As Christians, we love to focus on God’s promises, the blessings, and to see His goodness in our daily lives. But, to live fully the abundant life that Jesus has won for us, we also need an awareness that we are in a spiritual battle. Our enemy is defeated, but Satan battles on to snatch and steal from our destiny. We need to understand his tactics and how to overcome them. Here is a selection of Christian books on spiritual warfare to help and encourage us to live in victory!
What is Considered Spiritual Warfare?
Spiritual warfare, put simply, is anything that causes us to doubt and disbelieve the truth of God’s word. Those have been Satan’s tactics from the beginning of time, from Eden onwards, to question God’s word. In the same way, he tried to tempt Jesus in the wilderness by misusing God’s word and questioning God’s good intentions. Books on spiritual warfare teach us to be self-aware, to identify the dangers and how to overcome them.
What are the Christians’ Weapons of Warfare?
In the Lord Jesus, we have been provided with every spiritual blessing, all that we need to live in victory. We have the imagery of our spiritual armor to help us visualize the protection that we have in Christ Jesus. And we have also been given two weapons for spiritual warfare that have the power to destroy the work of the enemy.
Our weapons are the word of God and prayer. They have the power to demolish any strongholds that oppose the work of God. Christian books about spiritual warfare help us to yield our weapons more effectively!
Best Books on Spiritual Warfare
Here I have put together a list of Christian books about spiritual warfare, for our guidance and encouragement. There are books that are a general introduction to the topic, while others address specific issues. Some of the books are relatively new but I have also included some classics. These are books that were considered ground-breaking at the time they were first published. They introduced new spiritual concepts, but the teaching has stood the test of time, and they are more relevant today than ever.
The Essential Guide to Spiritual Warfare: by Neil T.Anderson, Timothy M.Warner (Contributor)
(Learn to Use Spiritual Weapons; Keep Your Mind and Heart Strong in Christ; Recognize Satan’s Lies and Defend Your Loved Ones)
A balanced approach to spiritual warfare that raises awareness of the battle that we are in. It is more of an introduction, maybe for those who have been wary of approaching this topic, than an essential guide. The book establishes that there are spiritual attacks and how we are to identify them. Then to overcome spiritual warfare the basics of putting on our spiritual armor, confession of sin, and prayer are highlighted. There is recommended further reading for more in-depth study of some of the topics discussed, mainly by the same author.
Spiritual Warfare – What You Don’t Know by Robert A Jones
An easy-to-read book simplifying the topic of spiritual warfare. The author addresses some misconceptions that you may, or may not, have encountered. But the main focus in this Christian book about spiritual warfare is to simply believe in Jesus and all that He has done, and won, for us. The battle that we are in, is to live in the truth of God’s word. Putting on the armor of God is through prayer, and it is the word and prayer working together, that enables us to stand through any trials.
Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table by Louie Giglio
A book with a clear and straightforward message. The text is based on Psalm 23 and highlights verse 5: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” The author focuses on the lies of the enemy and his tactics to drag us down from our secure position in Christ Jesus.
If we give the enemy a seat at our table and start to listen to his voice, then we are easily defeated. The One who is our companion and guide is the Lord Jesus. We need to sit at the table that He has prepared for us – that is our place and source of strength.
The book brings guidance on ways to overcome a defeated mindset. And that it is possible in difficult circumstances, to know peace and security – as promised in Psalm 23.
Freedom from Fear – How to Live in Victory in a Time of Crisis, by Emma Stark
This book was written in 2020 and refers to the worldwide shaking of Covid-19, an unprecedented time. But, as we now know, there are and will be other shakings to come, and so the teaching here is relevant both for now and for the future.
There is a call for us as Christians not to be alarmed at a time of transition, as God shakes this world, but to choose our attitude well. The challenge is to see the mercy of God in the shaking as these times have the potential for growth. A time not only to see God’s glory but to carry His glory in an increased way to those around us.
Identifying if there are areas of our lives where fear is taking hold and holding back our God-given destiny is the first step to being released. To obtain complete ‘Freedom from Fear’ may require deliverance from spiritual strongholds. There is clear teaching here on self-deliverance in an easy-to-understand way with activation prayers.
Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind by Joyce Meyer
Battlefield of the mind focuses on the seat of spiritual warfare being in our minds – that our actions are the result of our thoughts. It is divided into three clear sections, the importance of the mind, conditions of the mind, and wilderness mentalities.
