Engaging the Evil Forces in the Spirit Realm: A Theology of Spiritual Warfare in African Neo-Pentecostal Spirituality

Abstract

Prayer is traditionally used as a way of communicating with God and giving petitions to Him. However, within African neo-Pentecostal  spirituality, prayer is more than communication and petitions; it is a way of addressing the evil forces in the spiritual realm. This is  informed by the link that African neo-Pentecostals make between life challenges and evil forces in the spirit realm. In other words,  problems such as diseases, sicknesses, miscarriages, misfortune, curses, and others are seen as coming from the spirit realm and as  being caused by evil spirits. Surprisingly, even problems of unemployment, visa application, poverty, and inequality are linked to the evil  forces in the spirit realm by some African neo-Pentecostals. Previous studies have addressed this phenomenon within the context of  African neo-Pentecostal spirituality. What is new in this article is the development of a theology of spiritual warfare within the African  neoPentecostal spirituality. This article argued that not every situation emanates from the spirit realm. Some challenges have a human  element of incompetencies, greed, corruption, and so forth. The study is a literature review on spiritual warfare. The study makes a new  contribution to the Pentecostal theology of spiritual warfare by paying attention to other life challenges that are not linked to evil forces.  This changes how Pentecostal scholars and theologians study the concept of spiritual warfare, there is a need for considering other  causative factors in life situations. It is recommended here that a Pentecostal theology of spiritual warfare should holistically look at life  rather than always perceiving all life challenges as emanating from the spirit realm.