James says that if God resists Satan, no, wait that’s wrong; he says if you resist Satan then he will flee from God, no wait, that’s still not right. If you resist Satan, then he will flee from you.
James tells us, if you tell Satan to skedaddle, he’ll scram faster than a cat at a cucumber party. But here’s the kicker: some folks are out there praying like God’s their personal bouncer to kick Satan to the curb. Spoiler alert: that’s not how it rolls.
Some people pray prayers that make no sense. One such prayer is to ask God to make the devil leave you. This is crazy, because God’s standing command is that you resist, and you make the devil leave, not God. God has given you His divine authority to make the devil leave and has also given you the command to use that authority. You can pray, beg and cry all day long, asking God to make the devil stop harassing you, and God will ignore it.
It is possible that God might still answer a sinful prayer like this out of extreme pity, but do not bank on it. It is a sinful prayer, because you are willfully disobeying God’s command that says you make the devil leave. You are asking God to do something He commanded you to do.
You cannot say, “well, if Satan is harassing me with temptations, or sickness, or depression or evil thoughts, (or however he is victimizing you) and so it is God’s will for me to grit my teeth and just bear with it. It is not God’s will, because God will is His commandments. His command is that you resist the devil and make him stop victimizing you, and make him leave with his tail tucked beneath his legs.
God will not do this for you. You must do it.
God’s like, “Hey, I gave you the authority to ghost the devil yourself. Use it!” You can wail and flail in prayer all you want, but God’s just gonna sip His ambrosia, waiting for you to step up.
Two things that Jesus did, as a man, when Satan harassed Him. First, Jesus used the scripture. Second, Jesus commanded Satan to leave. If you only do one of the two, then you will have a partial victory and never know true triumph. If you only do one of the two, then Satan will not fully leave you and thus, you will still be disobeying God’s command to make the devil leave. You must renew your mind on the scripture. You must confess the promises of God with your mouth as part of your reality and definition. But you also must command the devil and any demonic harassment to shut up and leave. Jesus, the OG of devil-ditching, showed us the ropes: quote scripture like it’s your favorite movie line and tell Satan to hit the road, Jack. Do one without the other, and you’re not really fighting, but just playing at this spiritual tug-of-war.
You are already a royal priesthood. You already have the royal authority of God as an heir and priest of God. This has already happened. You do not need to ask God for the use of His Name and authority, because you already got it. This is why God commands you to cast out demons and to resist the devil and make him flee, because you already got the authority to do it. It is not an emotion. It is reality. It is part of your identity in Jesus that you got when you were born from above. The gifts and callings of God are irrevocable. Thus, you always have this authority and power. You cannot lose it. It is you.
Remember, you’re not just any Joe; you’re a royal priest with the kind of clout that makes demons check their calendars for any other appointments. So, when Satan or his minions come knocking, don’t wait for God to answer your “please evict this evil” prayers. You’ve got to swing the door shut yourself, with the authority you’ve had since your spiritual rebirth.
Even if you were foolish and allowed the devil a foothold into a part of your life, you, not God, you must resist and make the devil flee. Even if you were foolish, you still have the command and authority to shove Satan’s foot out of the door. Take the sword of the Spirit and cut off that foot trying to worm its way in. This goes without saying, but whatever you were doing to allow the devil a foothold must be corrected. Confess the promises of God over you, and command the devil to shut up and leave. No one else can do this for you, not even God, because He commanded you to do it.
When I say not even God can do it, I am not referring to a limitation in God, but to a category fallacy.
And just like you wouldn’t ask God to brush your teeth for you, don’t ask Him to do the devil-defying for you. It’s your gig. You confess, you command, and you reclaim your space. Because in the grand reality show of life, you’ve got the power, the script, and the divine right to tell any satanic squatter, “Not today, Satan, not today.”[1]
This is the same with conversion and forgiveness of your sins. Not even God can do this for you, because only you can confess your sins and ask God to save you on the account of Jesus Christ. The same for healing. You must command the sickness to leave. It is your responsibility, and you already have the authority and finished atonement of Jesus to do it. The healing is already yours. You don’t need to ask God for it. He already gave it to you. To ask God to heal you is like asking God to give Jesus another 39 stripes, because it was by the stripes of Jesus that you are healed. It already happened. You already have it. But you must be the one to resist the sickness and command it to leave.
[1] Used Grok AI (fun mode) 2024, for some witty summary statements.
Oshea Davis 