Our enemy, Satan, is a deceiver and tries to manipulate our thinking with his lies. The importance of knowing the word of God, to counter his lies, is emphasized throughout with plenty of Scripture references. These are interspersed with stories from the author’s own life and experience, which makes the book an easy and relatable read.
The final section on wilderness mentalities highlights ten mindsets that hinder our spiritual progress. These mindsets also snatch and steal our joy from the abundant life that Jesus has won for us. This is a practical guide to bring us out of living defeated wilderness lives into the freedom of kingdom living, as a child of God!
Less Fret More Faith – An 11 week plan to overcome anxiety by Max Lucado
Looking at the title of this book you may wonder if it really should be included in a list of best books on spiritual warfare. But anxiety and mental health problems are rapidly becoming one of the biggest problems in the Western world and are particularly high in the US. Anything that steals our joy in the Lord is a very real part of our everyday spiritual battle.
A pocket-size book (40 pages) full of powerful truth from Philippians 4:6-7. Based on those verses, the author created the acronym C.A.L.M. This is Celebrate God’s goodness, Ask God for help, Leave your concerns with Him, and Meditate on good things.
Each of the eleven sections in the book has short teaching on the action to take that week to identify and deal with anxiety. This is followed by a Scripture verse to reflect on and a written prayer to personally apply the teaching.
This guide is a summary of the book “Anxious for Nothing – Finding Calm in a Chaotic World”. But it is a useful tool for anyone trying to find their way out of the prison of anxiety. The prompts and prayers can easily be referred to whenever anxiety starts to take a grip.
Live No Lies: Recognize and Resist the Three Enemies That Sabotage Your Peace by John Mark Comer
Live no lies, examines three areas where the enemy, through deception, wants to attack our spiritual well-being. It helps us recognize, and resist, our main adversaries as the world, the flesh, and the devil. The battle that we are in is subtle, which is why it is effective. This book identifies the strengths and weaknesses of our enemy in these three areas and offers practical guidance to overcome them.
Spiritual warfare begins as we push back with the truth of God’s word – that is our reality, to align our thoughts with Scripture. We need to be proactive by applying and practicing spiritual disciplines, such as prayer, fasting, and meditating on Scripture. It is possible to live in the fullness of life that God has prepared for us!
Spiritual Warfare Prayer Books
The three remaining books on spiritual warfare all reflect different aspects of prayer. From focusing on the role of the church in praying for our nations, to those who are struggling to deal with spiritual strongholds. Finally, encouragement, this is not the time to give up but to keep on praying in a purposeful and practical way.
Secrets of a Prayer Warrior by Derek Prince
Foundational Biblical teaching on our position as priests before God because of our standing in Christ Jesus. The author gives a detailed and comprehensive guide to developing a focused strategic life of prayer. The emphasis is on the role of the body of Christ, and our part in it, to impact our communities and nation for God. Kingdom principles and the enabling conditions for powerful Spirit-led prayer are identified and discussed so that we pray with new confidence and authority. Our prayers are heard and answered as we pray the will of God.
Praying God’s Word (Breaking Free from Spiritual Strongholds) by Beth Moore
The teaching is based on demolishing strongholds by taking every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ. Spiritual warfare here is overcoming the lies of the enemy with the truth of God’s word. Each chapter focuses on defeating a spiritual stronghold, by praying Scripture-based prayers. There are two-three pages of teaching and then fifty plus Scripture-based prayers on each topic.
This is a workbook to engage with prayerfully on a regular basis. The author recognizes that some strongholds are rarely broken in a day. Although God can and does show His power by releasing some in an instant, He also desires to teach us His ways. There are some battles that require daily dependence on God and ‘to go from stumbling to standing can be a lifelong journey’.
Fervent by Priscilla Shirer
(A Woman’s Battle Plan for Serious, Specific, and Strategic Prayer)
The author declares that this is not a book about prayer but a book to pray your way through. It is for all of us who are longing for things to change. And for those who want to be set free from those things that hold us back – which probably in one way or another covers us all! This is a guide to praying specifically, strategically, and with precision.
“Prayer is the portal that brings heaven down to earth.” Priscilla Shirer
Fervent, identifies ten areas where the enemy seeks to disarm our most powerful spiritual weapon of prayer. Then provides Scriptural strategies to deal with these tactics. These ten strategies are the core of the book. This is a practical guide, coaching and encouraging the readers to apply their own personalized strategy from the Scriptures provided. To help with this there are included, at the back of the book, some tear out prayer cards or strategy cards.
