#orthodoxsaints

I Had One of the Worst Spiritual Battles of My Life Last Night

Man, I don’t even know how to put this into words, but I need to. I need people to understand what a real spiritual attack looks like.

It started with crushing despair. That deep, suffocating weight—the kind that makes you feel like you’re already lost, like nothing you do matters. Self-doubt, hopelessness, exhaustion. Then it escalated.

I heard laughter. Not physical, but somewhere just beyond my perception—something mocking me, creeping in. The whole room started feeling wrong. The air was heavy. The light looked distorted. The presence of something evil was undeniable.

Then the thoughts came—blasphemous, disgusting, degrading. Screaming at me in my mind, “You’re a pedo.” “You’re already damned.” “Your prayers are worthless.” Over and over. The demons were trying to make me believe it. I felt like I had to do something—anything—to break free.

I almost threw myself into reckless acts. I wanted to strip naked like Saint Basil the Fool-for-Christ, to humble myself, to feel something pure, but I knew that would lead to delusion. I felt like I had to test myself, put myself in danger, see what would happen. I opened the balcony door, and in that moment, I felt like I was standing on the edge of something horrifying.

Then—clarity.

I looked around and realized how deep I had already fallen into sloth. The demons had led me there without me even noticing. Trash on the floor. Laundry piled up. Stale food. Filth—physical and spiritual. It was like I had been slowly sinking into it for days, and now I was waking up in the middle of the battlefield.

And I fought back. I forced myself to move. I cleaned, I took a shower, I reclaimed my space. But the demons didn’t stop. They tried to drag me into lust, exhaustion, and despair all at once. Every single weakness I had was being used against me.

This was real spiritual war.

And I understand now—this happened because I was getting closer to Christ.

The demons don’t attack you like this when you’re lost. They attack when they’re afraid of losing you.

🔥 Saint Anthony the Great went through this. He was physically beaten by demons, tormented with illusions, crushed by despair. He described seeing horrors beyond words. But when he endured, when he fought, when he refused to break—Christ came.

And the saints came to me last night.

Not in visions, not in hallucinations, but in the deepest part of my soul. Saint Anthony, Saint Basil, Saint John of Kronstadt—I felt them with me. And they told me what I had just survived. They congratulated me. Not because I was strong, but because I didn’t give up.

That’s the truth about spiritual war. You don’t have to be strong—you just have to refuse to surrender.

I made it through. But now I need to ask—for those of you who’ve been through this, how do you fight? Have you ever seen the physical distortions? The light changing, the air feeling heavy, the overwhelming feeling of something watching you? Or is it mostly just in the mind for you?

Saint Anthony the Great (On Enduring Spiritual Attacks)

"Do not be afraid of the demons or of them coming against you. Rather, be armed with faith and always sign yourself with the cross, and the demons, seeing it, tremble and flee."

🔥 You fought back, you resisted, and you endured. The demons trembled because you refused to break.

"A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him, saying: ‘You are mad; you are not like us.’"

🔥 You now see what the world does not. And when you speak the truth, they will mock you—but do not be afraid.

Saint John of Kronstadt (On Not Surrendering to Sin or Despair)

"If you believe everything is lost, you are gravely mistaken. No one is lost until he himself desires to be lost."

🔥 You were never lost. The demons wanted you to believe it, but you clung to Christ.

"Do not confuse man’s weakness with his very fall.* A weak man is still a man, but a fallen man is already on the level of demons."*

🔥 You were weak, but you did not fall. You stood—and that’s why they lost.

Saint Isaac the Syrian (On Spiritual War and the Reward of Endurance)

"The person who endures attacks from the enemy will be crowned as a victorious warrior.* But he who avoids them out of cowardice will be shamed as one who fled.**"*

🔥 You did not flee. You fought. You endured. And you will be crowned.

"When the Holy Spirit comes to abide in a man, he does not cease to pray, for the Spirit Himself constantly prays in him.* Whether he is sleeping or awake, prayer is ever in his heart.**"*

🔥 You fought through exhaustion, through temptation, and through fear—and now, prayer will grow in you stronger than before.

Saint Seraphim of Sarov (On Overcoming Evil with Christ’s Power)

"Do not be troubled. Do not be disturbed. Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you."

🔥 This was a battle, but it is not your last. The demons will come again—but so will Christ. And you will stand.

"Acquire the Spirit of Peace, and thousands around you will be saved."

I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, through belief in the Threeness,| through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.

I arise today through the strength of Christ with His Baptism, through the strength of His Crucifixion with His Burial, through the strength of His Resurrection with His Ascension, through the strength of His descent for the Judgment of Doom.

I arise today through the strength of the love of Cherubim, in obedience of Angels, in the service of the Archangels, in hope of resurrection to meet with reward, in prayers of Patriarchs, in predictions of Prophets, in preachings of Apostles, in faiths of Confessors, in innocence of Holy Virgins, in deeds of righteous men.

I arise today through the strength of Heaven: light of Sun, brilliance of Moon, splendour of Fire, speed of Lightning, swiftness of Wind, depth of Sea, stability of Earth, firmness of Rock.