If you’re feeling weary, hopeless or tempted to give up entirely, you’re not alone.
According to evangelist Perry Stone, nine out of 10 believers will wrestle with at least one of three spiritual attacks—fainting, hopelessness or despair—at some point in their walk with God.
“These are the three spirits that I saw in my own spirit by revelation that are attacking people in the body of Christ,” Stone explained. While these spirits can affect anyone, the teaching focuses on how they specifically target believers and how to fight back spiritually.
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1. The Fainting Spirit
The first spirit identified is what Stone calls a “fainting spirit.” It doesn’t refer to physically passing out, but to becoming spiritually weary and emotionally exhausted.
“You lose motivation,” he says. “You have no motivation to go to church. You have no motivation to pray. You have no motivation to read the Bible.”
To overcome this evil spirit, Stone advises believers to, “Feed your spirit. I put gospel music on and sing with it… I listen to that and it builds me up. I can feel the quickening of the Holy Spirit in me.” He also encourages rest—both physically and spiritually—and warns against letting negative information “defile your spirit.”
2. The Spirit of Hopelessness
The second spirit is rooted in Proverbs 13:12: “Hope deferred makes the soul sick.” Stone describes this as a prolonged delay that causes people to give up believing for a good outcome.
“Hope means unseen positive expectation about the future… the anticipation for the good outcome.” When hope is delayed or drawn out for too long, it becomes like a hostage situation: “You start saying, this could turn out bad. This is not going to turn out good.”
But hope is powerful: “As long as people have hope… they expect good and they fight in faith.” He shares from personal experience: “There are times in my life when I’ve gone through things… and I knew in my spirit… hang on to your hope. And in every instance… God did something.”
3. The Spirit of Despair and Suicide
The final and most dangerous spirit is one of deep despair, often leading to suicidal thoughts. “When a person feels hopeless that there’s no hope in this situation, you’ll usually see them go on drugs or alcohol or begin to talk about taking their own life,” he warned.
Drawing from biblical examples like King Saul and Judas, Stone shows how despair can become deadly. But there is hope even in the darkest hour. The message? Never give up on God. “God can do something in like 24 hours the next morning and He has reversed a situation,” says Stone. “Do not do it. This is about eternity. This is not about the temporary. This is about the forever… Prayer can change the outcome. Hold on to God.”
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In this critical hour, believers must recognize the unseen battles waging against their hearts and minds.
These spirits are not just emotional struggles, but strategic attacks meant to derail destinies and silence faith. Now more than ever, we must stay spiritually vigilant, intentionally feed our spirit and cling to the hope that anchors the soul.
Victory is not only possible—it’s promised to those who refuse to quit.
If you are in crisis, please call 988 or visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org. You are not alone.
Abby Trivett is content development editor for Charisma Media.
