Stand With Jesus
Nineteen-year-old Jamie finally acknowledged that the negative voice in her mind was not hers. Her condemning thoughts had recently morphed into a man’s voice holding court in her mind. He mocked her appearance and demeaned her for the slightest mistake. At first, she mentally defended herself, but soon learned that her responses emboldened him. She endured. Her grades slipped. She avoided friends.
Jamie and her family were Christians. She told her mother, and they came to me for counsel and prayer. We prayed and I told Jamie immediately to turn to Jesus when hearing the voice. I gave her Scripture verses to remind her of God’s truth such as this verse.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death (Ro 8:1-2).
The Spirit of Christ is in you, and he will enable you to stand with him and resist the demon. Talk to Jesus, not the demon. The attacks lessened after a week, and two weeks later ceased altogether. Jesus Christ delivered her from this evil. [i]
Did Jamie open the door to the demon through a particular sin? Its true that when studying hard she did not go to church. But if irregular church attendance established ground for this type of demonic attack, many Christians would be in trouble.
The Bible doesn’t say why some people are taken over and not others. Jesus removed demons from three adults and two children who were under their control. He required no confession of sin. He mercifully used his authority and removed the demons (Mk 1:21-27, 5:1–20, 7:24-30, 9:14-29; Mt. 12:22-23). The slave girl spiritist was possessed until Paul cast out the demon in the Name of Jesus (Acts 16:16-18). In the New Testament, demonization and physical illnesses were treated as a consequence of the Fall. Jesus healed them.
But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you (Mt 12:28).
Can Demons Interact with a Believer’s Thoughts?
Do a simple Google search of ˜Can demons read a believer’s mind?™ and the answer is “They cannot!™ Why? Believers have the Holy Spirit and mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16), and demons are denied access. Additionally, demons are created beings, which means they are not all-knowing, omnipresent, or all powerful. Only God possesses these attributes and he alone knows the thoughts of people (Ps 139:1-6). [2]
I disagree and so do the countless people I’ve counseled over the years. They say, Why do they teach that the demons cannot interact with our thoughts.? I know they can! My question is how I attracted this demon to me? Many are ashamed and fear what other Christians might think of them. Most are like Jamie and unaware of unconfessed sin.
I respond, You are in Christ! If God convicts you of sin, then repent. We are spiritual beings, and the Holy Spirit is changing you to reflect Jesus. Yet, the old nature remains. Christians can resist sin, but not absolutely. Paul poignantly describes the struggle.
For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do, this I keep on doing. . . . What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord (Ro 7:19, 24-25)!
“But Satan does not require a particular sin to attack God’s people. Satan tempted sinless Adam and Eve, attacked righteous Job, and tempted sinless Jesus. Satan hates those who love God.
Because we are spiritual, angels and demons can communicate with us. but don’t assume that a particular darkness in you attracted the demon. “Like attracts like™ is not a Christian teaching. It comes from magic and animistic folk religions where people believe in and fear the powers of spirit beings. When under attack, people turn to shamans, medicine men, and the like to identify the cause and solution. They use carefully worded chants and rituals to control the spirits. Christians understand that Jesus Christ defeated these powers—making null and void all rituals and ceremonies to manipulate the demons.
For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. . . . And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Col 1:16, 2:15).
What Does the Bible Say?
Admittedly, the Bible reveals very little about the demons because the stories in which they appear are never about them. They are about God. God simply commanded the Israelites not to participate in pagan practices where they might interact with demons (Dt 18:10–11).
Jesus Christ lifted the curtain to expose Satan’s malevolence toward God and his people. Jesus exposed the rebel angel and his demons in the context of his rule over them. Throughout Scripture, Satan and the demons always function under the permissive will of God who uses them to accomplish his good purposes. Consider how God used Paul’s messenger of Satan to humble his Apostle (2 Co 12:7-10). God does not erect a spiritual shield around the soul to keep demons from influencing believers. Instead, Jesus enables Christians to stand with him and resist demonic temptations to sin (Eph 6:10-18). He renews the will so believers can choose to love and obey God. In Christ, the demons become like gnats, bothersome for sure, but nothing compared to the majesty of King Jesus.
The issue is whose voice do we believe? Whose guidance do we follow? What do we do when a demon fills the mind and heart with ungodly thoughts and passions? What do we do when a demon holds court in our mind? Do we tremble in condemnation? No, we reject the doctrine of demons. We stand with Christ.
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 8:37-39).
1. Sharon T. Beekmann, Angels, Demons, and the Dead: Casting the Light of Scripture on Spirit Beings (Littleton: Illumify Media Global, 2020) pp. 67-68.
[2] https://www.ligonier.org/learn/qas/can-devil-read-my-mind; https://www.ficm.org/ufaqs/can-satan-read-my-mind/; https://www.epm.org/resources/2009/Dec/16/can-demons-read-our-thoughts/.