All around us, there is a spiritual battle raging. Demons and angels are seen occasionally, but they are present, almost constantly.

Before we go further with this thought, let me clarify something. When we do something bad, it is not Satan’s fault. He or a demon may nudge us in the wrong direction, but we make the choice to do good or evil. We all have a sin nature and that is where our sin comes from, not an outside source.

Back to angels and demons constantly being around. Daniel chapter 10 tells a fascinating story. Daniel is in a state of mourning and prayer. This has gone on for 21 days. He is suddenly greeted by a heavenly visitor, an angel. The angel explains that God heard Daniel’s prayer and sent him to help. On the way to Daniel this angel meets “the prince of the kingdom of Persia” who fights against him.

This prince of Persia is not a man, but a demon. When the Bible speaks of “principalities and powers” (as in Ephesians 6:12), the Bible is talking about the spirit world. The angels and demons have a rank structure. They are placed over areas of the earth to work their jobs. Demons, working for Satan, do everything they can to stop the spread of righteousness. Angels, on the other hand, are working for God, as guardian angels and assist God in answering prayer.

The original angel sent to help Daniel does not overpower the Persian prince, but Michael, the archangel, comes to help. After the fight, the first angel gets through to Daniel.

On a side note, do not quit praying. There may be a spiritual battle taking place between angels and demons about the very thing for which you are petitioning God. In Daniel’s case, it took 21 days for help to arrive. What if Daniel had stopped praying on day 4, or 10, or 20?

Back to the original point — Daniel’s experience shows us there are spiritual battles taking place we cannot see.

Regardless if you are Christian or not, Satan wants to rip you to shreds; leave you in pieces on the floor. Here is why:

On the sixth day of creation, there is a conversation. God has created everything except the human race. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit discuss the creation of mankind. Genesis 1:26 says, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”

We are created in the image of God. One may ask, “How can this be? After all, none of us look the same, we have different skin color, eye, and hair color. We have different shapes and sizes; how can all of us collectively be created in the image of God?”

God is a triune being. The doctrine of the trinity is difficult enough; we will leave that for another day. But, when God created us in His image, He made us as He is — body, soul, and spirit. This is what we are made of, this is how we are in God’s image.

Satan hates God. Satan has said, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation … I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:13-14).

Satan’s plan is to destroy God and rule the universe.

Okay, here we are; Satan hates God and we are created in the image of God.

An illustration — A couple has an argument. The woman no longer wants anything to do with her boyfriend. She throws everything of his out of the house. Upon throwing the last Sports Illustrated from the bathroom to the front yard, she has nothing left to toss, but her anger is not appeased. Upon walking back into the house, she sees his picture on the shelf. She grabs it and rips it to shreds. Another, from off the wall, is soon in pieces on the floor. She snatches the photo albums and starts ripping up every photo with him in it. Those photos are his image. It is not him, but it is close enough, the pictures need to be destroyed.

Satan wants us to drink too much, get high, have arguments with the spouse, get mad at the boss and quit our jobs, have sex outside of marriage — the list is endless. Satan nudges us to do what we can to tear up our lives. The further we get from God, the happier Satan is. Why? He hates God and by ripping our lives apart, Satan is tearing up the image of God.

How much ripping have you allowed Satan to do in your life? You cannot blame everything on Lucifer, because you ultimately make the choice to do what you do, but as you stand in the middle of your life, how much of it is in pieces around you?

Like it or not, you are in a great spiritual battle. Do not allow Satan to rip your life into shreds.