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The greatest power of the demons lies in tempting us to sin. Since they communicate among themselves, demons certainly work together and concentrate their efforts to influence human society. They do this by collectively devising strategies and by putting them into action in a specific place. While they desire to tempt everyone to sin, they know very well that certain individuals have the ability to influence society as a whole because of their wealth, fame, or power. The communications media are a particularly powerful influence on today’s society. As such, the demons especially target these elites.
In politics, demons are never neutral – they always analyze the situation and focus their energies on those political officials and candidates who will (wittingly or unwittingly) favor their goals. Undoubtedly, in the German election of 1932, the demons understood perfectly that their goals would be better served by tempting the German people to vote for a rather unknown, fringe candidate named Adolph Hitler. Does this mean that Hitler’s rise to power can be attributed solely to demonic forces? No, human choice was involved; but demons were undoubtedly involved, too. Similarly, the Church Fathers, in their writings about Christian persecution by the state, often point out that such persecution is rooted in the instigation of demons on rulers and the population as a whole.
We must always remember that the devil is the Father of Lies, and he seeks to make evil appear good and good appear evil. At the heart of much evil is the rejection of human dignity; the demons want us to forget that we have been created in the image and likeness of God.
There is the famous vision of Pope Leo XIII in which he saw the infernal spirits concentrated on Rome. This vision was the origin of the Prayer to St. Michael, which the Holy Father sent to the world’s bishops in 1886 and asked the entire Church to recite. The work of the angels and the prayers of Christians can impede the plans of darkness. This is why prayer and sacrifice are so important; they are a bulwark against the powers of hell in this world and a source of abundant blessings.
Though we must do battle in this invisible struggle with spiritual powers, we should always remember that in the exercise of our free will we are the authors of our own destiny. The demons can only influence us to the extent that we let them. In the end, we do what we choose and are ultimately responsible for these choices. Not even the concerted effort of millions of demons can force us to do something we really don’t want to do. When tempted, prayer is our greatest weapon, a weapon as powerful as the greatest army or wealth. The demons know the power of prayer and fear it. 1
Remember — Satan also has his desires for us. Ultimately, he wants to destroy mankind, and he has deluded himself into thinking he can actually thwart God’s plan for humanity. Satan sees those of us who are trying to live by biblical precepts as a threat to his agenda. So, he will do whatever he can to wear us down, steer us away from God and lead us to destruction. And he is not working alone. Satan has many demons and carnally-minded people on his side, who are always ready to do his dirty work.
The devil is quite shrewd in how he carries out his evil plans. He sees the particular weaknesses in each of us and that’s where he will aim his attacks. If he cannot disable us by one method, he will try for another. Very often, he wages this battle in our minds. If he can get us to contemplate destructive thoughts or harbor ungodly attitudes, that can lead us into disobeying God and developing sinful habits, and eventually bring on our demise. We should never think we are so strong, that we can’t succumb to Satan’s devices. However, if we’re aware of what Satan wants and how he operates, we can know how to respond to his tactics and be better equipped to combat them.
There’s no end to the kinds of mindsets and habits Satan and the demons might seek to foster in us, but these seven are some of the most common and are all very harmful:
1. To doubt God’s existence and His Word
We can fool ourselves into thinking we’re immune from this first one, because after all, we may have always believed in God. But Satan is relentless. These days just about anywhere we go to for information or to be entertained—whether we read a book or a magazine article, go to class, visit a museum or zoo, or watch a TV show—we’re often presented with the ideas that the natural world came into existence through evolution and there is no God. It’s all conveyed as facts, often in very scientific terms, and the average person may feel hard-pressed to refute it. Satan is certainly behind this messaging. If we’re not careful, it can start to erode our beliefs.
2. To live in fear and worry
Satan will “plant seeds” of worry in our minds, hoping we will nurse those anxious thoughts and allow them to fester and grow. Satan knows what “buttons” to push, as he sees what has us worried—whether it’s financial troubles, health concerns, relationship problems, all the instability in the world or something else. Worrying is not only bad for our physical health, it is also very damaging to our spiritual health. In fact, it can drive a huge wedge between ourselves and God. If we start obsessing over what scares us (meaning we’re going far beyond just having a healthy concern about a situation), we end up thinking and living just like someone who does not believe in God. In effect, we’ll be turning our backs on God, pushing Him out of our lives and not looking to Him like we should. We’ll be telling God that we don’t believe He will see us through difficulties, that we don’t trust Him to protect us or provide for us, and that we don’t think He will answer our prayers. Again, this is not what God wants for us, but it’s definitely what Satan likes to see.
