Debra A. Elrod WITH Amy C. Williams (article author)
Spiritual warfare is real. According to 2 Corinthians 4:18, the spiritual realm is even more real than the physical world.
But it’s challenging enough to do battle with the devils we can see, let alone the ones we can’t. Is it possible for Christians to stand up against spiritual attacks and make a difference in the world?
In our families? Our churches? Our jobs? According to author Debra A. Elrod, it’s more than possible. It’s why we’re here. “The Lord created each of us to prosper in our callings and in our vocations,” Debra said. “We weren’t meant to leave the world; we’re meant to be a light in the world.
So, we need to build up, gird up, and be bold in our confession.”
From the Army to the Marketplace
A United States Army veteran and a former executive from the automotive manufacturing industry, Debra accepted God’s call to leverage her 30-plus years of business experience to help Christian business owners.
Debra founded Narrow Gate Now Ministries, Inc., in 2020, a nonprofit ministry devoted to teaching biblical business principles in the marketplace. She also founded Propel Industries, Inc., a business development firm targeting the automotive manufacturing sector.
“The Lord revealed that my calling was in the marketplace, yes,” she said, “but He also revealed that my calling was in the church, to get the church to wake up.”
A Story Born from Loss and Faith
Debra knew she had experiences to share, but she didn’t expect that God would ask her to write a book about it.
Between her radical salvation experience in 2005 and when she began writing a Bible study in 2017, Debra walked through a season of tremendous grief. Despite everything she lost, she stayed in step with Jesus and came out the other side stronger and closer to God than she’d been before. When God began rebuilding her life, she understood exactly what she needed to write.
“Everybody needed to know this story,” she said. “I just shared what the Holy Spirit had taught me through His Word.”
Battling for Breakthrough
Writing the Bible study was a long, arduous process, fraught with spiritual warfare that manifested in mental, emotional, and even physical attacks.
“The Lord showed me how spiritual warfare was different from what I’d been taught in the church to expect,” Debra said. “Demons infiltrate our soulish realm, our mind, our emotions—not getting into our spirit but creeping into the outer courts of our temple. This was more significant oppression than I had ever learned about, and I realized the Lord was showing me what chapters to include in the study.”
Debra focused on crafting a resource for believers confronted with spiritual oppression. Even though writing wasn’t in her wheelhouse, she surrendered her will to God and let Him guide her.
That act of surrendering led to another revelation: God wanted her to write a book. He even told her what to call it, Surrendered.
With this revelation, Debra immediately questioned: “Does that mean I’ll write more books? I don’t even know how to write one book, let alone many. And who wants to read a book about surrendering?” She didn’t argue with Him, though. She chose to believe that if He’d called her to do it, He would equip her along the way. “Believers are out in the world fighting dark forces we didn’t even know we had to fight,” she said. “We’re not supposed to be hiding. We should be pressing on because Jesus is with us.”
The Greatest Teacher
Even with her extensive professional and personal experience, Debra is quick to remind others that she isn’t the one they should look to for guidance.
“The greatest teacher we have is the Holy Spirit,” Debra emphasizes. “You don’t need anyone else to teach you, according to 1 John 2:27. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead you, and He will take you where you need to be. He knows where the healing needs to be done, deep within you where no one else knows.”
This conviction fuels Debra’s dedication to helping Christians deepen their relationship with the Holy Spirit and live lives fully surrendered to God’s will.
Through her ministry and writing, she encourages believers to embrace a transformative journey of faith, discovering wholeness, joy, and peace in Christ. For Debra, the message is clear: a life led by the Holy Spirit is not just about learning—it’s about healing, growing, and experiencing the fullness of God’s love. And that, she says, is the heart of her calling.
Debra’s award-winning books include Discovering Your Spiritual DNA (May 2023), a Bible study that blends faith, neurology, psychology, and applied theology to equip Christians for spiritual warfare, and Surrendered (November 2023), a guide to discerning God’s will. Both books have been recognized for their impact on spiritual growth. For more information, visit www.NarrowGateNow.com
