Does Satan know our thoughts?
May 23rd, 2008
(By John MacArthur)
The following is adapted from a Grace Church Q&A session.
Can Satan hear what we say and know our thoughts? Should we avoid praying out loud because Satan might hear us?
There is nothing in the Bible to indicate that Satan is omniscient. There are no verses that say he knows everything or that he can read our thoughts. But he is very adept at predicting human behavior because he’s seen it operate for so long. He can anticipate what you might do in a given situation without knowing your thoughts because of his knowledge of humankind and because he has a supernatural mind.
But in terms of being omniscient and being able to read your thoughts (as God can), the Bible does not support that idea at all. It never tells us that angels are omniscient. And if a holy angel isn’t omniscient, neither is a fallen one. So, Satan can’t read our thoughts, even if he’s great at predicting human behavior because he’s seen so much of it.
I was speaking at a conference in Iowa about this problem. People were asking questions like “How do you deal with demons?” and “Do we need exorcism to get rid of demons?” Well, there are a lot of people today who say you do. I once read a book about deliverance in which the author described a doctor who was supposedly delivered from the demon of post-nasal drip. And in this approach, whenever you think you have a demon, there’s a certain magical formula you say or you run around or “plead the blood”—whatever that phrase means, since it’s not from the Scripture. The blood has already been pled in your behalf at the time of your salvation and that takes care of it.
There are people who advocate little formulas and séance-type practices with a Christian connotation, claiming that they can cast out demons and so forth. But when you get into the Bible, you find that dealing with the devil is really as simple as going to Ephesians 6 and putting on the armor of God. You see, in Ephesians 6, it says, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers,” right? We’re wrestling against demons and against Satan.
But what do we do about it? The best place to find out is to read right in that same chapter, isn’t it? Notice that it does not say, “Go get your demons exorcised with a Christian exorcism.” Nor does it say, “Go get somebody to cast your demon out.” It says, “Put on the whole armor of God,” and what that whole armor really consists of is righteousness. The heart of it is “the breastplate of righteousness.” The key then is to live a righteous, Spirit-filled life and to trust in the sovereign power of God.
So, there is nothing in the Bible that says Satan can read our thoughts. Certainly demons can hear what we say. They can understand what we say. And as I said before, they are very good at predicting the common responses of man because they’ve been at it for such a long time.
But don’t worry about that! A lady once said to me, “We whisper,” because she was afraid of demons hearing her prayers. My response was, “Well, that’s foolish!” You can go boldly before the throne of grace. In the Old Testament, it doesn’t say, “And David whispered to the Lord;” it says, “And David said unto the Lord”—and out it came. You never hear any time in the apostle Paul’s instruction to us about prayer when he says, “Don’t talk out loud.” When he wanted to pray, he just flat out prayed and it didn’t bother him whether Satan heard it because he was living in such a way that Satan couldn’t do anything about it anyway. That’s the issue.
Does Satan know our thoughts? Sounds eerie. Here’s other interesting ones: Does Satan read email? Does Satan write email? Does Satan have a blog? Did Satan start the War? Did Satan Hijack the Planes? Did Satan Strap The Bomb?
In the light of current events, the present state of information technology and the fact that the cyberspace is a venue for promoting and opposing religious beliefs and other ideas, I believe those are valid inquiries for biblical exegesis.
“There are people who advocate little formulas and séance-type practices with a Christian connotation…”
I have found the BASIS for most False teachings such as Romanist Mystecism and Pagan Spiritualism to be the common ground of Extra Biblical Fairy tales, fear and superstitions.
Let us not be timid, in MOST “third world” countries one of the BIGGEST struggles for Pastors and Believers is this SUPERSTITIOUS MYSTICISM as relates to Ancestor spirits, Demon possession, Healing and all these things are totally related to each other. To say that these things are USED of Satan would be correct as his main work is DECEPTION and LIES, to keep us occupied with unproductive work, rather than works of the Holy Spirit in accordance with the Scriptures.
