Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind

This is a term that Meyer herself introduces and that appears prominently in Part 1. She uses it to describe demonic evil forces, with a specific focus on their attempts to affect Christians’ minds through distraction and deceit. Meyer records that she experienced a miraculous deliverance from some of her problems after being led to pray against these spirits (in some charismatic circles, being able to pray against a demon by name is considered especially effective in breaking their hostile attacks).

Pride is another term that means something different in the Christian tradition. Whereas in broader usage, pride often refers to the positive trait of healthy self-esteem, the traditional Christian usage is a negative one, referring to the cardinal sin of innate self-centeredness. Many theologians consider such pride the root problem underlying all forms of sinful behavior. Meyer uses it in this sense in her discussions of inappropriate mental states, many of which implicitly or explicitly center the self rather than God and his will.

Meyer’s use of the term “reasoning” is specific to her charismatic context and does not generally align with broader Christian usage. The Christian tradition at large regards humanity’s faculty of reason positively as one of God’s greatest gifts, to be used diligently and joyfully in God’s service. In Meyer’s usage, however, it has a more negative connotation, referring to the spiritually unhealthy way that people sometimes desire complete understanding of a situation where simple obedience to God’s call is the only thing necessary.

This is one of the terms that frames Meyer’s treatment of unhealthy mental perspectives. She calls such unhealthy frames of mind “wilderness mentalities,” a reference to the biblical story of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness instead of entering the Promised Land as they were initially supposed to do. Like the Israelites, whom the Bible records as often complaining and grumbling about God’s call, Christians can find themselves locked into mental attitudes that keep them far from the abundant life God has promised.