When satan Attacks
29 01 2007Originally posted in a previous blog on December 6, 2006.
Ephesians 6:11 - 12 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
As we humans tend to do or believe everything to one extreme or another, I am going to divide us into 2 groups. 1 - Those who blame satan for everything bad in their lives. 2 - Those who pretend satan doesn’t exist. Which one are you? Hopefully, by the end of this, you may lean more toward the middle somewhere.
You cannot read the verses above without coming to an understanding that satan is indeed real and that we - as Christians - are at war with him and his hordes of demons. However, these verses do not remove the fact that we are pretty good at sinning on our own (ref. Romans 3:23) . Nor do they remove the fact that our God tests us and disciplines us in order to grow us into the Christians He wants us to be.
So … what does a satanic attack look like and how can we stand against them? I wish I had the one perfect answer for you, but I do not. However, what I can offer are my own personal struggles and how I deal with them.
There are many things that happen in my life that are bad that are simply results from the sins in my life that come from being a sinner … such as debt, weight gain, snapping at my kids, laughing at my wife when she runs into an exercise bike because she didn’t turn on the light - not that this ever happened … and I made sure she was ok first. I do not go around giving satan credit for these. I beat myself up about them. I ask God to change me and strengthen me to make be better. I discipline myself to overcome these.
So, from where do the satanic attacks come. For me, I find that satanic attacks are more frequently mental attacks. I say “for me” because “for Job” they were definitely physical attacks. But in my case, they are mental. Small things will happen around me (things that are everyday type things), and I will begin having thoughts that make the small situation into something it is not … and was never going to be. These thoughts could be classified as lustful, power-hungry, greedy, selfish, etc. I believe that these are real satanic attacks on me to get me to follow through with decisions that will be divisive or hurtful to those close to me. I cannot describe them much more than that. I finish by saying I have come to recognize them as attacks because try as I may … I am unable to simply dismiss them and start thinking of something new. The barrage continues.
There are only 2 things that I have found that help me during these times. Prayer and the Bible! I talk to God about what is happening. I voice my concerns. And I read His Word searching for answers to what I am dealing with.
I feel as if I have typed a bunch of rubbish above. I hope that is not the case. I hope that in these words, you have found some kind of truth or hope that can help you continue in your Christian walk.
Go with God,
Donald B
Hello,
This may sound crazy to you… I have not always been a true christian, raised as catholic, not really going to church except Christmas and Easter (family).
I was a victim of crime, home invasion…man with knife in middle of the night, husband was able to retieve knife, with GODS HELP!
I seriously felt satan and GOD in my bedroom that night (5 years ago). Also felt good spirit of some sort, leave me a few days later.
God must of felt I could take care of the rest on my own, even though I did not think so. I did.
Following day, my husband gave me the bible, while we were staying at a hotel, due to I was not going back to the evil presence in our home. I read it from begining to end. Then read student bible to comprehend better, from begiining to end.
Big picture of Jesus on my livingroom wall, gives me comfort in this world.
HERE’S MY PROBLEM…..SATAN ATTACKS ME ON A DAILY BASIS.
Told you this will sound crazy to you…He messes with my thoughts, hates it when I read the bible, and everytime I do, something happens, confusing my mind, messing with my godly thoughts, hates it when I recite “The Lords Prayer”, which I do to protect myself from him. My life was never messy like it is now, prior to being a Christain and loving God and Jesus as I do.
Any suggestions?
I know he is a very intelligent being, and know when I am being attacked, and know he is watching for my reaction.
Help if you can,
Patty
Patty …
I don’t think you are crazy, and I would never minimalize any one’s experience. Satan is real and his demons are real. Spiritual attacks are real. It’s a known fact that Satan and his horde are out to get us.
Ephesians 6:10 - 18
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
I have a couple of things I would like to point out to you though.
Satan may be intelligent, but he is not omnipresence. That means he can’t be every where at the same time … like God. He’s not God!
