Satan’s Strategy: 4 Steps He Uses to Influence and Control Your Life

It is the scene of an unseen battle that rages night and day.

Hosts of Heaven and Earth are in battle across the universe and in our lives. Even if our physical eyes cannot see the action, we are in the midst of it, not as bystanders but as a people armed with weapons of spiritual warfare and the armor of God.

The ancient Chinese general Sun Tzu offered advice that applies to worldly warfare, as well as to the spiritual kind:

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.

Knowledge is powerful. If you know who you are and who your enemy is, you begin with an advantage. If you are in Christ, your advantage is insurmountable and immeasurable! But you need to know who you are in Him, and you need to embrace your identity as a victor. This is your nature and your position, not because of your prowess but because Jesus defeated Satan 2,000 years ago. Even so, you cannot be passive. You must engage—not to fight in your own strength, but to rest in God’s power and let the Holy Spirit reveal the contours of battle. The more accurately you perceive, the more effectively you can use your God-given authority and deny the devil a foothold.

You must also know your enemy. Keep in mind Satan’s biography and the titles that describe him. He is a liar, deceiver, murderer, thief, and more. His titles and traits reveal what makes him tick. He is all too real, and he is relentless. Still, he cannot pluck you from God’s hand unless you turn yourself over to him. His aim is to win your support, if not your outright worship. He is incensed by God’s favor toward you, and he will try to talk you out of it at every opportunity.

Satan is powerful and cunning, but he is not omnipotent, omniscient, or omnipresent. His days of “seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8) are numbered. His prognosis is poor; he is doomed to the abyss and then to the lake of fire. The one who wanted to “be like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:14) never reached his desired destination—it was an impossible dream. Instead, he was kicked to the lowlands of the spirit realm, and now, with a sentence hanging over his head like the sword that hung by a horsehair over the head of Damocles,181 our foe is terribly desperate!

So know yourself and know your enemy. Then follow your King to victory!

No Contest

The enemy is slick and capable of doing damage, but he is not divine. When we see Satan as God’s equal, we misunderstand them both and hurt ourselves. Satan is no match for God—he’s not even close. But he is clever and cunning, which is why Peter warned, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Determine today that the enemy may not devour you. God gave you “the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:19). Use it!

Satan the Accuser and Exploiter

Satan knows his limits, and he uses his “assets” well. With words and thoughts, he tears us down, and with careful observation, he sets up his next exploit. Rarely does he miss an opportunity to do so, either.

As the accuser, Satan is the quintessential blame-shifter who defames God in order to justify his own actions. His accusations serve his short- and long-term goals. “…He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44).

Satan will say whatever serves his purpose, not only against God but also against God’s people. He points the finger and coaxes us to embrace his accusations as if they were our own thoughts. He says, “You don’t pray enough. You’re a lousy parent. You’re inept, unattractive, unloved. You’ll never make it. God can’t use you. You will die before your time. No one cares about you. You will always be alone.” These fiery darts come straight from the arsenal of darkness. Unless we recognize and disavow them, we end up becoming our own worst enemy!

Exploitation is another satanic trick. The enemy exploits trauma. The fact is that he exploits every opportunity he sees. As a master of lawlessness and legalism, Satan will encourage you to sin and then condemn you with the letter of the law. As a careful observer, he will exploit your weaknesses—even the ones you don’t see—for his gain. He is a dirty fighter who flings grenades when you least expect them, and blows up the things you thought could not be shaken! He does not care who gets hurt. His only values are stealing, killing, and destroying.

Satan’s moves are not random, either; each is well-tailored. He understands human nature because he is an astute observer. He studies his targets and plots how and when to strike. He knows what triggers your fears. He learns how to trip your wire. I’ve heard preachers say, “The devil knows us better than we know ourselves.” It’s largely true, but only because he has worked at it for so long!

But Satan’s schemes are nothing new (see 2 Corinthians 2:11). He has drawn people into the same wicked traps for millennia. Much of his success comes when we license his attacks through our disobedience to God’s commands. Our Maker’s directives are not designed to make us miserable but to keep us safe. God knows the exploiter will pounce at any and every opportunity. So He warns us ahead of time. For example, God issued this warning through Moses, His prophet: “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer” (Deuteronomy 18:10).

