How to Resist the Enemy’s Attacks

how-to-resist-the-enemys-attacks

So far we have learned about our authority in Christ and the four basic strategies of the enemy in attacking believers. Today we will show several ways that we can resist the enemy’s attacks:

How to Resist the Enemy’s Attacks

1. Be vigilant.

  • We are to be sober and WATCH for the enemy (I Peter 5:8; Matthew 26:31). We are not to be unaware of his tactics. (II Corinthians 2:11) The Bible teaches that we are highly vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy. Unless we watch and pray, we will fall.

2. Ask God to keep you from the evil one.

  • “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Matthew 6:13 NIV Jesus says: “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.” John 17:15 NASB We must ASK to be kept from the evil one. If it was not necessary to ask, Jesus would not have instructed us to ask.

3. Acquire a disciplined mind.

  • The undisciplined mind makes it a prime target for attack. If you are not taking every thought captive (II Corinthians 10:4-5), Satan will introduce his own ideas and you won’t even notice.
  • “We are, at that moment, pleasing self and not God, which then opens us up to the arrows of the enemy. We are vulnerable and wide-open prey because our emotions are uncontrolled, our thoughts wild, and our desires totally self-centered. We have obviously given the enemy many holes to attack… giving Satan a perfect inroad for his strongholds.” – Nancy Missler
  • “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7) Even though demons are Satan’s representatives, they are doing the will of Satan in the same way that angels do the will of God. Satan is the one we are resisting though the temptations.
  • “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” I Peter 1:13 KJV We are not to be slack in our thought lives.
  • We need to be able to discern if it is the accuser. If our thoughts are accusing, they are probably from the enemy because God doesn’t talk that way! A friend once said to me: “Usually when the Lord wants me to share, I have peace or I am nervous about it…When the enemy stirs I feel agitated, upset, and looking for a scapegoat.”

4. Walk in Personal Holiness

  • Walking in personal holiness is the best way to avoid the traps of the enemy. Attack one sin, the worst sin in your life, at a time. Ask God to show you how He sees the sin; the sin will get uglier and worse in your life. This is because you are seeing it for what it really is. Grab Scripture against it, don’t give it a foothold, and turn your face away from it. Keep continuous watch over the area. Have a plan of attack of what you will do instead of the sin; for example, replace anger with patience and compassion. You will soon break the habit and have victory over it.
  • “If perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.” II Timothy 2:25b-26 NASB We have been seared in our conscience, and we are unable to come to our senses until we pursue holiness rather than our own self-gratification.
  • We are to be renewed in our mind (Romans 12:2). The more we concern ourselves with the things of the Lord, the more the worthless things fall away and we can see clearly right and wrong and not be so deceived.
  • The mark of a Christian ruled by Satan is an unchanged life. He sees everything as it relates to himself rather than how something can further or hinder God’s kingdom. If his life is not being constantly transformed, he has given himself over to the enemy in some area. God is continuously able to use those who are fully committed to Him.
  • Satan renders us useless by tempting us to indulge in squandering our time on the worthless things of this world. We become lulled into complacency. We squander hours, days, weeks, and years pandering to our own desires while failing to ask God what we should be doing. Satan laughs at our impotent spiritual life and our lack of growth.
  • To align your heart to the will of God, you must die to your own will. The presence of self-will in your life will be your downfall. Ask God to show you when you display self-will, and to help you to crucify it. “ I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 ESV

5. Take up the full armor of God

  • “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” Ephesians 6:10-11 NASB (There will be a separate video next week about the armor of God.)

6. Seek the Lord with all your heart

  • Condition yourself to hear the Holy Spirit’s still, quiet voice. You will feel uneasy before sinning, and it becomes obvious what you should and shouldn’t do.
  • If you have had no spiritual growth in your life for years and you’re bored with your Christianity, set aside a day for fasting and prayer to seek the Lord with all your heart. God will reveal Himself to you in a new way, and you will see what is blocking you from growing. “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 16:25 ESV Your life will always be futile until you are fully surrendered to Christ.

Here is the 6th video in the series “Unmasking the Enemy:”

Stay tuned for the next installment: “Take Up the Full Armor of God.” If you don’t want to miss this series, follow my Prayer page and subscribe to my monthly newsletter below.

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16 Responses to “How to Resist the Enemy’s Attacks”

  1. Rachel Martin says:

    I am having a hard time getting delivered from my lust addiction can you please pray for me I’ve done everything I can I am truly serious about this, this addiction came last year and I can feel the holy Spirit convicting me but it’s like I can’t control myself. I don’t want to die in my Sin. I also want prayer for my two kids who don’t have the holy Spirit. I am fasting next week for 7 days no food because I want this sin to go away. God bless you thank you.

    • Susan says:

      Lord God, we come before You asking for release from Rachel’s lust addiction. We ask that this evil be gone in the name of Jesus, and that You would replace it with a clean desire for holiness and delighting herself in You. Lord, help her never to view pornography again–take out of her heart even the desire for it, but more than that, strengthen her will to fight against it and go nowhere near it. We ask You to break this off from her right now!

      Lord, we also ask for her children, that they would know You and the power of Your resurrection in their lives. May they leave off all sins, and may their one desire be You! May You bring mighty blessing in the lives of Rachel and her children, in the name of Jesus. Amen!

  2. Kathleen says:

    Thank you so much for this. I really needed to read this. I believe Satan was whispering in my ear a few years ago. I overcame it but he still nips at me here and there.

  3. Andrea says:

    James 4:7 says it all – “submit to God, resist the Devil, and he will flee from you”!

  4. Kristi says:

    Dwelling in the Lord, quieting our hearts to hear the Holy Spirit, staying in the word and seeing how Satan twists the truth is so important to resisting him. You have so many good points.

  5. Tara says:

    Discipline is really key for me in resisting. I have always had to work on this area. It gets easier in some areas, but some are still a struggle.

  6. I have found if I’m not guarding my heart the enemy loves to do it for me and send me to places I don’t need to be in my heart and head. I constantly pray and ask the Holy Spirit to guide my path, words, and heart and protect me from all harm. Most days it works….and then there is me!

    • Susan says:

      Jesus instructed us to pray that God the Father would deliver us from the evil one. I sometimes forget to pray for God’s protection over myself and my family.

  7. How can i get divine transformation from God, I want God for enew me spiritually, physically and mentally.

  8. Roy says:

    Such a great article. My brother-in-law was asking me what to do when the devil is attacking. And this nails it. May God continue blessing you to help others.

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