So, be careful when you say Satan is attacking you. He can only go after one person at a time since he’s not omnipresence. And for me … I would feel like I was elevating myself if I said Satan were attacking me.
Now his demons … that’s another story. I firmly believe that play havoc in our lives on a daily basis to break our focus from what is important … SERVING JESUS CHRIST!!!
For instance … today I was having a great time studying Ephesians 1 in my car before work. All of a sudden, a car alarm in a car just in front of me starts going off. I do get distracted for about 15 seconds and then, it hits me. This is a distraction to take me out of the Word. So, I give it to God and do my best to ignore the alarm.
Final point I have for you. Spiritual battles are real! Spiritual forces are real! But we have God on our side! He will fight our battles. We can rest secure in knowing that there is nothing those demons can do that can break my relationship with Christ.
Check out this quote …
“Charles Spurgeon, the great 19th century preacher in England, once told the story that one night as he was sleeping, his bed began to shake. He thought it was a thunderstorm, but he said, “When I woke up and looked, there was Satan standing at the foot of my bed. Satan himself was shaking my bed. I looked at him and said, ‘Oh, it’s only you,’ and I rolled over and went back to sleep.”
Final suggestion … read Romans 8 and meditate on that for a while!
Go with God,
Donald B
I feel like there are demons attacking me. This sounds like I probably have a mental ilness but I really believe in heaven, God, Jesus, Satan, demons, and hell. I believe that demons bother because they see I am getting closer to the Lord and His spirit is in me. I am doing better and better in my life with respects to prayer, faith, bible readings and testifying. I use the power of the Lord to get me through the trials and tribulations of this world. Just as soon as I start to feel better about my life, it seems, I start to get attacked from all sides and it drives me crazy. I am trying to remain patient and to count on the Lord’s protection and now I am having nightmares that cause me to be afraid to go to sleep. Now, I am tired at work and school. I will continue to pray and be faithful in the Lord because I have come to recognize the obstacles in my life as futile attempts by demons to make me stop believing or to tempt me to react in anger or revenge to the people in my life that cause opposition. But I will continue to live my life in peace and refuse to react in the way Satan wants me to react. I choose to live the way Jesus wants me to react.
Laila Hamideh
i am writing today about my 16 year old daughter .She is such a good girl but saten or his demons have attacked her all summer long she will feel good for a while and then she is just a trembling crying mess. she thinks shes losing her mind. He tells her she is serving him (not God) and now he is putting horrible cuss word in her head she has been rasied in church and is a christain. we have prauyed and prayed and dont understand why she is going through this I am a widow and have to work sometimes going to work on as little as 1 hour of sleep or less because she is scared when im a sleep. can u give some advise on how to deal with this. school has started and she is very miserable but is pushing herself to go anyway
Cathy,
I too have a 16 year old daughter. So, I can say that I have seen a lot of moodiness from her from time to time. However, it seems that what you are dealing with has gone a little further than simple moodiness.
As I am not a professional counselor and considering the fact that you are doing this as a widow … I would suggest bringing in outside resources to help you.
Are you in church? If so, talk with your pastor. Even better, speak with the youth pastor of the church. Don’t be hindered from reaching out to your church body due to fear of rejection or from worries about how you will be perceived. God put the church in place for times such as this.
Finally … persever in prayer! Ask others to pray with you. Reach out to the people God has placed in your life. Don’t let pride get in the way.
If you aren’t sure who to speak with, ask God. He will provide!
Go with God,
Donald B
I too have experienced these attacks!! ,its still happens quite often even in prayer !!and when i became reborn ,they suddenly appeared …started ,i too thought i might be going mad or that these thoughts were comming from me!
Tonight i went onto the net ,just to see if other christians might be experiencing the same attacks in the mind that i am experiencing ,i found enough …so many , there must be thousands ,millions ..i dont know how many. All i know is that there is a war going on ,and satan doesnt like me because i belong to the lord or any other of gods children.
…PRAISE GOD OUR FATHER ….THIS STRENGTHENS MY FAITH EVEN MORE AS IT CONFIRMS I AM A CHILD OF GOD.
