“May the forces of evil become confused on the way to your house,” says George Carlin. That’s a great blessing prayer, but I think it is more often we who become confused and often end up collaborating with the enemy.

An attack from the enemy brings forth anything that is the fruit of evil and not the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control). Collaborating with the enemy means that we join forces with him—our sin nature working together with demonic suggestions and plans (see Galatians 5:19–23).

Do a little fruit inspection, in yourself and in the circumstances, to know if you are collaborating with the enemy. Then decide if you are facing one of the 3 types of demonic attacks I shared about in my last post—resistance, temptation, or flaming arrows. Now—to battle!

Scripture gives us clear directions for battling evil. We are told to submit, or present ourselves ready for battle, to God. Next we are to resist the devil, which results in his retreat (see James 4:7). But how does one resist the devil? What does that mean and what does that look like?

Avoid demonic attacks: Counter resistance with truth

Daniel and some of his friends were cast into a flaming furnace because they refused to give into their king’s demand to worship him as god. The young men decided to meet resistance with truth—they took the consequences and came out victorious. Their truth sounded like this: “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:17–18 NIV). Did it work? You can read the rest of the story in Daniel 3.

Avoid demonic attacks: counter temptation with truth

Temptation confronts all of us, and it is also resisted with truth. Jesus modeled this for us when he countered every temptation Satan thrust at him by speaking a truth from Scripture (see Luke 4:1-14).

For example, when facing sexual temptation I might remind the enemy (and myself) of 1 Corinthians 10:13: “Satan, no temptation has seized me except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let me be tempted beyond what I can bear. When I am tempted, God will also provide a way out so that I can stand up under the temptation. Now, be gone and stop harassing me with this temptation.” I would then put 2 Timothy 2:22 into action and flee whatever form of lust the enemy is shoving in my face.

Avoid demonic attacks: counter flaming arrows with truth

Since flaming arrows are aimed directly at our thoughts and emotions, countering them with truth is important to getting our mind and heart saturated with faith and standing strong against the enemy.

When attacked with inadequacy or feelings of being unloved, we can grab Scriptures such as Romans 8:37–39 and tell the enemy, “No, this is not true. The Scripture says that I am more than a conqueror through him who loves me. 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 me from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus my Lord.”

Collaborating with the enemy leads to death—on many levels. Collaborating with the Spirit Holy requires that we learn and speak truth—both to ourselves and to the enemy. Share with us your story of using truth to resist the enemy. I would love to hear from you.

(For lots more detailed information on the demonic realm and spiritual warfare, check out Intercessors, God’s End-time Vanguard: How to Pray Effectively For the Things That Matter Most.)

In Him together, Susan Gaddis