Can satan read our minds?

FOR BELIEVERS: No, he can't, if he could we'd all be flushed down the toilet. 
What the devil is adept at, after observing us for 6,000 + years, is READING 
OUR ACTIONS, and LISTENING TO OUR WORDS.

Jesus said that out of the heart the mouth speaks. Heart is often used meaning 
the same as mind. We tell satan what we are thinking by what we say or do.

Matthew 15:18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, 
and these make a man `unclean.'

Luke 6:45 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his 
heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For 
out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

Proverbs 16:23, 27-29  A wise man's heart guides his mouth, and his lips 
promote instruction... A scoundrel plots evil, and his speech is like a scorching 
fire. A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends. A 
violent man entices his neighbor and leads him down a path that is not good. 

You might say that most of us have a bad case of "Heart-Mouth Disease" that 
allows satan to oppress us, and defile us (make us unclean).

Jesus also said by your own words you are justified or you are condemned.

Matthew 12: 7 "For by your words you will be acquitted [justified], and by your 
words you will be condemned." 

Jesus, however, knows what is in man's minds and thoughts, and God judges the 
intentions, thoughts, or motivations of the heart (mind).

Matthew 12:25 Jesus KNEW THEIR THOUGHTS and said to them, "Every 
kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided 
against itself will not stand. (See also Luke 11:17)

Mark 2:8 IMMEDIATELY JESUS KNEW IN HIS SPIRIT THAT THIS WAS WHAT 
THEY WERE THINKING IN THEIR HEARTS, and he said to them, "Why are you 
thinking these things?  (See also Luke 5:22)

Luke 6:8 But JESUS KNEW WHAT THEY WERE THINKING and said to the man 
with the shriveled hand, "Get up and stand in front of everyone." So he got up 
and stood there.

Ecclesiastes 5:2 Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty IN YOUR 
HEART TO UTTER ANYTHING BEFORE GOD. God is in heaven and you are 
on earth, so let your words be few.

Psalms 17:3 THOUGH YOU PROBE MY HEART AND EXAMINE ME AT NIGHT, 
though you test me, you will find nothing; I have resolved that my mouth will not 
sin.

Psalms 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the MEDITATION OF MY HEART 
be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. 

1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the 
Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will EXPOSE 
THE MOTIVES OF MEN'S HEARTS. At that time each will receive his praise 
from God.

Well, there's more, but you get the point.

How then does the devil get thoughts in our minds? We are taught to cast down 
strongholds and vain imaginations that he has put there. 

2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth 
itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to 
the obedience of Christ; (KJV)

Primarily he works through our senses, tititllates our weak areas, and entices us 
through our desires. We make this so easy for him when we live on strictly a 
sense level.

James 1:13-14 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For 
God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is 
tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 

Look at TV commericals. They are designed to create a need, and then offer you 
their solution. They make you feel unacceptable like you are, cuz you got bad 
breath, or stinky underarms, or are too stupid to treat a headache, etc., and then 
tell ya, "We got your answer here, buy this!"

So all the devil has to do is set up a nice little scenario for sin, and blammo, 
you're in! And the naughty thoughts follow.

FOR UNBELIEVERS: the amount of thought control that the devil has depends 
on how much of your mind you have yielded to his control. 

The process is gradual: Romans 1:21-29 (exerpts) For although they knew God, 
they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking 
BECAME futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to 
be wise, they became fools ... They exchanged the truth of God for a lie 
...Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of 
God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 
They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and 
depravity...

There are two levels of "mind control" as far as unbelievers are concerned:

1. Blinding spirits - the Bible states that the god of this world has blinded them 
that BELIEVE NOT.

2 Corinthians 4:4 The god of this age has BLINDED THE MINDS of unbelievers, 
so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the 
image of God.

2. Contolling spirits - people that are demonized are under partial or total control 
of satan and his demonic crew.

Matthew 12:34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything 
good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.

Psalms 5:9 Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with 
destruction. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit.

Proverbs 15:28 The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of 
the wicked gushes evil. 

Luke 9:38-39,42 A man in the crowd called out, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my 
son, for he is my only child. A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it 
throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever 
leaves him and is destroying him. 
Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a 
convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, healed the boy and gave him back 
to his father.

Matthew 8:28-31 When he arrived at the other side in the region of the 
Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They 
were so violent that no one could pass that way. 
"What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to 
torture us before the appointed time?" Some distance from them a large herd of 
pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into 
the herd of pigs." 

In Mark's account, he focuses on one man, and after the demons are cast out, he 
says (5:15) "When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been 
possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and IN HIS RIGHT 
MIND; and they were afraid." 

This is really bad news if you are an unbeliever - evil spirits larking about in your 
mind. But the GOOD NEWS is that you can close your mind to the devil and his 
brood by giving your life to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus speaks to our hearts/minds, not so that He can get the goods on us and try 
to destroy us, but so that we can know how to live abundantly and obey Him:

Deuteronomy 30:14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your 
heart so you may obey it.

Romans 10:8-13 But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth 
and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: that if you 
confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God 
raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you 
believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are 
saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to 
shame."For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is 
Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the 
name of the Lord will be saved." 



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