Finding Victory over Satan!
Hi Friends! Back from a brief vacation, and I’m ‘chomping at the bit’ to finish this series! First, if you haven’t been tracking with this series on the characteristics of Satan, please find the whole series here. For those who have been tracking, let’s do a quick recap: First, we learned about the characteristics of Satan, that he is a created being, how he fell to his current position, and who created him. Next, we looked at the four signs in our life that Satan has gotten the upper hand in our lives:
- Divisiveness in our life is quite common
- Arrogance is increasingly creeping in
- Moral Lines are being blurred, and finally,
- We lose sight of who we are in Christ
In this last post in the series, I’m going to write a bit about how we can find victory over Satan through our Christ, a topic that I’ve done a lot of study and had personal experience testing out what I’ll write about today. First, a couple of ‘pro tips:’ Remember that none of us can overcome and find victory over Satan in our own strength. In Christ alone do we find the strength to find this victory, through what Christ has done on the Cross! Through His blood, we have victory over the enemy!
So what would this normally look like? First, you’d recognize that Satan is winning in an area of your life where Jesus should be winning. This could be in the four areas above, or any of the other areas we see in the New Testament where we’re told to flee. From sexual immorality[1], from idolatry[2], or any of the ‘fruits of the flesh’ we see in Galatians 5, ‘sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these…’ If you are a disciple of Jesus, you are filled with the Holy Spirit, who prompts us and convicts us that flesh is winning. We must immediately come to Christ, confess our sin, and ‘he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’[3]
There are four steps that I’ve taken over the years that have helped me tremendously:
- Restore your relationship with Jesus. In your sin, there was something broken in your relationship that needs fixing. Praying to Jesus your desire to be restored in Him, to renew your place in Him and to surrender every aspect of your life completely to Him is a great first step.
- Renounce all other gods, all idols in your life that led to this transgression, and give Him the place in your heart and in your life that He truly deserves
- As I wrote in my last post in this series, remember that you are crucified with Christ, and have crucified your flesh with all its passions and desires. Remember that in Christ, you are ‘more than conquerors through him who loved you.’[4]
- Finally pray directly to Jesus against Satan and his work in your life. Over the years, I’ve formed a ‘Daily Prayer for Freedom,’ which I would highly encourage you to read through and use as needed. In this prayer, here’s how I’ve formed this section:
And now I bring the fullness of your work—your cross, resurrection, and ascension—against Satan, against his kingdom, and against all his emissaries and all their work warring against me and my domain. Greater is he who is in me than he who is in the world. Christ has given me authority to overcome all the power of the Evil One, and I claim that authority now over and against every enemy, and I banish them in the name of Jesus Christ. Holy Spirit, apply to me (my wife and my children) the fullness of the work of the ascension of Jesus Christ for me. I receive it with thanks and give it total claim to my life.
Much more to be said here (feel free to email me with any questions!) but remember that victory is yours through Christ! And never forget James’ admonition in James 4: ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.’
[1] 1 Corinthians 6:18
[2] 1 Corinthians 10:14
[3] 1 John 1:9
[4] Romans 8:37