, and instead of resisting, we engage and act on them, playing into his hands.
On the other hand, Jesus has given us the power to rebuke the enemy and defeat him. But, this is only when we live in total submission to Him. All Christians can encounter the battle of the mind, but how we choose to live, will inform whether we will successfully prevail against Satan. If we live sinfully and unrighteously, we will be spiritually separated from the Lord and have a hard time fighting our mind battles on our own. If we live under submission to God and the power and control of His Holy Spirit, we insulate ourselves.