Whichcraft, séances and all mysticisms are rooted in the DECEPTIONS of Satan, Superstitions and Paganism, whether it is DONE under the banner of “christ” or “god”, it remains the same evil root.
What I find interesting in Ephesians 6 is that we are instructed to be armed and ready to do WHAT!? STAND… Not run headlong into the battle; not to run away from it; BUT TO “Do all to STAND”, after all the BATTLE belongs to the LORD, and we are His instruments or subordinate soldiers. A good soldier awaits the instruction and orders of his Generals, he does NOT operate on his own. He clearly is trained and versed in the manner of warfare in accordance with the “Manuals” or plans of warfare, then he awaits his orders In the battle. A good General ensures that his troops are READY for the battle, and ONLY engages at the most ADVANTAGEOUS moment inside the battle. So let us Train ourselves in accordance with the “Orders” given in Scripture and do all to STAND awaiting the Day of the LORD, when He will go before us in the battle and He will delcare the Victory as we are used as instruments of His righteousness to His glory.
A common triat amongs so called “christian” cults is the Mysticism, Superstition and EXTRA-Biblical theories which they hold. BEWARE of these “every wind of doctrine”/s as they sweep about confusing “IF possible EVEN the elect”.
Satan is the accuser of the brethren who has been cast down (Rev. 12:10)! Satan is the liar that tells you what your fallen nature is inclined to listen to (John 8:44). Satan; though you cannot see his face or detect his form is a malicious foe that wars against you with unwavering enthusiasm. He is not a myth, nor a dream, nor a superstitious imagination like the unsaved masses and Apostate Christianity would have you believe. He is a contentious, wicked being, fully devoted to and concerned about challenging God at every point. In spite of being a spirit, he has as much power over our hearts as we have over the hearts of others, and in many cases much more. Satan considers our attitudes and states of mind but this devious hunter of souls comes upon us suddenly, and often we are over taken in a fault or caught in a trap through lack of vigilance or complacency (1Peter 5:8). Satan sets before us such objects of temptation that are most agreeable to our own particular dispositions. He is behind everything that opposes God and intentionally directs us that way to which we incline ourselves through the weakness of our fallen nature. Satan has acquired immense familiarity and proficiency in opposing man and has been instrumental to the fall of humanity from the beginning of creation (Gen. 3:1; Dan. 8:25). Having tempted the highest to the lowest, he knows exceedingly well what the substance of human hearts are and how to play upon them (Jer. 17:9). He watches for our particular weaknesses and discovers our faults. There may be anger, lust, impatience, laziness, greed or any number of sinful proclivities but he is quick to take advantage of our tendencies. Genuine Christians are spiritual warriors in a battle for the hearts, minds, and souls of men. He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (1John 4:4). Therefore, submit to God. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7). This is the word of God therefore His promise. During Christ’s earthly sojourn, He defeated the Devil with the word of God. The weapons of His warfare were not carnal but mighty through God, if our Lord and Savior used the word to fight His arch nemesis how much more should we be armed with the Sword of the Spirit! Our own ignorance of Gods word is Satan’s greatest tool!
O.k., so this post admits that demons can hear if we pray outloud, but just says do it anyway. Well, sometimes that’s not such a bright idea. For example, in a murder case where someone is an informant for ex, and is telling the police to be prepared to receive a certain object (say a licked envelope) for a DNA sample in a case of a serial killer suspect who gives every indication of being demon-possessed — then guess what, the suspect changes his mind and tells the informant he will not be sending the letter after all. One has to wonder if the demon tipped off the person. This stuff happens all the time. If I’m involved with someone I suspect is demon-possessed, I carefully consider what I’m writing down or speaking outloud. I would like to see Christians in the criminal justice field articulate the cautions and on the positive side, the potentials, of demonology in apprehending demon-possessed suspects.
