It’s strange, but whenever I had supernatural encounters, they would come at a pivotal point in my journey with God.

I will never forget the night I accepted Christ on 23 December 2008. I woke up halfway through my sleep with a start and felt a weight pressing down on me. I could hear heavy breathing in my ear. I tried to move and shout out to my aunt who was sharing a room with me, but I could neither move nor speak.

Being a new Christian, I did not know how to react. I did not want to call out to the gods of my previous religion, but I still did not know how to pray to God. In my mind, I thought there was a format or sequence to approaching Jesus. I also did not know the difference and relationship between Father God and Jesus.

The weight pressing down on me shifted, and something invisible started to strangle me.

Suddenly, I heard deep mocking laughter. A deep voice began to threaten me: “Do not think that I will let you off when you accept Him. You are condemned! I will never let you off!”

The weight pressing down on me shifted, and something invisible started to strangle me. In my desperation, I kept repeating the name “Jesus” in my mind.

The ordeal didn’t last as my aunt woke up then and switched on the lights. She wanted to go to the toilet. Even though the presence left me, I felt too weak and drained to move. I waited for my aunt to come back from the toilet before I told her what happened.

My aunt immediately prayed for me. She also told me not to fear. Then, she put on a CD of Christian worship songs and told me to go back to sleep. My aunt did not sleep after that – she sat there praying for me at 3.30am.

This was my first encounter with the evil one.

But as I grew in my faith, I realised that we should not be surprised that the evil one would attack us when we are growing closer to God.

Spiritual attacks can happen at times like when we are reaching a breakthrough in prayer, entering a deeper level of intimacy with God or when we renew our commitment to take up our cross and follow Christ.

God’s Word is the weapon to be used against the enemy.

Heaven rejoices when a sinner accepts Christ as Lord and Saviour (Luke 15:10). That same moment is when Satan and his dark forces lose the battle for a soul.

The devil is a thief who is out to steal and kill and destroy. But Jesus came so that we might have life, and life in all its fullness (John 10:10). Thus, it is no wonder that we are a threat to Satan when we grow closer to God or when we experience a breakthrough in our walk with God.

So don’t be surprised if a spiritual attack happens. Our battle is not against flesh, but against the rulers, the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12). The devil may attack us subtly in our lives, or he can try to intimidate us with supernatural displays of power.

Thankfully, I have experienced God’s supernatural power before.

I had been drifting away from God after starting my full-time job this year.

But in the last two months, I renewed my commitment to follow Christ and put God first. Knowing that God does not want our leftover time and energy, I’ve been in extended prayer every day. I’ve also been listening to my church’s past sermons while taking notes in my quiet time diary and reflecting on them.

However, I still felt that I needed a breakthrough in my prayers. I felt that God was silent. I thought that God was still angry with me for making work my idol.

We are a threat to Satan when we grow closer to God or experience a breakthrough in our walk with God.

During that period, I woke up in the middle of the night to another force pressing on me.

I heard a voice that told me to renounce Jesus, otherwise the entity would hurt my mum (my mum recently accepted Christ). I did not fear, and I did not pay heed to the entity.

I started to pray to God and I called upon Jesus’ Name.

I prayed until I fell asleep. 

When I woke up the next morning, I found that my heart was still praying and praising Jesus. I felt the sweet and assuring presence of God. Following that encounter, I felt I had experienced a breakthrough in my prayer life – I tasted the supernatural grace and protection from God!

Perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18), and the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4). I find that meditating on Bible verses like these helps. After all, God’s Word is the weapon to be used against the enemy.

And I learnt that I do not have to fear. In my walk with Christ, I find that I no longer fear the dark or the supernatural. Every night before I sleep, I pray for Jesus to cover me with His blood and hide me from the evil one.

In his introduction to The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis wrote: “The devil receives a sceptic and a mystic with equal delight.” Let us be fully aware that our greatest battle is spiritual in nature. And let us be prepared for it by putting on the Armour of God, especially His Word.

Remember, in this battle for our souls, there is no force that can separate us from God (Romans 8:38-39).

Jesus Christ already has the ultimate victory through the Cross.