I received this question following the Feb. 7, 2021 sermon entitled, “Defeating Satan in Our Lives.”
Q: Can Satan directly speak to us and/or put thoughts into our minds?
A: Satan can speak directly to humans, even Christians, although that is not his usual method. Satan does indirectly tempt, attack, and come after us through our flesh which means I believe he can’t directly speak to our spirits the way that the Holy Spirit does, but by tempting us through our own weaknesses and struggles he can influence us.
A way to think about it is that if each one of us has “wounds” from past experiences or human struggles, Satan can often get us to do what he wants by metaphorically touching the wound and getting us to jump. With regard to anxiety, for example, he can bring circumstances into our lives, or whisper words of deception in our ears through the words of others or our own insecurities, that will get the desired result.
When the Bible says “greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world” (I John 4:4), I think this is meant to show that God has access to our interior lives in a way that Satan can’t access. I don’t believe that Satan can put thoughts into our minds.
Blessings,
Jim