The enemy – satan – has been at work to destroy the Kingdom of God from eternity past. His tactics remain the same and never change. That said, many do not know “how” satan operates and because of this, many Believers fall by the wayside in their lives and in their ministries when the enemy begins to assault them.
Concerning silencing the prophetic word, satan uses very specific methods in seeing that the genuine prophetic word of God is not released. The Lord has given to me 7 tactics of satan against the prophetic word which I want to share with you here in this article. May the Lord use this article to cause you to walk in a fearlessness against any and all attacks of satan against the Lord speaking through you in a prophetic manner.
1- The first thing that you will experience in obeying the Holy Spirit when you deliver the Word of the Lord is you will be called a false prophet by some: In Matthew 5:11-12 Jesus tells us what to do when we’re attacked: “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.” Don’t at all be surprised when those under demonic influence rise up against you, calling you a false prophet. They can’t tell you “why” the prophetic word is false; they simply don’t like it… and so they attack you. So they did to the prophets of old; so they will do to you. Jesus tells us in very plain speech to be happy because we’re blessed by God Himself when we’re called false prophets for speaking the true word of the Lord. The devil wants you to become offended and angry; he wants you to defend yourself. The Lord, on the other hand, wants you to take refuge in Him, trusting that He’ll defend you.
Solution: Never ever defend yourself; allow the Lord to defend you. If what you prophesy is of God, it will indeed come to pass just as prophesied. There is no need to take revenge on those who persecute you. Rather, pray for them, bless them and believe that God will touch their lives with truth. Allow yourself to be called a false prophet for the sake of the Cross.
2- Next, the enemy will use people under his influence to seek to bring you into condemnation; they will do this by twisting the Word: The Scripture in fact states in 3 John 1:91-0 the following”: I wrote to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, refuses to have anything to do with us. When I come, I will report some of the things he is doing and the evil accusations he is making against us. Not only does he refuse to welcome the traveling teachers, he also tells others not to help them. And when they do help, he puts them out of the church.” Often, when a prophetic word is given in an open and public manner, those under demonic influence will claim it’s wrong to do so. They will tell you that to publicly expose another individual or ministry is not Biblical. This is a tactic of the devil. We see from the New Testament that it is indeed Biblical – at times – to bring a public rebuke, just as the Apostle John did concerning Diotrephes. The devil will seek to twist the truth of Scripture to silence the prophetic voice.
Solution: Be a believer who knows the Word of God inside and out; in doing so, you will immediately recognize when satan comes to twist the Word. You are called to study the Scriptures; it’s your defense and offense against the lies of satan.
3- The third thing the enemy will do is seek to cause you to believe that your obedience to the Lord is in fact not of the Lord at all: The enemy will seek to cause you to walk in disobedience by claiming that your obedience is in fact not from God. In Acts 5:28-29 we’re told, “We gave you strict orders never again to teach in this man’s name!” he said. “Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about him, and you want to make us responsible for his death!” But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.” The devil will use those under his influence to cause to come under a mindset that you’re not obeying the Lord at all in delivering His prophetic word. They will begin to rationalize with you and will seek to bring you under condemnation for your obedience to the Lord.
Solution: When the Lord calls you to deliver a prophetic word, take that word to other prophetic individuals and to your church leaders. Be accountable and in humility be willing to take counsel from those you submit yourself to. In doing this, you will be in obedience to the Lord and will then need to answer to no man as you have done what is required of you.
4- The fourth thing that satan will do through those under his influence is seek to bring you into submission to ungodly authority: The enemy will demand that you obey them and if you refuse (which you should!) they’ll begin to accuse you of being unteachable. The Scripture exhorts us to submit to our elders in our own local fellowship and not strangers. We see this in Hebrews 13:17 “Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.” The enemy of your soul will use those who carry a spirit of control and manipulation to demand that you obey them and not the Lord. They will accuse you of “having a spirit of rebellion” for not submitting to “them”… even though you have submitted to your local church elders. They will seek to silence the prophetic voice of God through a spirit of control.
Solution: Never ever submit to those who have no authority in your life, whether part of your church or not. You are called to submit to tested and proven leadership; not leadership which demands submission. Be very careful in obeying anyone for any reason. In fact, refuse outright to do it. Submit to godly leadership placed in your life in a local church fellowship.
5- The fifth thing that satan will do is seek to present all prophetic words as needing to be nice and kind: Is this Biblical? Not at all. Let us see what Paul the Apostle stated in 1:20 “Timothy Hymenaeus and Alexander are two examples. I threw them out and handed them over to Satan so they might learn not to blaspheme God.” Those under demonic influence teach that all prophetic words must not contain anything of judgment or warning. They will begin to accuse you of prophesying falsely if a prophetic word contains warnings and judgments to come. This is a tactic of satan to ensure that the prophetic voice is stopped.
Solution: Study the prophetic words and public rebukes in the Scripture, both in the Old and in the New Testaments. In doing so, when you are called out for delivering a prophetic word which has a warning in it, you will not need to respond to any individual who claims that God no longer speaks such things.
6- The sixth thing satan will do is slander you in secret conversations: Once you faithfully speak the word of the Lord, you can expect some to rise up against you to slander you in private conversations. in Proverbs 10:18 we read, “Hiding hatred makes you a liar; slandering others makes you a fool”. These individuals will begin to accuse you, lie about you and spread falsehoods concerning you. This is a clear tactic of the devil to attack – not only you – but the prophetic word spoken by you. The devil doesn’t want others to believe the word of the Lord and thus he will cause others to slander you in an effort to destroy your credibility in the prophetic. The devil is a master at accusing others; prophetic people are no different and are in fact great targets of the evil one. Those under the devil’s influence will seek to silence the prophetic word through slander, gossip and accusations spoken in private conversations.
Solution: When your name is being slandered and when people begin to speak evil of you, immediately drop to your knees and pray a blessing over their lives. You are being attacked because you are being used by God. It’s a good thing you’re being slandered; if you were not, you would indeed not be much of a threat to the kingdom of satan.
7- Finally, the enemy will whisper into your ears that he himself will come after you in order to prophesy falsely what you have prophesied rightly: This is a clear tactic of satan, to take God’s Word and begin to use it against you. What does the Scripture teach concerning those who threaten retribution for obeying the Holy Spirit? In Romans 12:19 we read, “Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the LORD.” The devil will always raise up ungodly people who profess Christ to say things such as, “God is going to do this very thing to you!” as they do not believe that your prophetic gifting is genuine. They will threaten the judgment of God over your life and ministry in order to stop you
Solution: Do not fear threats of retribution; rather, believe the promise of God that he blesses those who walk with Him in obedience. Know, understand, believe and receive the Biblical truth that no weapon formed against you will ever prosper. You cannot be touched… because you’re in the Hand of the Father!
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Conclusion:
May the Lord use the principles in this article in your life for the time that will come to each of you who are used in the prophetic.
