Demonic Voices: Discern the Enemy’s Voice
There’s never been a single moment in time when the Holy Spirit doesn’t know what the enemy is up to in your life.
He’s never caught off guard by phonies pretending to be your friend. He always discerns the motives of people’s hearts and the work of demons to influence people against you.
We don’t always discern the motives of the voices in the spirit speaking to us. There are many voices in the realm of the spirit, and they are not all speaking on behalf of God. Demons can mimic God’s still small voice to deceive you and trap you—but, thankfully, the Holy Spirit sees right through it.
Don’t you wish you could say the same? The reality is, none of us perfectly discern devils despite the fact that John the Beloved tells us put spirits to the test:
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).
Discerning the spirits speaking through a prophet—or any person you are dealing with—is vital. From used car salesmen trying to get one over on you to discerning flattery and manipulation from a coworker and beyond, we are charged with discerning spirits.
The Passion Translation of First John 4:1 tells us, “Delightfully loved friends, don’t trust every spirit, but carefully examine what they say to determine if they are of God, because many false prophets have mingled into the world.”
Notice how much of discerning demons occurs through what is said. As Derek Prince taught, “Demons are persons without bodies, and persons have a voice.” Demons have voices and their words release vain imaginations against your mind (see 2 Cor. 10:5).
When we don’t discern those false voices—which often shame us, guilt us, condemn us, tempt us, or otherwise deceive us under the direction of the father of lies—we can end up in the enemy’s trap. When we don’t discern the spirit behind the words people speak, we can lose time, money, relationships, and more.
Think of the young prophet in First Kings 13. He was on assignment for the Lord to deliver a rebuke to King Jeroboam. He successfully completed his mission and was on his way home when an elder prophet caught up with him and tempted him to defy the Lord’s command to go back home a different way. First Kings 13:18-19 tells the story:
But the old prophet answered, “I am a prophet, too, just as you are. And an angel gave me this command from the Lord: ‘Bring him home with you so he can have something to eat and drink.’” But the old man was lying to him. So they went back together, and the man of God ate and drank at the prophet’s home (NLT).
The old prophet was lying to the younger prophet, but the younger prophet—as prophetic as he was—didn’t test the spirits. His fate: He was eaten by a lion because of his disobedience in the mission. Don’t believe everything anyone says, prophet or not. Pray in tongues and discern the spirit behind the words.
Prayer
Father, in the name of Jesus, I don’t want to operate in suspicion but I can’t afford to be deceived by people with ill intentions or vain imaginations the enemy releases against my mind to bind me. As I pray in tongues, would You help me test the spirits behind the words I am hearing?
