5 Empowered Ways to Resist the Devil

1. Submit Yourself to God

Upon looking at James 4:7-10, we see that in order to resist the devil, we must submit ourselves to God. The word "submit" often gets a bad reputation because so many people in the past have used it incorrectly. Submission is not a bad thing when we are submitting to God. God doesn't make us do bad things, nor does He treat us in a negative way. Submitting to God means we surrender our will and our life to Him.

God knows best. When we submit ourselves to God, we are giving control over to Him. If we continue to try to be our own "god," we will not be able to resist the devil. The devil is very clever and he tries to destroy us in any way he can. If we are not submitting to God and doing what He has instructed us to do, then the devil will be more prone to creep into our lives. Once he has crept into our lives, it might be hard to get rid of him.

If we want to take your stand against the devil and resist him, we are going to have to submit to God. Surrender your will to Him and allow Him to take control over your life. He will protect you from the devil, keep you safe from the devil, and equip you with what you need to resist the devil. God is our loving Father and He wants to help us. However, He cannot do this if we consistently ignore Him and think we can overcome the devil without Him.

2. Come Near to God

The second empowering way James tells us to resist the devil is to come near to God and God will come near to us. Coming near to God means we are actively walking with Him in our daily lives. Praying, Bible reading, and Bible application are all ways we can draw closer to God. We need to seek out the spiritual practice of praying without ceasing and including God in every aspect of our life (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Going to God in prayer each day will help us to resist the devil because we will have a strong trust and dependence on God. Rather than following the temptations of the flesh or the temptations of the devil, we will turn to God. We will continue to face temptations; however, by being close to God, we will be able to overcome them by His help. This is exactly what the writer of Hebrews tells us, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin" (Hebrews 4:15).

Jesus understands the pain of temptation, yet He overcame it. He will be able to help us, too, whenever we face temptation. Even though we might feel alone, we are never truly alone. In the middle of temptation, we can resist the devil by going to the Lord in prayer, asking for His help, and drawing close to Him. By doing this, we will be able to overcome the temptations of the devil.

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3. Wash Your Hands and Purify Your Hearts

When James tells us to wash our hands and purify our hearts, he refers to cleansing ourselves from sin. Jesus has already cleansed us from our sins, yet we are still called to live holy and godly lives (2 Peter 3:11). Jesus died in order to redeem us from our sins and give us a new life. With this new life, He doesn't want us to continue to live a life of sin. Living a life of sin is like killing the Lord all over again (Hebrews 6:4-6).

Resisting the devil means we have to turn away from living in sin. Each time we commit a sin, we need to turn to God in repentance. He is faithful and will forgive us (1 John 1:9). God's mercy and love for us will never end. Rather than distancing ourselves from Him when we are struggling in sin, we need to turn to Him, repent, and ask for His help in continuing to walk away from this sin.

He is more than capable of helping us, and He will bring us deliverance. Purifying our hearts means we reflect on the things of the Bible rather than the things of this world. The Apostle Paul tells us, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things" (Philippians 4:8). By thinking on these things, we will keep our minds away from evil.

4. Grieve, Mourn, and Wail

While this might not sound helpful, it actually is to our Christian walk. If we are always happy, smiling, and laughing, then we are not aware of the devil's work in the world. The devil is constantly causing problems for believers and unbelievers alike. If we are finding our lives to be perfect and filled with happiness, we might need to consider how we are living our lives. Satan will not see us as a threat if we are not truly following God and not helping others come to know Jesus.

If everything is clear sailing ahead, it is probably because we are not living for God. Instead, we are living for ourselves. This is dangerous as it means we are not walking in accordance with God and it will be harder to resist the devil when he attacks. This is why it is important to examine ourselves and see if we truly belong to the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5).

If we were aware of what is going on in the world, we would be grieving, mourning, and wailing. Our brothers and sisters in Christ around the globe are being persecuted and suffering for their faith. They are dying for their faith in the Lord daily while we sit peacefully in our living rooms. Moreover, unbelievers are dying without knowing the Lord each day and are passing from this present world to hell. As believers, how can we not see the severity of the devil's work in the world?

5. Humble Yourself Before the Lord

A final empowering way to resist the devil is to humble ourselves before the Lord. By doing this, the Lord will lift us up. Humbling ourselves before the Lord means we acknowledge Jesus is our Lord and we are His humble servants. The Lord deserves all praise, worship, and glory (Revelation 4:11). Even if we are able to do things for His Kingdom during our lifetime, it's only because of His work in our lives. We can do nothing alone; Jesus deserves all the praise, worship, and recognition.

By humbling ourselves before the Lord, we will be able to resist the devil. We will understand that the Lord is more powerful than anyone or anything else, including the devil. All of our confidence and hope will be found in the Lord, and we will rest in the promise that He will never fail us. Jesus will restore us, give us strength, and equip us with the ability to resist the devil.

Turn to Him today in prayer, read the Bible, and continue to live out biblical truths in your life. In doing so, you can take your stand against the devil. With time, you will be able to resist the devil without even thinking about it because your trust and devotion to Jesus will be unbreakable. All of us need to continue to walk with the Lord, humble ourselves under His mighty hand, and submit our lives to His purpose and will. Jesus wants what is best for us; part of this is resisting the devil.