“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
James 4:7
“We need to be careful not to give the enemy too much credit,” a wise friend recently pointed out. “Satan does attack us, but we also face attacks simply because we live in a fallen world, and our flesh gravitates toward sin. ‘The devil made me do it,’ is not always a valid explanation.”
I’ve been thinking of her words often.
Satan prowls around the earth looking for people to devour. We also live in a fallen world in which imperfect people are constantly dealing with the sinful desires common to human nature.
In writing this series of blog posts about overcoming spiritual attacks, my greatest concern is that I am giving too much attention to the enemy, which actually works in his favor.
How to Resist the Devil
How do we resist the enemy without giving him more attention than necessary? Let’s unpack some practical ideas today.
8 Ways to Resist the Devil and Walk in Victory
1. First, we keep our eyes on Jesus.
The writer of Hebrews wrote that we are to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith (see Hebrews 12:1-2). I’ve learned that instead of becoming too consumed by what the enemy may or may not be doing in my life, I always find victory when I look to Jesus.
When I feel fearful, doubtful, anxious, or disappointed, I use these negative emotions as prompts that nudge me to look toward Jesus. I imagine Jesus as he sits on his heavenly throne and thank him that he is sovereign over every authority and ruler. I speak these words out loud, reminding myself—and reminding the forces in the spiritual realm—that Jesus is the ultimate authority.
2. Second, we resist the devil through prayer in times of temptation.
Temptations come in various forms. Habits can easily form strongholds that are difficult to break. At times, the enemy directly targets us with temptations that seem to come out of left field but are also very enticing.
Regardless of the source of these temptations, we can cling to the words of 1 Corinthians 10:13: “God is faithful, so He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it” (NASB). When we are tempted, God promises to provide a way out.
We resist the devil by praying in the face of temptation. We turn to God, ask for grace, and ask him to show us the way out. These are prayers God will faithfully answer.
3. Third, we avoid intentional sins.
In line with turning to God during moments of temptation, we resist the devil by avoiding habitual, intentional disobedience to God.
Most of us know how it feels to contend with sinful behaviors. We know these habits are dishonoring to God, but we have a difficult time stopping them.
When we allow these behaviors to remain unchecked in our lives, strongholds are built. By permitting sin to remain in our lives, we become bound by the enemy in these areas. We don’t experience the freedom and peace Jesus died to offer us.
We resist the enemy by confessing our habitual and intentional sins, receiving God’s forgiveness, and repenting. Repentance is the act of turning away from sinful behavior and turning toward God.
When these strongholds are difficult to break, tools to help us find freedom include accountability with others, pastoral care, and professional counseling.
4. Fourth, we hide God’s Word in our hearts.
Psalm 119:11 calls us to hide God’s Word in our hearts so that we might not sin against him.
We resist the works of the enemy when we spend time in Scripture. We read, study, memorize, and meditate on God’s Word. In the process, God’s Word strengthens us from the inside out.
5. Fifth, we pursue worship.
Have you ever noticed the number of distractions you face during times of worship? These distractions might simply be the result of our wandering minds; however, I’ve learned to recognize that many of these distracting thoughts are direct attacks from the enemy.
The enemy does not want us to worship God, and he will do whatever he can to stop us.
This might include feelings of annoyance or critical thoughts about others during corporate worship. It might include regular illness on days of worship or an inability to enter into worship.
We resist the enemy by pushing back against these distractions during corporate worship. We also resist him by worshiping at other times of the week.
When I listen to worship music around the house or while driving, I almost always sense a significant change in the atmosphere surrounding me. Often, a cloud of discouragement or despondency lifts, and my heart is filled with peace and joy.
6. Sixth, we remain on guard.
While we don’t need to focus excessive amounts of energy on the devil, we do need to remain on guard. This might include asking some of the following questions:
“Is this headache/exhaustion/illness ‘just happening’?”
“Are the troubles in my marriage merely the result of poor communication and other human flaws?”
“Is this financial crisis the result of poor planning or something else?”
“Could my child’s behavior simply be the result of childish rebellion, or is something else going on here?”
“Is the discord in this friendship really just the result of differing perspectives?”
We don’t want to give the devil too much credit, but remaining on guard can help us understand that other people are never our enemies. Difficult situations are often the result of forces moving in spiritual realms.
We are to remain on guard and alert, resisting the enemy.
7. Seventh, we pray without stopping.
Just as we pray during moments of temptation, we are called to pray without stopping. When the Apostle Paul encouraged the Thessalonian church to “pray without ceasing,” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), he was challenging them to live differently.
We pray without ceasing by living on two levels. On one level, we are interacting with the physical world around us. On a different level—a higher level—we are always aware of what God is doing and are listening for his still small voice and gentle guidance.
When we live this way, we are quick to recognize the enemy’s attacks and fix our eyes on Jesus instead.
8. Eighth, we give thanks often.
Last on this list (which is not an exhaustive list), we resist the enemy by becoming thankful people.
Have you ever noticed that negative emotions and fears cannot exist in the same mental space as grateful thoughts?
The more we cultivate sincere gratitude and heart-level appreciation, the less room Satan will have to work in our hearts and lives.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Stacey Pardoe
Featured Image by Oleg Mityukhin from Pixabay
