Understanding Satanic Desires

All Christians are attacked at some point by satanic desires. Satan and his forces are the most devious of our three enemies. Let’s explore the identification of satanic desires. I once saw a juggling act so amazing I still remember it years later. I was at the waterfront in San Francisco and noticed a crowd around a juggler. A man in the crowd was throwing different things at the juggler. A first it looked easy, a couple of different size balls. Then he threw him a knife. Wow! “Throw me something else!” the juggler hollered. The man stepped forward and tossed him a bowling ball! We couldn't believe it but he juggled it, too! “Throw me something else!” he said. Then the man threw him a chainsaw which he also juggled. Everyone stood there shocked as he successfully juggled all those different objects. Most people couldn't even catch a bowling ball or chainsaw, let alone juggle it. What if they were all thrown at you at the same time? That’s scary to even think about! Satan and his followers attack us by throwing multiple attacking thoughts or desires at us at the same time. Satanic attacks are different from the attacks by the flesh and the world. They’re complex which makes them hard to handle but if we understand them, we can identify them. The key passage that tells us Satan attacks people with desires is John 8:39-44. In it Jesus confronted the Jews who were trying to kill Him. He said the reason they wanted to kill Him was because they were following the desires of Satan. The word desire that Jesus used is the same word in James 1:14-15 describing the first step to sin. The Bible doesn't give us a list of satanic desires like it does for the flesh and the world. We are, however, given a way to identify them. In Ephesians 6:11 we’re told to put on the armor of God to stand against the schemes or satanic desires of the devil.

The armor of God is the key to recognizing satanic desires.

By understanding the armor, we can identify satanic attacks. The pieces of the armor of God are concepts, principles, ideal and attitudes. Here’s a list of the armor and the satanic desires that are the opposite of each piece. Remember a desire is an urge to think or do something.

Armor	Satanic desires, attacking thoughts
truth	lies, speculations, half truths
righteousness	unrighteous ideas or plans, act independent of God
readiness	discouragement, give up, get sidetracked
faith	doubt, questioning God
salvation	accusations, unworthy thoughts
sayings of God	contradicting God’s word

We're told to put on the whole armor of God.  When your mind is filled with several of these satanic desires at once, it’s probably a satanic attack. These attacks are complex. When you start paying attention to your mind you’ll notice when you experience these. More teaching will come in future posts on how to put on the armor. The key is resist! How have you been able to use the armor to recognize satanic attacks? Please leave a comment or question below.