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Can satan/demons "hear" our silent prayers?
Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 3:52 pm
by TK
It has always been my belief that satan/demons cannot read our minds.
Last night a friend asked me whether it might be wiser, at least in some instances, to pray silently, because when we verbalize our prayers, the Enemy can take steps to thwart them.
I have never really considered this before. I told my friend that I could not think of a scripture where we are warned to pray silently so as not to "tip off" the dark forces. I know Jesus tells us to pray in private, but that was to counteract the idea of praying for show.
Obviously, if satan/demons CAN read our minds, it wouldn't make any difference whether we pray out loud or not.
What do you all think about this.. do verbalized prayers give the Enemy ammunition to work with?
TK
Re: Can satan/demons "hear" our silent prayers?
Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 4:49 pm
by Paidion
I don't think so. I don't think the demons are any more capable of understanding vibrations of air than they are in mind reading. However, I think when we lay ourselves open to evil, this somehow gives them a basis for attack—or even of entry.
Re: Can satan/demons "hear" our silent prayers?
Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2013 10:55 am
by backwoodsman
TK wrote:What do you all think about this.. do verbalized prayers give the Enemy ammunition to work with?
I don't see any hint of anything like that in Scripture. It seems like the kind of thing Paul would've made crystal clear if there were anything to it, but instead he wrote very explicitly about other ways in which we really can defeat the enemy, with no concern at all about whether the enemy might read it too, and thereby beat God at His own game. I think it's just one more of the distractions the enemy uses to keep Christians out of the fight, while convincing them they're learning more about spiritual warfare.
Re: Can satan/demons "hear" our silent prayers?
Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2014 3:03 am
by Ian
One thing I don`t understand is that there are apparent instances in the BIble of the devil implanting a thought or temptation in a person`s mind. Peter addressing Jesus is one obvious example:
Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You." But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's."
Matthew 16: 22-23
If the devil can implant a thought in a mind, why can he not also read it? Or are the lower demons less able perhaps?
Re: Can satan/demons "hear" our silent prayers?
Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 2:33 pm
by nancyer
Would this not also apply to rebuking the devil? I mean outloud is obvious but there are times when we don't wish to say such things outloud, and we say them 'to ourselves'. I will sometimes think to myself "Satan go away, you can't make me think about that", in order to stop the train of thought in it's tracks (no pun intended), so I obviously believe the devil can hear those thoughts. Or am I just assuming so?
Re: Can satan/demons "hear" our silent prayers?
Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 8:19 pm
by Paidion
One thing I don`t understand is that there are apparent instances in the BIble of the devil implanting a thought or temptation in a person`s mind. Peter addressing Jesus is one obvious example:
Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You." But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's."
I don't think this IS an example. I don't think Jesus was either calling Peter "Satan" nor addressing Satan within Peter's mind. The word "σατανaς" (satanas) means "adversary". I think Jesus was saying, "Get behind me, Adversary". He was calling Peter an adversary, because he said, "May it not be, Lord. This will never happen to you!" Peter was saying that Jesus would not die and be raised again, whereas, that was Jesus' purpose—to die to save mankind.