If that sounds like an obsolete command, think again. It is as relevant now as it ever was. God was addressing idol worship, specifically, the worship of Moloch, which was common in Moses’ day. This Canaanite deity offered worshippers his blessing in exchange for the sacrifice of their children. (Satan’s ways are always counterfeits. The true and living God doesn’t require us to sacrifice our children—He sacrificed His Son so that we could be blessed!) Moloch worshippers pledged their allegiance to him and other deities by placing their children in the fire to be burned alive.

The same atrocity happens today, but with a new twist: tens of millions of contemporary women and couples defy God’s warning not by burning their children alive, but by aborting them. Moloch’s captives understood that they were worshipping an idol. Those who abort their children might not see their deeds as worship, but they are bowing their knees all the same.

Satan glories in these dark victories, but he is never satisfied to strike just once. After he convinces women and couples to “solve their problem” by snuffing out their children’s lives, he then accuses and condemns them. After they abort, many (if not most or even all) women suffer mental anguish, sometimes for the rest of their lives. Some feel so degraded by the act that they become trapped in cycles of illicit sex and abortion, which sear their hearts and set them up for further sin and destruction.

Our verse from Deuteronomy 18:10 also forbids witchcraft. What God hates, Satan sees as a potential windfall. So he encourages—by suggestion and through marketing, other people, and the media—the use of Ouija boards, horoscopes, satanic games, divination (the use of signs and omens, including tea leaves and tarot cards), soothsaying (fortune-telling), and sorcery. Those who engage in these activities might as well send out engraved invitations saying, “All demons are welcome here.” Witches and witchcraft are gateways for evil spirits. Open the door, and the devil will gladly dispatch as many spirits as you are willing to take in.

The occult is forbidden by God. Any practice that tampers with the stars and spirits is off-limits. Visiting with psychics, tarot card readers, or any type of medium is like playing with fire. Expect to get burned! Television commercials for psychic hotlines never tell you what happens when you ask their agents for answers about your future. They don’t disclose the barrage of spirits that is released through your interaction. Nor do they advertise truthfully.

Psychics don’t predict your future because they actually know your future; what they do is tap into wicked spirits that know something about your life—familiar spirits, as the Bible calls them, that have compiled dossiers on you. They also use a measure of common sense about human nature. Neither the devil nor his earthly servants can read your mind, or those tea leaves! Remember, only God knows all.

These examples of satanic accusation and exploitation only scratch the surface, but you get the idea. The devil is not satisfied when you sin; rather, he is obsessed with leveraging your disobedience to oppress you even more. Whatever your weakness, he will attempt to use it for his “glory”—but only if you give him the chance.

Punching the Satanic Clock

You’ve heard the term witching hour. We tend to use it facetiously, but it is no joke. Most occult practitioners place the witching hour somewhere between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., with 3 a.m. being the most active time of all. Spiritually sensitive people from all faiths, including Christians, Hindus, Muslims, and others, attest to spikes in evil activity during the overnight hours. Satan is, after all, the prince of darkness.

Satan’s “Big Three”

The enemy of our souls is driven, but also surprisingly patient, methodical, and prone to using a slow drip of wickedness to achieve long-term ends. His goal is to be worshipped, but most humans don’t fall for him all at once. So he woos them over time, particularly through the employment of his emissaries: demons. The order of demonic attack first begins with oppression, then obsession, then finally possession. Bear in mind that Satan cannot be everywhere at once, which is why he uses these surrogates—and other fallen angels as well—to facilitate his schemes.

Oppression

This level of demonic activity can be so subtle that we are not consciously aware of the enemy’s presence or involvement. How he oppresses us is through accusations and other thoughts that make inroads into our perspectives, psyche, and sense of identity. These tactics are designed to distract and weigh us down so that we become passive, always questioning ourselves and ultimately questioning God. Not every negative thought is Satan’s work, but he is an expert at planting and watering ideas until we accept them as being true and being our own.

