2 Corinthians 2:11 “lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

I once had the benefit of spending a few years of my life in the world around worldly, lying, deceiving, manipulating, sceaming, scamming, con artist type people. I call it a benefit not because there was anything good about it but because later in life, as I grew in spiritual understanding, the Lord used those experiences as an object lesson for exposing Satan’s mode of operation.

Jesus taught us that Satan’s progeny will unavoidably manifest his own attributes.

John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. 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.”

One thing I learned about liars is that they never admit when they’ve been caught. Drug addicts, career criminals, and politicians too – anyone who turns themselves over to a lifestyle of lies – becomes incapable of telling the truth short of a dramatic salvation conversion.

When a liar or conman is confronted and questioned, rather than admit their lies they just double-down, telling new lies to cover the old ones, or telling more lies to buttress the existing ones. When someone comes on the scene telling the truth that exposes the lies, the liar simply says that the truth-teller is lying about the liar and that the liar is really the one telling the truth.

When a liar really gets exposed, their con starts to unravel, and they’ve run out of angles, they simply get more demonstrative. They might curse, get violent, or get in your face shouting and demanding that “You just have to believe me.” Effectively, what they are doing is kicking up a cloud of dust to intimidate, distract, and obscure the fact that their con is hanging by a thread.

These are tactics the liar and conman have assimilated from their spiritual father. We’re really just seeing Satan’s tactics manifested through people under his influence.

A few years ago I was observing social and political affairs that seemed to be getting worse fast, with new evils popping up quicker than what Christians could pray and fight to put them down. It occurred to me (by the Spirit I believe) that this was not necessarily proof of the devil getting bigger and stronger. I believe these are just as likely – or much more likely – the devil kicking up a cloud of dust to distract us lest we notice that his kingdom’s con on humanity is hanging by a thread.

God’s word that has gone forth out of His mouth is accomplishing what He pleases and will prosper in what He sent it to do (Isaiah 55:11). The devil can’t stop it so he’s resorted to kicking up dust, shouting in our face, and demanding that we believe he’s really getting bigger and stronger. But if we were to pull back the curtain and peer into the spirit realm, I believe we would see God’s words of truth piercing the darkness of this world, bringing light, and unraveling Satan’s con.

Recently I’ve noticed a similar phenomenon here in ZChurch with an increase of prayer requests for an illness here, another there, then the first person having some other situation, etc. The natural mind is tempted to think “our prayers aren’t working,” or “the devil is working overtime so we’ll have to pray overtime.” Frankly, the devil doesn’t care how much we pray so long as we’re praying in fear – fear that our first prayers didn’t work or fear that we’re not using enough faith so we have to double-down. So long as fear is in the equation, our prayers will be gutted of power and be ineffective.

It’s Satan kicking up a cloud of dust to obscure the fact that Jesus has already won the victory, and trying to convince us we have to spend time fighting an already defeated foe. It reminds me of the Black Knight scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail – a knight with no arms or legs insisting he still isn’t defeated and that we have to come back and fight him.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t pray over people and their situations. However, let’s make sure we’re not letting the devil push our buttons and get us to respond from fear. If Satan can get us to respond in fear, he’s just neutralized all our efforts.

In Luke 8:50, after Jairus received the news that his daughter had died, Jesus’ first instruction to him was “fear not.” The second was “believe only.” Believing is important but will be ineffective if fear is not stopped first.

Satan doesn’t care how much we pray so long as he can keep his hook of fear in us convincing us we have to come out and fight him for the victory Jesus already won.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t pray. I’m saying that before we pray we would do well to remind ourselves that Satan was defeated at the cross 2000 years ago and that Jesus got the victory and has given it to us. Instead of letting the devil egg you into fighting him for what is already yours in Christ, just go to shouting and praising God until there’s no room left for fear.

The devil’s con is hanging by a thread and once we cut the thread of fear we’re more than half way to our victory.