1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
Most Christians are familiar with this passage of scripture. It is important however that we understand exactly what this means, and how this plays out in our lives.
So, how does he determine whom he may devour? By playing “Show and Tell.” For example, if we have been hurt by someone, even if we have forgiven them, Satan will relentlessly tempt us with thoughts of bitterness, anger, and resentment. If these thoughts are not taken captive, eventually we will say or do something to acknowledge that these thoughts are effective, thereby telling the devil that his lies are being entertained. In this way, we Show the Devil our weakness and Tell him how we may be devoured.
The unrenewed mind is Satan’s favorite place to prowl and roar. Without a renewed mind, taking thoughts captive can be next to impossible.
Jesus shows us how to take thoughts captive.
When the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness, we see Jesus taking those thoughts captive by speaking the truth, letting the devil know He recognized the deception and was not moved by it. Satan left Him for a more opportune time when he saw that Jesus was not volunteering to be devoured.
When Peter was being used by the devil to speak against Jesus’ destiny, Jesus rebuked Peter sharply, letting Peter know he was being used by the enemy.
Satan can inject thoughts into our heads by speaking to our spirit directly, but his preferred method is to use well-meaning brothers and sisters to speak for him.
When we respond to negative thoughts by speaking or acting in agreement with them, we invite the enemy into our lives to bring us into captivity. We become a landing strip for demonic activity and evil influence.
When thoughts come that are clearly not of God, understand there is another person behind them. A person that hates us and the God we serve. We should not be ignorant of the enemy’s deceptions, but many are because the written word of God does not have its proper place in their lives.
If we flood our hearts and minds with truth (the Bible) we render Satan virtually powerless to deceive us. Diminishing the importance of daily exposure and intake of God’s written word may be Satan’s greatest deception.
Remember that Satan cannot defile you. He can only deceive you into defiling yourself. The only thing that defiles a person is what comes out of their mouth.
Matthew 15:16-20a And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person.
Satan can put thoughts in our minds, but he is not a mind reader. He only knows his tactics are working when we show and tell him.
To guard our mouth is to guard our heart. Being slow to speak and giving our heart time to tell our mouths what to say increases our discernment in these areas and helps us identify the stumbling blocks Satan puts in our path.
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