(October 26, 2024) Dr Richard Winter very clearly shares a great truth…

Well… can he? Can the devil read your mind?

We all know that Satan is our adversary who seeks those whom he may devour. And I must confess that in our spiritual battles sometimes we give the devil too much credit! We so often blame him or ascribe to him power and authority that he simply does not have.

One of those areas deals with when we ask ourselves, ‘Can Satan read our minds?’ and fear creeps in. You will be happy to know the answer to this question is no, he can’t!

But… just saying ‘No, he can’t’ is not enough. We need to consider scripture to understand this topic better and be aware of the following three ploys of the devil.

(i) Satan Knows Our Vulnerabilities
In order to answer the question ‘Can Satan read our minds’ we need to understand what he actually knows about us.

When the Bible speaks about the mind it is often referring to the heart. They are often tied together and sometimes used interchangeably.

A very famous proverb says this about human beings: ‘For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…’(Proverbs 23:7NKJV). Since this is true, here is what Satan knows about us [male andfemale!]… he knows what we may be prone to, all about our—  

• Tendencies.
• Temperaments.
• Temptations.

But this type of information that Satan knows about us is not because he can read our minds! Rather it is because he is a master at studying our behaviour. Satan can’t read what is in your mind, but he can see what you do and the choices and decisions you make. He creates his plan of attack based on the areas of your life he has seen: results of your behaviour and choices, where you are most vulnerable.

(ii) Satan Trickily Engages People
There are not a lot of places in the Bible where we can read about Satan’s interaction with humans but there is one very famous incident that gives us some insight.

Genesis 3:1-5 tells ‘Now the serpent [one Satan’s trick poises] was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?”’

Eve’s response was, ‘We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, “You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.”’ To which Satan cunningly, slyly said ‘You will not certainly die… For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’

Now I’m sure you are probably aware of this story regarding what Christianity refers to as ‘the fall.’ I want to declare one thing about Satan from this encounter that will help you learn a little more about him and reveal whether or not Satan can read our minds. And it’s this — Satan is a thought influencer, not a mind reader!

In this encounter with Eve, there is no indication that Satan can read minds. There is however every indication that Satan can influence thoughts. In his opening question in this conversation notice he asked Eve a question: ‘Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden”?’ The purpose in asking that question was simply to begin to influence Eve’s thoughts and her thinking.

And he still uses the same tactics today! He may bombard you with questions with the sole purpose of influencing your thoughts. For example, here are some thought-influencing questions…

• Did the pastor really teach that last week?
• Do you think God still loves you after what you did?
• Everyone else gets credit; don’t you deserve recognition too?
• You know this is what you really want, so why not go and get it?
• If that Christian is doing it, mustn’t it be okay for you to do it as well?

The list of these types of questions can go on and on and they are all designed to influence your thoughts. When these questions pop up in your mind it may appear Satan can read your mind, but the truth is he is simply responding to your demonstrated patterns of behaviour.

Realise this truth — Satan is not a mind reader, but he is a thought influencer. Always, always, always remember this reality!

(iii) Satan Influences Our Thoughts
Knowing that Satan will attempt to influence your thoughts may cause you to ask why this is so important? Let’s remember what I said earlier about the heart and mind often being used in scripture interchangeably. With that consider this important verse:‘Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it’ (Proverbs 4:23).

Matthew Henry wrote ‘We must maintain a holy jealousy of ourselves, and set a strict guard… keep our hearts from doing hurt and getting hurt, from being defiled by sin and disturbed by trouble; keep them as our jewel, as our vineyard…’

The reason Satan seeks to influence your thoughts is because he knows that is your control centre.

• Everything you do comes from the things you think about.
• There has never been a decision or choice you have made without thinking about it.
• Some thoughts you had momentarily, others you thought about for long periods of time. Nevertheless the choice you made was after you thought about it.
• The same thing was true of Eve in the garden. Satan influenced her thoughts. She considered the options, and made a decision based on the influence on her thoughts.
• Do note that such decision-making hasn’t happened with only Eve… but to countless individuals. You’re not alone: it happens to all of us!

Consider what James wrote: ‘But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death’ (James 1:14-15).

This pattern of sin begins with an enticement or an evil desire. Guess where that evil desire comes from? You got it, from your thoughts. Therefore, Satan will attempt to influence your thoughts because if he can do that successfully, it will ultimately lead to your actions.

And how does Satan know what to tempt us with? you’re now asking. Let me share further— ‘Satan’ means adversary. When trying to influence our thoughts, our adversary is going to make an appeal to three areas of our lives… appeals to our—

1. Flesh
John warned Christians not to love the world (1John 2:15NKJV). In verse 16 he strongly pointed out that ‘For everything in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — comes not from the Father but from the world.’

CJV (Complete Jewish Version) puts these three deceptions this way: … ‘the desires of the old nature, the desires of the eyes, and the pretensions of life.’ The NLT version expresses these longings as ‘… a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions.’

Typically, when we fall into sin it will come under one of these categories because these are the things our flesh gravitates towards.

2. Fears
Paul warned us to ‘Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour’ (1Peter 5:8).

Our enemy is the devil — Satan — and he will seek to appeal to our fears because he knows that when fear kicks in, anxiety and worry can dismay us, devour us. And often we will shrink back from what or who we are supposed to be.

Don’t be a ‘someone’ that is  devoured by Satan’s cunning trickery! As Peter advised in verse 7, ‘Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.’ Cast is epirripto, meaning to throw out, away, as in a fisherman’s strong casting… which Peter knew all about!

3. Faith
Satan will seek to get us to question God and issues, as he did with Eve, ‘Did God really say?’

I want you to understand why he uses these tactics and how they play into his ultimate goal. Let me sum them up like this—

• When you fall into sin, it will destroy you.
• When you are overwhelmed with fear, it will disarm you.
• When you are overcome by doubt, it will discourage you.

Whether it is sin, fear or doubt, Satan’s goal is to render you ineffective for the kingdom of God. If you are in Christ, he knows he can’t have you, so he opts for the next best thing. He tries to make your witness and testimony of no value, or to discourage you with fear and doubt so you lose all desire to share your testimony with anyone else. He cannot do that by reading your mind, but he can do that by influencing your thoughts.

So then, can Satan Read our Minds?
No — but he is a formidable opponent, and it is up to us to be aware of his methods and schemes.

Hopefully you will stop wondering if Satan can read your mind and start realising that he will attempt to influence your thoughts. When you recognise this, then you can begin to put up a barrier and be aware of all the thoughts that flow in and out of your mind.

That’s why God’s word is so important and why you must pay attention to everything that you allow in and what you spend time dwelling on. While he cannot read your mind, if he influences your thoughts eventually it will show up in your actions. As you guard your heart you set up a defence so that Satan cannot breakthrough!

So, guard your heart — mind — because this is one way you can overcome the deceptive schemes of the enemy! Read God’s blessed word!

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Dr Richard Winter pastors The Connection Church, Huntington Beach, California. Link: OnlinerConnect@gmail.com   Link:
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