Audio Transcript

Should we ever speak directly to the devil? Some Christians do. Many don’t. Who is right? Here’s the question, from Frederic, a listener in Germany: “Pastor John, hello! An episode of APJ — APJ 1439 — really jumpstarted my prayer life. Thank you for it. As I felt really blessed, I was also concerned about something you did there. While you were pressing into reasons why the devil loves it when our prayer life is weak, you even addressed the devil directly, telling him to get out of the way. While I got the point, I was left concerned.

“Should we ever speak to or address the devil directly while praying to God? I know that it is a common practice in many churches to address the devil directly, to rebuke him, in corporate prayers for example. I consider these practices false as I don’t see any biblical reasons to do so. We even read in Jude: ‘But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you”’ (Jude 9). It seems like some people spend a lot of time speaking directly to the devil while praying to God. But should we?”

Well, may the Lord give us wisdom not to overemphasize the presence and danger of the devil and demons, and not to underemphasize the presence and the danger of devils and demons. That’s what I’m going to try to do — strike that balance in these few minutes that we have together. I want to get a biblical balance, and you can fall off the fence on both sides here.

Stay Grounded

Here are three preliminary, brief encouragements to set the stage.

First, the devil is not our main problem. Sin is our main problem; we are our main problem. And therefore, we should focus the lion’s share of our spiritual warfare not against Satan and not against other people but against sin in our own heart and life. If you succeed there, you defeat the devil, and you defeat your adversary. What God delights in is your holiness, and if you attain that by putting to death your own sin through the power of the Spirit, you triumph over Satan and over the world. Satan doesn’t care much about being seen. What he cares about is destroying people by trapping them and holding them in sin. So, sin is the main issue. That’s the first preliminary observation.

Second, never forget — preach it to yourself many, many times — that “he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Christ, by his death and resurrection, dealt a decisive, defeating blow against Satan. He cannot destroy you except by tempting you to distrust Jesus and walk in sin. Believe in the triumph that you already have — the down payment by the Spirit in your life — and walk in this victory.

“The devil is not our main problem. Sin is our main problem; we are our main problem.”

Third, prioritize the method of demonic deliverance that Paul gives in 2 Timothy 2:24–26. He said to Timothy that he should “not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.” And then he adds, “God may” — so, as you do that, here’s what God’s going to do, perhaps — “perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.” That’s the steady-state, normal way of defeating the power of the devil in the Christian ministry.

There is a kind of demonic possession that may call for a remarkable power encounter and real exorcism. I’ve been part of one of those in my life. But the ordinary way of deliverance is the way of teaching the truth that Satan cannot stand, and therefore he leaves because truth begins to take hold by God’s grace in people’s lives.

How Not to Speak to the Devil

Now, with those three encouragements in place, here’s what I’d say about speaking to the devil directly.

First, never negotiate with the devil. He is evil through and through. He is too subtle and deceptive, and he is expert in laying traps for people. Never bargain with the devil. Jesus refused to do it in the wilderness. We should refuse to do it everywhere.

Second, never speak to the devil approvingly. In John 8, Jesus said he’s a liar from the beginning, and behind that trickery is a murderous intent. Even when he speaks in half-truths, you would do well not to approve any half of it, because its intent is to trap and deceive.

Third, never speak a self-reliant or self-dependent rebuke to Satan. Now, mark those words: “self-reliant, self-dependent rebuke to Satan.” Any power that we have over Satan does not reside in us by nature. It is the power of Jesus Christ. We do not have authority in ourselves apart from him. We do not have wisdom in ourselves that is sufficient to oppose or figure out the schemes of the devil. It’s all of Christ.

In Whose Authority?

Now, this is where Jude 9 seems to be misunderstood — even by Frederic, who asked us this question, it seems. Frederic, in his question, seemed to use this text to say, “Not even the angel Michael spoke to the devil.” But in fact, the text says the opposite. “When the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you.’” He’s talking to the devil. The word you means he was speaking to the devil. But what he would not presume to do, and we should not presume to do, is speak to the devil in his own name or in his own authority. And so, he says, “The Lord rebuke you.”

We know that Jesus had authority over demons and that he spoke to them — like, “Be silent, and come out of him!” (Mark 1:25). And we know that he gave this authority to his disciples in Mark 6:7: “He . . . gave them authority over the unclean spirits.” And we know that when the 72 disciples returned, not just the twelve, to report about their ministry, they said, “Even the demons are subject to us in your name” (Luke 10:17). The words “in your name” mean that’s how they cast out the demons. Jesus cast them out in his own authority; the disciples cast them out in the name of Jesus. “Get out in the name of Jesus” is probably what they said.

So, when 1 Peter 5:9 and James 4:7 say that we should “resist the devil,” I think those commands in 1 Peter and James include those times when the demonic assault on you or your loved one is so plain and so blatant that you should say something like, “No, no, in the name of Jesus, leave me alone” or “Leave my child alone in the name of Jesus. Be gone, Satan — get out of this house.” Then we turn to Christ. Oh yes, we turn to Christ. This is the step that’s probably neglected. At that moment, we turn to Christ — we turn to the promises of Jesus:

• “I’ll never leave you.”
• “I’ll never forsake you.”
• “I’ll always be with you.”
• “I bought you; you’re mine.”
• “No one can snatch you out of my hand.”
• “I will help you.”
• “I’ll be your shield.”
• “Hold up the shield of faith. Believe in my promises. I’ll protect you. You will never be less than a super-conqueror as you trust in me.”

And then we rest. We rest in his sovereign care.

Fight Daily

So, my answer is yes, Christians may talk like that to the devil, but it will not be their normal, daily way of triumphing over his schemes. That’s the imbalance I’m trying to avoid. The hour-by-hour life of faith and holiness and love will be the normal way, and God will make us very useful in this world of defeating the schemes of the devil as we focus on his promises and defeat our own sins by his power.