In this article, you’ll discover five powerful psalms for spiritual warfare that will speak relevant comfort and courage into your heart for whatever battle you’re fighting.
The book of Psalms can sing us through our spiritual battles. God the Holy Spirit breathed out prayers for us to pray in the Psalms in the heat of spiritual war. Thousands of years ago, psalmists offered prayers in the face of real physical battles, and God preserved their words to equip us for the spiritual battles we face today.
Five Powerful Psalms for Spiritual Warfare
We want to briefly list for you the psalms we have found especially helpful when overwhelmed by spiritual warfare, and to give you a verse or two from each one to inspire you to read those psalms. We hope that this article moves you to your Bible to discover the life-giving words supplied to you by the Holy Spirit for whatever battle you are facing today.
Psalm 18—God Is Our Deliverer
You’ll notice in your Bible that there’s a note preceding Psalm 18 that says David wrote this psalm after God delivered him from Saul.
This psalm is the fruit of a long physical, spiritual, and emotional battle that took place in David’s life.
God anointed David as king over Israel to succeed Saul. David had fought in war for Saul, his king. He had married Saul’s daughter. His best friend Jonathan was Saul’s son. Saul and David were close as family. Yet, Saul grew jealous of David, knowing David would succeed him as king—and Saul wanted to kill David! David lived on the run from Saul for years. Can you imagine David’s distress—emotionally, mentally, physically?
You can read about this story in 1 Samuel 8-31! You could also flip to 2 Samuel 22, where we first find the words penned in Psalm 18 in our Bibles (the two passages are nearly identical).
Here are some of David’s words born out of that season of intense angst. We encourage you to go read all of Psalm 18!
I love you, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
(Psalm 18:1-3 ESV)
Psalm 27—God Is Our Hope and Confidence
Psalm 27 was also written by David, though the Scriptures don’t tell us when. Psalm 27 is a precious psalm for spiritual warfare—and the first line makes that clear. It says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation” (Psalm 27:1 ESV). We don’t need light unless we walk in darkness. And we don’t need salvation unless we live in danger. Life is dark and dangerous, especially for those who have put their trust in Jesus and are opposed by the spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12).
Yet, you will notice that the resolution in this psalm is not that the battle ends, but that the soldier sees God’s goodness and glory.
Friend, God can reveal his goodness and glory to you too in the midst of your battle today! Ask him to! And, read Psalm 27 today, asking God to infuse you with courage as you faithfully press on in your spiritual battles.
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
(Psalm 27:1-2 ESV)
Psalm 35—God Is Our Defender
Psalm 35 is a wonderful defensive psalm for anyone under spiritual attack. David cries out for God to fight against those who fight against him.
David had many physical enemies before and after becoming king of Israel, but those physical enemies were also spiritual opposition.
God had revealed himself to Israel, given his Word to Israel, promised to send the Messiah to Israel and bring him into the world through Israel. God’s promises of redemption for the world were tied to Israel—to her endurance as a nation, and to her people. Attacks on Israel in the Old Testament were, in a way, attacks on God’s people and God’s kingdom. Thus, the opposition David faced as king of God’s people were spiritual attacks as well as physical.
God’s oath has been fulfilled, and the promised Messiah has come. Jesus is the everlasting King that came from the line of David, and with his coming, he ushered in a new age. The kingdom of God is no longer manifested through one nation on earth, but through all who have bowed their knee to King Jesus throughout time and space.
For those of us who trust in Jesus, our enemies are unseen. This doesn’t mean that we will not face opposition from people. It just means that the true enemy we face is not even our persecutors—we are called to love them (Luke 6:27)! No, our true enemies are Satan, his army of angels called demons, our sinful hearts, and the world and its ideologies that stand opposed to God (Ephesians 6:12; 1 Peter 3:8; 1 John 2:15-17).
That’s a long way to say that when you read Psalm 35 and you read about the enemies described there, don’t think of people as your primary enemy. See this passage of Scripture through the lens of Ephesians 6:12, which says, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” (NLT).
Nevertheless, Psalm 35 is an especially powerful psalm to pray when you feel hounded by accusation, haunted by demonic presence, and overwhelmed in spiritual attack. It’s a plea for God to rise up and come against your enemies. It’s a wonderful gift to the person in the heat of spiritual attack praying for deliverance.
Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me!
Take hold of shield and buckler
and rise for my help!
Draw the spear and javelin
against my pursuers!
Say to my soul,
“I am your salvation!”
(Psalm 35:1-3 ESV)
Psalm 46—God Is Lord of Our Battles
You might recognize Psalm 46 by its tenth verse, which is one of the most famous Bible verses: “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10 ESV). But Psalm 46 is not a cozy psalm about peace. It’s a warfare psalm!
You’ll notice in your Bible the intro text to this psalm tells us that it’s a song. It has been speculated that this song was written about the events in 2 Kings 18-19 and specifically the deliverance God performs for his people which we read about in 2 Kings 19:35-36.[1] (This story can also be found in Isaiah 36-37). We would encourage you to read this powerful deliverance story in the Old Testament before reading the psalm.
When you are acutely distressed by the spiritual battles in your life, may Psalm 46 remind you that you serve a God who makes wars cease to the ends of the earth, who is your ever-present help in trouble, your fortress, and the God of angel armies.
Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
(Psalm 46:8-11 ESV)
Psalm 91—God Is Our Protection
Psalm 91 is a precious prayer of protection for when you feel afraid in your spiritual battle. It is a long reflection that echoes the truth of Isaiah 54:17, “no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed…” (ESV).
Although those who have put their trust in Jesus will face many dangers and pains, Psalm 91 reminds us that God stands as our refuge who shelters us from evil, and watches over his children with love.
If you want to learn more about Psalm 91 and what it promises us, visit our resource page: Psalm 91.
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
(Psalm 91:1-4 NIV)
Consider the Psalms a Gift in Spiritual Warfare
We have only listed for you five of our favorite psalms related to spiritual warfare. But if you open the book of Psalms, you open a treasure trove—prayers to fire off in your distress, truth to hold you together when you’re confused, and promises of God to rely on when the darkness overwhelms you.
God equipped us with the psalms to teach us to pray. You’ll find that the psalms are refreshingly honest. The psalmists pour out their hearts in desperation, distress, and disillusionment, but they also do so in faith—faith in the God of the Scriptures. And they teach us how to bring the inner turmoil that spiritual warfare churns up in our hearts to the throne of God.
We hope these five psalms have given you a destination in the Psalms, but we also hope that your journey of discovering the solace God has offered you in the Psalms doesn’t stop here, but that you go further up and further into the book of Psalms, considering how it is a gift to us in our daily battles.
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Source
[1] See Psalms by The Day: A New Devotional Translation by Alec Motyer, page 121, note 1.