Stand strong knowing that god is the VICTOR.
Praise God. -Henry Carruthers-South Africa.
I too have been under these attacks. It all started when I decided to get closer to the Lord. That’s when doubts about God’s existance started coming to me. Then, doubts about Jesus. I finally came to the realization that I needed to get saved, and did.
That’s when the fireworks really started! The doubts still came, but then faded away. My battle is blasphemous feelings and thoughts. I say feelings and thoughts, because the thought seems to come through a feeling. It started when I would read my bible. I’m talking about disgusting stuff people, stuff like “Why do you need to worship God? He is full of Himself and power hungry” or “So your God’s child huh? Well you know how satan fell, and you’re going to do the same thing after you die and get kicked out of heaven”
Needless to say these thoughts scared me so badly and I just knew I was going to Hell. Then, God showed me beautiful things. I had a spiritual moment so real that my senses were sharper than they’ve ever been. All of nature seemed to amaze me, even the trees! All of God’s creation seemed to dance together and praise Him! It was the most beautiful experience of my life.
Then, after that mountain, I went back into the valley. Thoughts like @#$@# Jesus, or @#$@# God! Now I talked to my preacher, and he just looked at me like I was strange for having these feelings and thoughts. That just made me more scared and I felt like i’m possessed by a demon or something. However, I know that i’m not. Because I have felt the presence of Jesus with me at different times through all of this. I just refuse to believe the devil’s lies. I am a child of the King, bought and paid for with the precious blood of Jesus!
I am going through the same thing right now. I have finally found a church where I feel at home. I’m dedicated to doing a bible study/journaling every day following along the reading plan of my church. Even though I look forward to it, when I actually sit down to do it my head will be filled with thoughts of “come on, let’s just go lay down. watching TV sounds like fun! want to go for a run? let’s get outside!” ANYTHING to get me away from my Bible. Once I actually start it goes away and I can finally remember that I really enjoy it.
I’m going to be baptized on Sunday. I can feel a presence that is trying to convince me to not do it. It’s something I really want to do! Usually when I get a really bad feeling about something I don’t do it. But this time I recognize that this doubt and fear are being amplified. There is a small part of me that is nervous about having that much attention on me, but that shouldn’t stop me from doing what I want to do!
I am happy to report that my blashpemous thoughts and feeling have subsided; every now and then they seem to come back, though not as strong. However, I have a long history of pornography and lust, which satan tried to tempt me with a couple of weeks ago. I have been clean every since I came to Jesus, but then all of a sudden these powerful temptations hit me. “It right there on the PC” “Nobody will ever know” “God will forgive you” “Just one video won’t hurt”
I prayed and gave it to the Lord and you know what?…It worked. The devil fled and Jesus kept me from falling. I love Him so much. It reminded me of the verse where Paul said the Jesus would make us to stand. Praise Him!
Demonic attacks are very real…as many have confirmed here. I’m going through some horrendous attacks…like Jason’s and worse.
DON’T own those thoughts Jason…they’re not yours…they’re from the enemy.. and he wants you to feel condemned about them… he’ll plant thoughts in our minds and then point an accusing finger at us about them to make us feel guilty….once again…don’t own them. These are one of many of the tactics of the enemies hordes.
Hang in there all.
Here’s a couple of very good sermons on this topic from Pastor Brian Broderson of Calvary Chapel-Costa Mesa. :
TEXT>
http://www3.calvarychapel.com/library/brodersen-brian/studies-books/49-EPH-2002/49-EPH-006-010d-text.htm
AUDIO>
http://www.higherpraise.com/mp3sermons/04274.htm
JASON… here is a quote/copy & paste from the text version of the sermon above….
“Charles Spurgeon, the great Victorian preacher, was plagued by these kinds of things, and so much so, that finally after a long struggle he went to his grandfather who was also a minister. And he confessed to him all of these evil thoughts that were running through his mind. And his grandfather said, “Let me ask you a question. Do you delight in these thoughts?” And he said, “No I hate them.” And his grandfather said, “Then don’t own them. They’re not yours. They belong to the devil.”