Cindy,
You cannot be serious; if you are you do not believe that God is sovereign. If you did you would know that there is no power greater than His and that all is in subjection to Him. So that when demonic forces hear our prayers or “reads” our notes what does it matter? God who is sovereign over them will allow or not allow any action in accordance with His will which is Dr. MacArthur’s point. Please stop living in the fear of the word faith movement.
God who is sovereign … will allow or not allow any action in accordance with His will …
So, Jamie - if a boulder is rolling down the hill and you are in it’s path, what do you do? Do you stand still in the path of the boulder because you believe God’s Will will be done regardless of what you do? If you jump out of the way of the boulder have you betrayed your trust in God?
As referenced above, the Bible says “Put on the whole armour of God …” Why? Do you have any right or need to fear what might happen to you and thru you if you fail to put on the whole armour of God? Your logic quoted at the top of this post suggests that one need not bother putting on the whole armour of God because God’s Will will be done regardless of what we do. But if God’s Will is going to be done regardless, why are we commanded to put on His armour?
The command to put on the whole armour of God suggests that we have some responsibility / control over what happens to us, in spite of the fact that God is sovereign. Cindy’s question is legitimate, if a bit unusual: “Do we as Christian’s have some responsibility to keep from Satan or the demons information they don’t already have? Even as we enable the boulder to strike us if we don’t move out of the way, so might we enable Satan or demons to do what they otherwise could not by refusing to keep silent about some things when in their presence.
In reality, I think Satan and the demons are adept at hiding their presence. Because of this, I think they can pretty much listen in on any conversation they want to. As a result, I think we don’t have much, if any, ability to keep Satan or the demons from learning whatever they want to find out.
Richard,
Jamie was referring to the actions that Cindy used in her example. No, for no reason would a person be released from jail because a demon overheard a conversation. He could only be released because God caused or allowed it to happen. Your example only shows what we would consider with a boulder rolling at us. The Lord’s Will will come to pass, but we are also accountable. In the same way God can only bring someone to salvation, but we are commanded to preach the Gospel. Jamie is correct in saying a sovereign God controls all, and He either causes or allows everything to happen for His will to come to pass. As for your “demonology” I think only scripture can help. Satan nor demons are omniscient and so they can only be one place at a time, they can only affect people directly under God’s will, and that an accuser of the brethren can only do so on areas that men have given him room to do so. If you are walking with the Lord, you are working towards eliminating satans ability to affect your life. God is completely sovereign and nothing a demon or satan can do is outside of His divine will.
Jamie, don’t worry, I’m not into the word faith movement! Richard P understood me correctly. (David B, I actually had a particular real life example in mind, and in this case the suspect was/is not yet apprehended, is not in jail, I’m not sure where you got that from.)
The command to put on the whole armour of God suggests that we have some responsibility / control over what happens to us (Quote)
We absolutely do have some responsibility over what happens to us. If we are spiritually prepared to go through the day, we don’t have to worry or fear. But, if we are lazy and don’t even read, much less obey, what the Word says, then we leave ourselves open to a satanic attack.
I think every Christian must begin each day with a talk with God. I always ask Him to let every word I think, speak, or write be His word. I know that my own words don’t have the life in them that they have when they are His words. So, I put on the whole armor of God, not just in the morning, but also during the day. I remind satan that my mind is covered with the helmet of salvation. By this, I am telling the devil that I have the blood of Jesus covering me and my mind.
If you really study the whold armor of God, you will find it to be an extrodinary tool to ward off any attacks of evil during the day. Of course, when we do the part God has given us, He takes care of the rest.
Sandy
So who says you have to be God-like to read minds? We’re created a little lower than the angels. Maybe knowing a person’s thoughts isn’t that big of a deal. Or maybe it is. I don’t know.
My main point is this. satan doesn’t need thousands of years observing human behaviour to trick us. He uses the very same thoughts that brought about his downfall (pride, corrupted self-love, anger, etc.) to get to us as well. My guess is he had as little trouble getting the very first humans to disobey as he does with us.