A friend recently gave me the following suggestion: “When Satan comes to remind me about my past, I remind him about his future.”

One thing Satan does is continually accuse us before God (See Revelation 12:10). He will accuse us, too, of our past in our mind if we allow him to. When he does, however, we can remind him not only about his future in hell, but also that Christ shed his blood on the cross and gave his life to pay for our sins and has washed them all away. So what’s there to accuse us of if we have confessed our sins to Christ and asked for and accepted his forgiveness? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Because Christ died for us and cleansed us from our sins, we can, in his name, resist the devil and, as James said, he will flee from us. Satan hates the name of Jesus. Be sure to mention it when Satan comes to tempt you. Instead of trying to reason with Satan, just remind him of his future and mention the name of Jesus … and pray a simply prayer, “Help God! Help!”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you have defeated Satan and all his evil emissaries, and that there is power in your name to defend against any and all of Satan’s devious ways and to defeat him. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. James 4:7.