What does a U.S. Army general have to say about demons, spiritual warfare and unforgiveness?
A lot, actually.
In a recent interview with Tyler Feller, retired Maj. Gen. Kurt Fuller shares a powerful testimony about his time in combat—and how it opened his eyes to a much deeper kind of warfare: the spiritual kind.
Fuller, a seasoned combat veteran, doesn’t shy away from discussing spiritual battles with the same seriousness as physical ones.
“There’s a leadership principle when you’re training somebody,” Fuller says. “You want to take them to this place of having an unconscious competence—a basic understanding that they can do what they do without thinking about it.”
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That kind of training, he explains, is critical in both military and spiritual life. Soldiers in the field don’t have time to think when under attack—they just react. He says Christians should be trained the same way to respond to attacks from the enemy.
“If soldiers were out there doing their normal daily stuff and they get attacked by the enemy and they don’t respond, they’re all going to get killed,” Fuller says. “And the same is true in the spiritual thing. Although you’re not going to die physically, but you know, that sin could lead to spiritual death for sure.”
A Near Miss in Afghanistan
Fuller shares an intense personal encounter he had while flying in a helicopter over a battlefield in Afghanistan. What started as a simple prayer turned into a full-blown demonic attack.
“I was praying as I was in a helicopter and flying across the battlefield,” Fuller recalls. “There was some pretty serious stuff going on—big gunfight—and I was praying.”
He had been declaring the region for the kingdom of God. But something didn’t like that.
“This thing got inside my head,” Fuller says. “It told me I needed to jump out of the helicopter. And it was unbelievably powerful.”
Fuller was overwhelmed for nearly a minute. “I had my hand on my harness. I was going to jump out of that helicopter,” he says.
But then something clicked.
“I realized this isn’t natural. It’s unnatural. These aren’t my thoughts. I don’t think that way. So if it’s not natural, it’s supernatural. So I said, ‘OK, now I know what to do.’ And as soon as I started praying and I said the name of Jesus, the attack ended.”
The Root Was Unforgiveness
That attack caused Fuller to go deep into spiritual warfare studies. What he learned surprised him.
“I thought I had on the full armor of God,” he says. “But the Lord showed me that I had unrepented sin in my life. And that’s why that thing got access to me.”
What sin?
“The sin was the spirit—the heart that I was entering into the conflict with. Because it was all about vengeance. These people killed my men, and they’re going to pay the price for that.”
It was a revelation that changed everything for him.
“The Lord showed me that they’re not His enemies. He showed me that they’re the victims. And that they’re the captives that Jesus came to set free.”
And what’s more—he had to forgive them.
“Now this is the real kicker,” Fuller says. “The Lord showed me not only are they not your enemy, but you have to forgive them.”
Even though they didn’t ask for it. Even though they didn’t deserve it.
“And Jesus said, ‘If you don’t forgive, then my Father in heaven won’t forgive you,’” Fuller adds.
Parallels Between Military and Spiritual Warfare
Throughout the interview, Fuller lays out several key parallels between military operations and spiritual life:
- Unconscious Competence: Soldiers must train to respond instinctively—believers must do the same in spiritual battle.
- Instant Reaction to Threats: In war, hesitation kills. In spiritual warfare, it leads to sin and spiritual destruction.
- Vigilance: Just as soldiers must always be on alert, Christians must stay spiritually alert to demonic thoughts and attacks.
- Understanding the Battlefield: Physical enemies are visible—spiritual enemies are not, but they’re just as real and dangerous.
- The Power of Forgiveness: Victory in both realms sometimes requires releasing hatred and embracing mercy.
No PTSD—Only Growth
Despite years of combat, Fuller says he doesn’t suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
“No,” he answers simply when asked about PTSD. “I definitely experienced trauma. Anybody in a combat zone is going to. The question is, what do you do with it? How do you process it?”
He credits God for helping him find “post-traumatic growth” instead of distress.
“It wasn’t me,” Fuller says. “It was obviously the Lord. The Spirit in me is what keeps me balanced there.”
We live in a society that often separates faith and reality, Gen. Fuller offers a sobering reminder: the battles we don’t see are just as real as the ones we do—and we’d better be trained to fight both.
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James Lasher is staff writer for Charisma Media.