Have you ever been praying, and suddenly had your mind assaulted by blasphemous thoughts? Have you ever been worshipping and had pornographic images flash across your mind? Have you ever gone through a period of time when your mind was obsessed by deplorable thoughts, thoughts that sickened and oppressed you, thoughts that you longed to be delivered from? If so, know this, you’re not alone. Many of God’s faithful servants have experienced similar things. And you know, it just seems like in certain times this kind of activity is heightened.”
B—-
I too suffer from these attacks.. They are extremely frustrating. I try to banish them, but they don’t budge. I trust you can imagine how painful, destructive (to one’s self), sickening and sinful they can get. After all, the extent the devil can go to is quite extreme. Thank God, I have my rock. My bible and the Lord help me get through it, which is a perfect counter to any intrusive thought I may experience. I would - in all honesty - prefer the devil to manifest and attack me that way, but instead - as you might expect - the most damaging and vulnerable part is struck.
I probably sound like a lunatic and if that is the case, then ignore me. I just thought I’d share my experiences. How ever helpful that is.
JM …
Just don’t want you to feel ignored. You DO NOT sound like a lunatic. What I have learned is what you seem to have learned. The only way to find freedom from this kind of life is to completely give yourself to Jesus Christ and His will.
Go with God,
Donald B
I find this blog refreshing. Beyond any doubt, it confirms that my struggles against the forces of darkness in this vane world are also the struggles of many. Thanks, and keep the good wordlk
Ok yeah im only 15 and this is so weird.for 3 years me and 1 of my cousins(he is 14) have been talking and hanging out togather.he is christian and has been.well in in october 2007 some time ago he asked me if i was religous.i told him i believed in god and the devil and hell but didnt really pay attention.he explained many things and in great detail.i believed it all with no doubt and for some reason felt better knowing about that.a few months passed and we came to january of 2008.i was sitting playing crysis a pc game when a strange thought literaly showed up for no more than 2 seconds and was gone but the impact it left was really strong.it told me to hurt someone.it was weird because i never have even got in a fight with sombody in my life.innitialy i hated myself for it and went into a deep depression.4 days passed and i called my cousin and slowly got on that topic.and it was weird he said he gets them too.i innitialy thought against my original beliefs…it must be the games.but then i thought ok wait a sec.what are the odds of 2 people,not blood related,1 who has fought people before,and one that hasnt,and i dont know about him but i myself im easy going.
i came to two people.
a guy that is gonna be a psyciatrist told me that i had a free mind,i think it because im affraid to think it and i also have add so my thoughts race anyway so its simply amplified and if i dont want to do it i wont im in control.
my cousins mom says i need to read my bible more.
note.i believe it is either demons or satan heres why.im adopted so what are the odds id meet sombody else who has the same problem in the same family.and what are the odds i just became christian and other new christians too are having thought like problems.i think its our fears satan tackles i mean im not affraid of doubts or death.im only affraid of hurting people as ive always been very careful to others.
seriously scientific odds are too huge to put on this web page soo.i believe it must be a larger force.
Hello, I am researching spiritual warfare for it seems to be a constant in my life.
I attend a wonderful church. It is very different from the one in which I was raised, but I believe that I am called to this church. Last night I was introduced to the idea that Satan wants to kill me! And that I need not make any decisions in my life, at this moment, because I am under attack. This is not the first time that Satan has sent his demons after me. I have had horrible incidences with him. What concerns me is the rest of my life. I am without work and cannot seem to find a job. I am in serious debt. I have gained tremendous weight. I am lonely because of my financial situation. And now this? I am not placing blame on Satan for my lack of income and work and I am the one that put fork to mouth too many times. But, Is it possible that God wants me in this situation? Could God want me here so that He can get my full attention? And, what can I do about this battle that I am under?
Thank you in advance for any advice that you may have.