In our daily meditations at groupbiblestudy.com, we explore how our unseen enemy, Satan, and his demons plan to enslave people to demonic powers. In a future devotional, we will examine the armor of God. If you have only listened to the last few of these meditations, it would be wise to start with the earlier studies in our series, Spiritual Warfare: Overcoming Evil, available freely online at the link.
Before examining several stages of demonic attack, we should consider some practical ways to defend ourselves. This perspective on spiritual defense isn't an exhaustive list of ideas, just some helpful tips I have found useful.
Practical Strategies for Defending Ourselves: Often, people don’t realize they are under spiritual attack until they give in to temptation. The enemy then quickly accuses through guilt and shame. When I am aware I am under spiritual attack, I often picture myself dragging Satan to the end of a pier by the scruff of his neck and booting him off. Other times, I say, "Get out of here, Satan." I want to add that I only do this when I am alone; I don't want people to think I am crazy! When I am around others and a tempting thought comes to mind, I imagine grabbing the idea out of the air and throwing it to the ground. Use whatever strategy works best for you. Fill your mind with good things, and you will find that this also breaks the power of temptation, as there is no "good soil" for the enemy's temptation. Paul the Apostle wrote:
Finally, Brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things (Philippians 4:8).
The Bible tells us to resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7). This resistance to evil thoughts is illustrated by a great story about Martin Luther, the influential reformer of the Christian faith in the 1400s, during his spiritual struggle at Wartburg Castle while translating the New Testament from Greek into German. The devil did not want the Scriptures read by ordinary people and plotted ways to disrupt the sacred work. But when he tried to tempt and distract Luther, he grabbed the ink pot he was using and threw it at the evil one’s head. Today, visitors to the castle can see the room where Luther sat and the stain on the wall caused by the ink pot. Do whatever you need to do to keep your mind from being distracted by the temptations of evil spirits.
Let's look now at the different degrees of bondage or slavery to sin that we began to look at in yesterday's meditation:
1) Foothold. Demons tempt people with lures meant to attract them, hoping they will fall for the temptation. What is a lure? In the New Testament, James wrote, "But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed" (James 1:14). Demons bait people with hooks hidden behind what seems tempting. Think of a fisherman with a fishing pole, line, and hook. The temptation is to do something we usually wouldn’t do, but the bait promises some reward that appeals to our lower instincts. A temptation that appeals to one person might not appeal to another. From the unseen realm, demons observe what appeals to our fleshly nature and use suggestions to offer us rewards. The temptation intensifies when a person doesn't get the expected high, arousal, or excitement. Temptation can be resisted and rejected. Paul the Apostle wrote about the strategies of temptation, saying, “Do not give the devil a foothold” (Ephesians 4:27). If we fail to resist and reject the enemy's temptations, he can move from a foothold to escalate his attack step by step, eventually leading us into harmful habits.
2) Manipulation. In this stage, demons gain a foothold, turning into a knee hold on the door of your spirit. The door is not yet fully open to demonic control, but if the temptation—whatever it is—is not resisted, repented of, renounced, forgiven, and forsaken, it becomes increasingly harder to resist. It may be alcoholism, drugs, pornography, or pride—you name it! People fall into the hands of the evil one by trafficking in darkness and obeying his voice. Remember the Scripture we read in our last daily meditation: the one you listen to and obey is the one you serve (Romans 6:16). In the manipulation stage of the attack on your soul, habits form based on the temptation you surrender to. What is a habit? It’s an automatic reaction, a pattern of obedience to a specific situation, a settled or regular tendency, or a hard practice to break. When the enemy manipulates us this way, and we give in, our will is shaped by dark, evil forces, making it harder to say no. I pray this is not your situation, but sadly, many are in the manipulation stage of the enemy. Jesus said, “Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first” (Revelation 2:5). Let’s continue with this tomorrow. Keith Thomas
This meditation is from the series Spiritual Warfare: Overcoming Evil, a shortened version of the more in-depth study: Uncovering Satan’s Schemes