Spiritual Warfare – By Ruth “Phoenix Rising” Moise
“Let me snatch away a holy vibe” – Satan.
Hey, empresses, thank you for tuning in to Unapologetically Caged! It’s your girl Phoenix Rising with another Rising gem, and honey, this one is going to be a dope one as you can tell by the title!
This gem is talking about the prince of all lies and deception. The one who can twist the beauty of a sunset and make it seem like a blazing, fiery pit of destruction. Yes, that’s the topic, so grab your Bible and let’s dive in.
When the Enemy Comes for Your Assignment
Empresses, today I want to share with you how the devil came to seek, kill, and destroy a blessing that God had for my ladies here in Orange County Jail by using my own weakness against me. And yeah, I don’t play about my empresses—so I had a secret weapon for him.
On November 20, 2025, something incredible happened. For the first time, I was elected by my Chaplain to preach the word of God. This came right after I obeyed God by sharing the Prison Den blog with the class that day. I was honored, although I was nervous. Like, what? Lil’ old me about to preach the word of God in class? Nah, it can’t be. But I took the nomination and ran with it anyway.
The Wrong Scripture (When You Move Without the Holy Spirit)
So I prayed to God for a word, and I flipped through the Bible, looking for scriptures that would make an impact on the ladies. I originally went with Ephesians 3:1-12, where Paul talks about how the race of life is God’s master plan. Even though we don’t understand why God allows certain things to happen, we must still obey and trust that it’s His will and in our best interest. When we don’t understand God’s decisions, don’t question—ask for clarity. And if He chooses not to reveal anything to you, then accept that no answer is your best answer.
I’m not going to get too deep into that scripture because I never got a chance to share it with my ladies. Why? Because that wasn’t the word God had for me to share!
Listen, empresses—I sought and found a scripture on my own that the Holy Spirit didn’t tell me to find. I already felt like the scripture wasn’t my scripture because I was practicing my notes a little too hard for three days and couldn’t remember a single bit of my lecture. Yes, it was going to be a lecture because I had about three pages of notes. Like, really? Come on now!
Goddie said, “No, my child. I don’t know what you thought you were doing without me, but that isn’t it!”
The Moment God Corrected My Course
On November 24th, I felt as though that scripture wasn’t the one, and I asked God to give me the confidence to preach His word. I didn’t ask for a scripture change because I’m like, I’m not going to be able to remember a new sermon. Heck, I don’t even remember the one I chose. “Ephesians 20 what?” Exactly—there’s not even an Ephesians 20, thank you, Bible scholars! So now you see how confused I was.
Now I am realizing I couldn’t understand the scripture because it wasn’t Holy Spirit-driven. That’s a lesson right there, empresses. When you try to do God’s work in your own strength, it won’t stick. It won’t flow. It won’t feel right because it isn’t right.
As I finished praying that evening, a new scripture stood out: Acts 4:8-11. The story of Peter and John before the council, where the rulers, elders, and teachers went and questioned the two disciples and asked, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?”
Peter replied with the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man they crucified but whom God raised from the dead. He declared, “Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.'”
That’s the scripture God gave me to share with His people. That’s the word that the evil one tried to snatch away from the congregation.
The Day Everything Went Wrong (Or So It Seemed)
The day I was to preach, I was happy. I found all of my supporting quotes and was pumped up for the afternoon! After our first church service, I left to wait by the phone, but I eventually left my spot to gather my notes. I already told my fiancé that I was going to call him later on that day because I had to focus. I played my gospel music and was in my zone.
And then, just like that, I wasn’t.
I went by the phones and went into a rampage. I cursed out the CO for shutting off half of the phones. After that, I instantly went into a full-blown rage and did something I’m still guilty about—I threw the Bible on the floor.
Y’all. I threw. The Bible. On. The. Floor.
That’s when I knew I was under attack by the enemy.
Guilt, Shame, and the Voice of Condemnation
I was instantly filled with guilt and ashamed of myself. I told Chaplain Rivera that I couldn’t preach because of what just transpired. I was fighting with my conscience because how did I let that happen? How? I was so pumped to preach the message, but I felt like if I did, I would be a total hypocrite.
The enemy was whispering in my ear: “You just threw the Bible on the ground. You cursed out a CO. You’re not worthy to preach God’s word. Look at you. You’re a mess. You’re a fraud. Sit down and be quiet.”
