DOES THE DEVIL KNOW MY THOUGHTS?
That’s an interesting question, and one that I’m sure many of you have spent some time thinking about. The answer to that question is simple – just follow along for a few minutes!
For a Christian, because we live in a fallen world, we are not exempt from daily struggles, often in our minds — the battlefield of the mind. Everything we do, every word we say, and every decision we make naturally begins in our minds. Scripture says that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the authorities, the powers of the darkness of this world, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). In other words, Satan is the real enemy. Knowing that Satan is our enemy, it’s natural to ask, “Can Satan read our minds?” The good news is that the Bible says Satan cannot read our minds; however, he can influence our thoughts through observing our behavior. Unlike God, Satan is neither omniscient (all-powerful), omnipotent (all-knowing), nor omnipresent (all-present). God, as our creator, is the only one who knows our thoughts.
The word Satan in the English Bible appears first in Job 1 (because Job is the oldest book in the Bible). From this story, you can see what the devil’s limitations are. I’m not sure why the Lord allowed Satan to be in His presence and converse with Him in the first place, but one thing I do know is that Satan is not omnipresent because he cannot be present everywhere at the same time (Job 1:7).
Satan then mistakenly assumed that Job feared God because of His protection and provision to him. Satan falsely thought that Job would curse God after all his suffering and calamity (Job 1:11). God proved that Satan was completely wrong because Job did not sin with his lips even during his miserable circumstances (Job 2:10). So, it is clear, Satan is not omniscient. Fast forward, God restored Job’s life and even blessed his latter days more than in his beginning (Job 42:12-17). Satan’s scheme to destroy Job’s life totally failed. So, Satan is not omnipotent either!
The human mind is a spiritual battlefield. In order to win the battle against the enemy (Satan), it is essential to understand his limitations. As Christians, we should not fear him! Satan cannot read our minds. He is not omniscient. The scriptures teach that only Jesus knows the thoughts of all people (Matthew 9:1-4; John 2:24). Nevertheless, we must be aware of Satan’s devices. Even though he cannot read our minds, he can still influence our thoughts and tempt us to disobey God.
We know that Satan is the one who tempts us: He tempted Eve to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree (Gen. 3:1-7), He tempted Peter to rebuke Jesus (Matthew 16:22-23), Judas to betray Jesus (Luke 22:3-4), Ananias and Sapphira to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep a dishonest gain (Acts 5:1-11). A lot of times, Satan subtly attacks Christians with deception, which causes doubt, denial, fleshly desires, discouragement, depression, and despair in our hearts and minds, thereby hindering both our prayer life and our fellowship with others.
So, the answer to the question is simple- the devil DOES NOT know your thoughts. He is nothing more than our enemy which seeks to destroy our life and our faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore, to overcome Satan - our adversary - we must fill our hearts and minds with God’s words, which bring faith, assurance, holy desires, encouragement, joy, and hope!
That’s an interesting question, and one that I’m sure many of you have spent some time thinking about. The answer to that question is simple – just follow along for a few minutes!
For a Christian, because we live in a fallen world, we are not exempt from daily struggles, often in our minds — the battlefield of the mind. Everything we do, every word we say, and every decision we make naturally begins in our minds. Scripture says that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the authorities, the powers of the darkness of this world, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). In other words, Satan is the real enemy. Knowing that Satan is our enemy, it’s natural to ask, “Can Satan read our minds?” The good news is that the Bible says Satan cannot read our minds; however, he can influence our thoughts through observing our behavior. Unlike God, Satan is neither omniscient (all-powerful), omnipotent (all-knowing), nor omnipresent (all-present). God, as our creator, is the only one who knows our thoughts.
The word Satan in the English Bible appears first in Job 1 (because Job is the oldest book in the Bible). From this story, you can see what the devil’s limitations are. I’m not sure why the Lord allowed Satan to be in His presence and converse with Him in the first place, but one thing I do know is that Satan is not omnipresent because he cannot be present everywhere at the same time (Job 1:7).
Satan then mistakenly assumed that Job feared God because of His protection and provision to him. Satan falsely thought that Job would curse God after all his suffering and calamity (Job 1:11). God proved that Satan was completely wrong because Job did not sin with his lips even during his miserable circumstances (Job 2:10). So, it is clear, Satan is not omniscient. Fast forward, God restored Job’s life and even blessed his latter days more than in his beginning (Job 42:12-17). Satan’s scheme to destroy Job’s life totally failed. So, Satan is not omnipotent either!
The human mind is a spiritual battlefield. In order to win the battle against the enemy (Satan), it is essential to understand his limitations. As Christians, we should not fear him! Satan cannot read our minds. He is not omniscient. The scriptures teach that only Jesus knows the thoughts of all people (Matthew 9:1-4; John 2:24). Nevertheless, we must be aware of Satan’s devices. Even though he cannot read our minds, he can still influence our thoughts and tempt us to disobey God.
We know that Satan is the one who tempts us: He tempted Eve to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree (Gen. 3:1-7), He tempted Peter to rebuke Jesus (Matthew 16:22-23), Judas to betray Jesus (Luke 22:3-4), Ananias and Sapphira to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep a dishonest gain (Acts 5:1-11). A lot of times, Satan subtly attacks Christians with deception, which causes doubt, denial, fleshly desires, discouragement, depression, and despair in our hearts and minds, thereby hindering both our prayer life and our fellowship with others.
So, the answer to the question is simple- the devil DOES NOT know your thoughts. He is nothing more than our enemy which seeks to destroy our life and our faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore, to overcome Satan - our adversary - we must fill our hearts and minds with God’s words, which bring faith, assurance, holy desires, encouragement, joy, and hope!