3. To prioritize what’s physical and temporary
Human beings naturally tend to do the exact opposite. We preoccupy ourselves with fulfilling our personal desires and living for the “here and now.” So, we might see people posting photos on social media of their vacations to exotic destinations or their brand-new “toys,” or we might go shopping and see all the merchandise on display and ache to have these things for ourselves. Satan, as the “prince of the power of the air,” works around-the-clock, trying to stimulate this thinking in us even more. He undoubtedly “inspires” a lot of the advertising and television programming which bombard us with the message that “having fun” and “acquiring stuff” is the way to find satisfaction and fulfillment. If we’re not careful, we can start prioritizing our time and energy on achieving material pleasures. This is not to say that we shouldn’t seek enjoyment in life or have “nice things.” But if these things become our top priority, that can steer us away from building and maintaining what has eternal value: our relationship with God and our connections with other people.
4. To become preoccupied with entertainment
Another way Satan might try to steer us from God is to lure us into wasting our time. These days the tendency is for people to spend inordinate amounts on time in “entertainment mode”—checking out social media posts, playing video games, binge-watching TV shows or tuning-in to the constant media circus on the internet about entertainers, politicians and other famous people. With our smartphones and entertainment devices constantly at our side, it’s easy to become absorbed by these kinds of distractions. Obviously, we all need time to relax after a long day of work. There is certainly nothing wrong with enjoying some leisure time. But if we use most or all of our free time to amuse ourselves or to simply “veg out,” we probably won’t be devoting the time to Bible study, prayer and meditation that we should. Moreover, the type of entertainment people typically involve themselves in these days is usually passive, meaning they’re “engaging” with a digital device and not interacting with another person. That takes away from having actual interactions with family and friends, which we all need.
5. To be confused
We live in an age of confusion. Most of us are overloaded with information coming at us 24/7 from online and traditional news outlets, podcasts, websites and social media feeds. It’s a real challenge—or even impossible—to process it all. Furthermore, we often only hear part of the story, the facts might be twisted to promote a particular agenda or those presenting the “news” might use ambiguous terms which are never really defined. Consequently, it can be hard to know what’s true and what isn’t. This is problematic, because we need to have at least a basic understanding of what’s going on in the world so we can make basic life decisions relating to household finances, work, healthcare, where to live, etc. Even when we’re seeking guidance relating to personal or relationship problems, we may get contradictory advice, depending on which “expert” we go to for help. Everyone has their own ideas. Satan knows that when we’re confused, our default response tends to be to just waver, vacillate and do nothing at all. We can’t make decisions because we don’t see clear answers. If we’re paralyzed in a state of inaction, we won’t develop the courage and convictions we need to face life’s challenges—which is exactly what Satan desires.
6. To harbor grudges
When we become angry, we open up the door for Satan to influence our thinking. Specifically, he will stoke our pride. Each of us already have the tendency to think too highly of our own opinions, but Satan will try to get us to nurture this mindset. He wants us to think we’re always right, so we’ll feel justified in holding grudges against those who offend us. He will try to prevent us from seeing or being concerned about the hurt we’re causing. The end result is that we become enslaved in animosity. Holding grudges can weigh us down and destroy our character, which is right where Satan wants us. Conflicts won’t be resolved, but only intensify. Moreover, friends and coworkers might start distancing themselves from us, as most people do not want to spend time with those who are easily angered and stay mad.
7. To feel alone and disconnected
God created us to be social beings. We need warm, caring relationships with friends and family. Even having just casual, positive exchanges with strangers can make us feel happy. 2
2. Becky Sweat – https://www.ucg.org/learn/blogs/seven-things-satan-wants-your-life
1. Father José Antonio Fortea is not only an exorcist, but also a writer, and parish priest. He once thought he would lead what he has termed ordinary life as an attorney in Madrid, much as his father did before him, but sensed instead a vocation to the priesthood in his adolescent years. A theology graduate of Navarre University in Spain, Father Fortea wrote a thesis there on exorcism. He has been a practicing exorcist for several decades. https://spiritualdirection.com/2013/09/12/can-demons-unite-to-influence-society