“But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3).
The devil and his demons spend a lot of their time tempting us. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;” (John 10:10). They know that if they can get our attention away from God’s plan, they can lead us astray into evil doings. They will try to distract us, get our mind off of God’s word and cause us to lose focus on what we’re called to do. The battlefield is in our minds. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:5 what we should be doing: “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”. But the devil seems to know our weaknesses and he will exploit them to his advantage. He’s watching to see when and on whom he can present that temptation. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8). He can’t deceive everyone with the same lie, so he prowls around until he finds someone in a weak moment and says, “Hey, there’s one, let’s get ‘em.” It may be anger, fear, porn, substances, food, things, procrastination, people; whatever he can get our attention with.
Joyce Meyer said in her book, “The Battlefield of the Mind”, “The devil will give up when he sees that you are not going to give in.” We know that in Luke 4:1-13, Jesus was tempted three times by Satan in the wilderness. Jesus was hungry and weak but each time he had an answer for each temptation, “It is written!” (vs. 4,7,10). He knew The Word! And verse 13 says the devil, “left him until an opportune time.” Satan gave up when he saw that Jesus was not going to give in. Again, he knows our weaknesses and if he can’t get us on one thing, he’ll try another or another time. With me, sometimes I get aggravated easily. One day, I was going to the store. I got halfway to the car and realized I’d left my phone, had to go back to get it. Then I forgot the grocery list, GRRR! Going back out the door, my coat sleeve got caught on the door handle and here ya go. But I knew what was going on and I rebuked the devil, laughed and said he wasn’t going to get me this time. Peace came over me.
So, what do we do when temptations come our way? FIRST: Realize what’s happening, we’ve seen it before. “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.” (2 Corinthians 10:13a). SECOND: Tell the devil it’s not going to work this time. “Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7). THIRD: Use scripture as Jesus did. “It is written.”.” And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13b). The Word is the way out…but we have to know it and have it ready to use, “The sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17).
Here is a battle prayer we might use in times of temptation: “Devil, I’m not going there! I have submitted to God and I resist you and you’ve got to flee! (Notice the exclamation marks.). I’ve been given authority to trample over all your power and nothing you do is going to harm me! (Like 10:19). I’m fully dressed in the full Armor of God and I have the Sword of the Spirit in hand! My God is with me and in me and He’s backing me up! So, get outta here and shut up, I’m not listening to it! In Jesus’ name I declare it!” You may find some other verses to use in you battle cry. Be blessed!
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