And for a moment, I almost believed him.
The Wisdom of an OG
I asked one of the OGs (elders) in the class what I should do because I really wanted to preach the message, but I felt like I couldn’t. She told me something I’ll never forget: “Take the situation to God and tell Him exactly what you are telling me now and ask for that moment to be forgiven.”
At that moment in time, I thought long and hard about it and did just that.
Taking It to the Throne
I got on my knees and cried to Goddie. I begged for forgiveness for getting angry right before preaching His word, and Forgiveness for the ultimate disrespect by throwing the Bible on the ground.
You know what? He did just that. He forgave me because He knows that that reaction was the enemy’s attack to make me feel just what I felt, not to preach the word.
Well, Satan, guess what? I DID IT ANYWAY!
I went and prayed to my Heavenly Father, and He instantly washed me of that condemnation. I went into class and MADE SATAN HAVE A SEAT BENEATH ME WHILE I PREACHED THE WORD OF GOD—THE SAME THING HE DIDN’T WANT ME TO DO!
Victory in the Pulpit
When I got up there to preach, I was so excited. I was a little nervous because, yeah, your girl isn’t 1000% there yet with public speaking, but I did it anyway with the help of the Holy Spirit!
I preached about Peter and John standing before the council. I preached about the cornerstone that the builders rejected. I preached about the power in the name of Jesus. And empresses, let me tell you—God showed up and showed out! The ladies were encouraged. They were lifted. They were blessed.
And the enemy? He had to watch the very thing he tried to stop come to pass with even more power because of what I went through.
The Lessons I Learned in the Fire
Empresses, this blog is to encourage you that even in your darkest moments, God can shine light on you, through you, and for you! Even when you feel like you are in the middle of spiritual warfare, PRAY, because GOD IS OUR CHIEF IN COMMAND.
Here’s what I learned that day:
1. The enemy attacks you right before your breakthrough. Satan knew that the word I was about to share would bless the ladies. So he tried to stop it before it even started. If you’re under heavy attack, it might be because you’re about to step into something powerful.
2. Your weakness is the enemy’s weapon. He knew my triggers. He knew what would set me off. And he used it. But praise God, even when we fall, we can get back up through repentance and grace.
3. Condemnation is not from God. Conviction is. God will convict you to lead you to repentance, but He won’t condemn you to keep you paralyzed. That voice telling you you’re not worthy. That’s not God. Take it to Him anyway.
4. God can wash you clean in an instant. I didn’t have to carry that shame into the pulpit. God’s forgiveness is immediate and complete. When we confess, He is faithful and just to forgive.
5. Do it even if you’re scared. I was nervous. I was still feeling the weight of what happened. But I did it anyway because the assignment was bigger than my feelings.
A Battle All Because You’re His
This is a battle. All because you are a child of God doesn’t mean you won’t be attacked. It’s because you are a child of God that you ARE getting attacked, honey! The enemy doesn’t waste time on people who aren’t a threat to his kingdom. If you’re being attacked, it’s because he sees something in you that he wants to stop.
But greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.
Empresses, Keep Rising
To my empresses reading this from behind these walls, or from wherever life has you feeling caged—don’t let the enemy steal your assignment. Don’t let one mistake, one outburst, one moment of weakness convince you that you’re disqualified from being used by God.
Moses was a murderer. David was an adulterer. Peter denied Jesus three times. Paul persecuted the church. And God used every single one of them powerfully.
Your past doesn’t disqualify you. Your mistakes don’t disqualify you. Your current situation doesn’t disqualify you.
What qualifies you is your willingness to say yes to God even when you feel like you’ve blown it. What qualifies you is your willingness to get back up after you fall. What qualifies you is your willingness to let God wash you clean and use you anyway.
Final Word
So, the next time the enemy tries to snatch away your holy vibe, remember this: he’s scared of what God is about to do through you. Stand up. Dust yourself off. Take it to God. Get washed. And then do the very thing the enemy tried to stop.
Because when you do, you’re not just walking in victory—you’re teaching others how to do the same.
Keep rising, empresses. Keep rising.
- Ruth “Phoenix Rising” Moise is an incarcerated mother of two sharing her journey through incarceration to encourage, motivate, and inspire others. Visit her at unapologeticallycaged.com and check out her books on Amazon:
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