THE BATTLE BETWEEN SATAN AND GOD BEING IN OUR MIND
I hope I can make it clear that the battlefield within us between Satan and God is the mind. Our mind is the battlefield for Satan to fight with God. It is not easy for Satan’s forces to possess human bodies. Even the unbelievers, if they are sound and sane, do not allow demon possession. However, Satan is subtle, and it is very easy to take over people—both unbelievers and believers—in their mind. As we have seen, 2 Corinthians 4:4 says that the thoughts of the unbelievers are blinded, while 11:3 says that the thoughts of the believers can be corrupted. This is why we have to fight the battle.
Sooner or later we all have to experience this. The more we go on with the Lord, the more we will be attacked in our mind. It is very dangerous to open and expose our mind to the air. We need to pray, “Lord, cover us with the helmet of Your salvation. Cover us with Yourself, and cover us with Your blood.” Our mind needs to be covered. We should not expose our mind to the enemy. Even brothers who are very faithful to the Lord cannot withstand the attacks if they expose their mind to the air. I can testify that if I expose my mind to the evil spirits without any covering, my Christian life will immediately be wrecked. Someone who does this may even doubt that there is a God. We need the covering for our mentality, our mind. The shield of faith quenches all the flaming darts, and the helmet of salvation keeps away all the thoughts. We need this covering.
When we preach the gospel, many people like to argue. If we argue with them, we fall into a snare. We can never help a person to be saved through our arguments. Satan always likes to challenge us, to ask something, in order to get us into the snare of arguing, because the more we argue, the more we are in the mind, the more we are under the attack of the enemy, and the more God is gone. This is why we try to help people to pray, because when they pray, they turn their mind to God. Day by day we are under the attack of the enemy. Where is the attack? It is in the mind. Therefore, we need the covering of the blood and the helmet of God’s salvation.
REPENTING BY TURNING OUR MIND BACK TO THE LORD
We need to learn always to turn our mind to the Lord. This is clear not only in the New Testament but also in principle in the Old Testament. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep the steadfast of mind / In perfect peace / Because he trusts in You.” This verse speaks of one whose mind is steadfastly on the Lord. Today the Lord is in our spirit. Our spirit is the very organ, the very center, for us to contact the Lord and for the Lord to contact us. Therefore, Romans 8:6 says that the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.
The enemy’s attack today is on our mind. It is very hard for our mind to be focused on the Lord. The proper direction for the mind is to be toward the Lord, but the enemy entices our mind to be directed toward something other than the Lord. Whether that thing is good or evil, it is the same. When our mind is set on something other than the Lord, we are under the attack. Therefore, we all must learn to repent, which in the spiritual language means to turn the mind.
I have observed that after a husband and wife have a honeymoon, what often follows is a “vinegar moon.” Even a Christian husband may become disgusted with his wife the more he considers about her. The more he considers in this way, the more Satan does his best to attack his mind and turn it to something other than the Lord. Sometimes Satan would attack the mind of a husband toward his wife, or he may attack his mind concerning another brother or other matters. I say again, whenever our mind is set on something other than Christ, we are under the attack already. If we know the secret, we will repent right away. When we are considering something about our wife, we should right away say, “Lord, forgive me. I just turn my mind to You.” This is to repent.
It is the same with the sisters. The more many Christian wives consider their husbands, the more bitter they are. If a sister learns the lesson, then whenever she has a thought like this about her husband, she will immediately repent; that is, she will turn her mind from her husband to the Lord. Then she will be covered, and she will be saved.
(Practical Lessons on the Experience of Life, Chapter 12, by Witness Lee)
