Question Card Session 9/7/25
Notes
Transcript
Turn to John 13
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Question: Can Satan know our thoughts?
Or I could put it this way, can Satan and his demons read our minds?
Read John 13:2, 27
We find in John that Satan seems to put a thought in Judas’ mind and then that Satan entered into or possessed Judas. Interesting side note: if only Judas had said “no” to that thought in verse 2, I don’t think we would have read of Satan’s activity in verse 27.
Read Acts 5:3
We find here again that Satan appears to put a thought into Ananias’ mind. I’ll admit, I don’t understand completely how Satan can tempt human beings with certain ideas, but it appears that he can tempt us in our thoughts and then we have the choice to say “yes” or “no” to that temptation. We’ll touch on that more in a few minutes.
Now if this is your first time considering the question raised, it might be a bit of a scary thought! After all, Satan and his demons are spirit beings and we can’t under normal circumstances see them, but they can see us! Can they read our minds also?
Let me ask you a question: Is Satan omniscient? No.
Is Satan omnipresent? No.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Since Satan does not know all things and since he cannot be everywhere at once, he cannot read our minds. He cannot know our thoughts. Aren’t you thankful for that?!
Maybe you find that to be a great relief, however, you know what may be an even scarier proposition? The fact that God knows our thoughts.
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For there is not a word in my tongue, But, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.
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And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
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Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:)
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But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.
The Bible is very clear on this reality: God knows our thoughts.
God knows every thought that you think - every moment of every day.
Application: Your mind is a castle, not the devil’s playground. You are responsible for accepting or rejecting every thought you think. Your mind is not a free-for-all. You must guard your heart. You must cast down every thought that displeases the Lord and you must replace it with a thought that does please the Lord.
Now let’s come back to this question: can Satan know our thoughts?
We’ve already concluded that he cannot. But as one person writes:
Satan and his demons have been observing and tempting human beings for thousands of years. Surely, they have learned a few things about us over the years. Even without the ability to know our thoughts, they can make a well-educated guess as to what we are thinking and then attempt to use that to their advantage. - https://www.gotquestions.org/Satan-read-minds.html
I think that’s a valid point. Satan and his demons have honed their skills for several thousand years in tempting mankind. But the Bible indicates something far more significant: Satan works against us by using an undercover agent - one that we don’t give enough credit to.
What do you think is this undercover agent that I’m referring to? The flesh
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This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
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The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
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For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
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For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
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For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
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Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
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For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
If there is anything that God emphasizes in Scripture, it is the wickedness of our own hearts. Can Satan and his demons tempt us in our thoughts? Scripture indicates that they can, but I fear that we don’t give enough credit to the great wickedness of our own heart.
Application: Christian, your spirit was regenerated - it was made alive - at salvation, but your flesh was not. Do not underestimate the wickedness of your flesh. Don’t ever think to yourself, “I would never do that.” Never discount the power of your flesh. It is capable of anything. You guarantee daily defeat in living the Christ-life if you do not walk in the Spirit.
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Submit yourself to the Spirit of the Living God. Offer yourself up to His control. If you yield to His controlling, He will never lead you to sin and He will never lead you to dwell on thoughts that displease the Lord.