Oppression is essentially influence. If Satan cannot get your full-throated worship straightaway, he will settle for influence in your mind and heart. If he can taint your thinking, he can lead you toward bondage. It won’t be as blatant as cutting your flesh or sacrificing humans, but his influence will be evident. You might be easily intimidated, known for acting ugly, susceptible to particular types of sin, or prone to “stuck” emotional states. It can also show up as procrastination or avoidance, which causes simple problems to become complicated.

Oppression sometimes flies under the radar of your conscious awareness or shows up as low-grade emotional pain or depression. God is ever ready to deliver you, but the devil will shame you for being oppressed and needing deliverance. He wants you to isolate yourself so that you become vulnerable to further encroachment. He does not want you to know that everyone is vulnerable, or that you can overthrow demonic oppression. He wants you to believe that oppression is your normal, permanent state.

The question is, how long will you tolerate it?

Obsession

Obsession involves Satan’s continuous attack in certain areas of your life. These areas can include lust, legalism, recurring sick-nesses, enduring poverty, tendencies toward violence, and other issues. When obsession is in play, compulsions and perversions distort natural behaviors.

Do you know any compulsive gamblers or addicts? How do they respond to their loved ones’ concerns? Do they own their issues and readily admit that they need help? Rarely, if at all. Rather, their instinct is to offer rationalizations and then continue to indulge. The more they protect their obsessions, the more power they give them. Eventually, they will rearrange their entire lives around their sin! This is how Satan destroys entire families, businesses, and careers.

Overt addictions are only one type of obsession. Do you know people who are clearly underweight but see themselves as being “fat”? Do they spend inordinate amounts of time working out and planning or avoiding meals? It may be that demons have taken up residence, not in the spirit, but in the soul. The situation can be quite dramatic: those who are obsessed sometimes hear voices, or experience sweats, chills, or other disturbing manifestations.

Possession

For Satan, possession is a home run. The possessed are fully indwelt by wicked spirits that take up residence in their human spirits and completely overtake their souls and bodies. Extreme or bizarre behaviors are typical of possessions because victims are controlled by foul and filthy spirits. One example is the case of Legion. Another is the case of Anneliese Michel, whose life inspired The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Satan and his cohorts literally ran Anneliese’s life into the ground!

Before Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, every human was fair game for demons, and anyone could be possessed at any time. Demons can no longer indwell believers so easily, however. Many even claim that possession is impossible for believers. Because only God knows the heart, I will not make that big an assumption. For one thing, not everyone who self-identifies as a Christ follower necessarily is one.

Also, Scripture talks about not quenching the Holy Spirit; so I have to ask, at what point and to what degree might a believer quench the Holy Spirit and open the door to demonic indwelling? I cannot say for sure, nor do I wish to find out! What I can say is that a person can be freed of demonic harassment if he or she wants to be, as we will explore in the next section.

Don’t Take the Bait

“Horoscopes are harmless fun.” “My yoga class is about exercise, not idol worship.” “A little porn can’t hurt.” The Holy Spirit never inspires statements like these! If you are making or acting upon them, there is no way you can claim that God or His covenant are backing you up!

The only one who gives his stamp of approval to these lies is Satan, who is satisfied to squeeze through “ordinary” doors. He knows that any opening is big enough to make inroads to your life. Don’t be ignorant of his devices. Don’t take his bait!

Integration

There is a potential fourth level of demonic and satanic influence known as integration, which some debate the existence of. I tend to give it credence. What distinguishes this level from possession is that when one is possessed, they always desire deliverance from the indwelling evil spirit. This is clearly evidenced by the fact that when the demon manifests its presence, particularly during an exorcism, the human spirit within always manifests itself at some point by crying out. In other words, it’s clear that there is a struggle for power and dominance between the two spirits within, yet the evil spirit is winning and suppressing the human one.

With integration, on the other hand, the human spirit has totally and completely surrendered its house to the evil spirit; it’s as if the person has said, “Come on in, Satan, my home is your home,” and they are not looking to evict him! What is interesting is that with possessed people, the evidence of demonic presence is usually more recognizable than with those who are integrated. When Satan and his minions have integrated an individual, they can often appear to be as “regular” as you and me, with the evidence of their evil indwelling only coming to light by their abhorrent behavior, or through Holy Spirit discernment.