13 Ways to Shut the Door on the Enemy

He was saying something about how he helps people sell their houses quickly. Well, I told him I had already sold my house. But he went on with his spiel, and I went on cleaning, trying to hurry. Pretty soon I realized it was some sort of scam. So I told him to leave, that I had already sold the house.

I went into another room and he followed me in and kept talking. I couldn’t believe he would do that. Then he started to attack me, and I woke up.

Oh, thank goodness, it was just a dream!

I woke up yelling for Yeshua.  As soon as I woke up, I asked him why he hadn’t instructed me to leave instead of just hurry. But he told me, “That’s not how it goes.” I asked him why it had to have such a scary ending.  He told me that he wanted me to remember it. He wanted it to wake me up. So I decided I better think about this dream.

In this dream I was cleaning my house. In dreams your house usually represents your life, which is probably why I could only hurry and could not leave it. I left the door open and a scammer, a con artist, a liar came in. I went on with my work and tried to ignore him. He followed me into other rooms of my house – meaning other areas of my life. And then pretty soon, he wasn’t just lying to me and harassing me, he was attacking me.

And then I recognized that this is exactly what the enemy does. In fact, it exactly described what had happened to me for several days just before this dream.

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Two Weeks Earlier…

Two weeks earlier in real life, I had some news that made me mad.  It was about things people were doing to some of my family. It hung over my head all day and stole my joy. I finally got my equilibrium back that night. But it took me longer than usual.  Instead of praying for the situation, I was letting it affect my whole mood and day.

I went on with my week and Yeshua was telling me something else that I thought was totally unrelated.  He told me that when I feel discouraged or upset to just come straight to him. I don’t need to try and analyze it or fix it.  Just spend time in his presence.

The week ended and I came to our Sabbath service. A friend of mine handed me a scripture. It was Psalm 112. She said she had thought of me when she read it. She had printed out the Passion translation, and we looked at it together.

Psalm 112:7-8:

“They will not live in fear or dread of what may come, for their hearts are firm, ever secure in their faith. Steady and strong, they will not be afraid, but will calmly face their every foe until they all go down in defeat.”

My friend told me that this scripture is sometimes given to people who are experiencing challenges from the enemy. Sometimes when you are making really good strides in the spiritual realm, the enemy tries to harass you.  So this is a good scripture to remember in those times. So I took it home and looked up other translations, and kept it near my couch to review and meditate on.

Then I began to wonder if this is what that day of discouragement was about the previous week. Maybe the enemy had used that to bring me down.

Here is a sign that the enemy might be at work: when you are in the flow of the Spirit,  making strides on what Yehovah is instructing you, and all of the sudden you are stopped in your tracks, you’re sidelined, unable to be who Yehovah made you to be and unable to do what he has for you. That’s something you want to be alert to. The enemy wants nothing more than to knock us back when we’re progressing in Yehovah’s will.

That’s what happened to me. He took me out of commission for nearly the whole day. So I decided I’d keep Psalm 112 handy.

I went on about my week and had another good Sabbath. And during that week, Yeshua showed me some amazing things, he was just filling me with hope and excitement about my future. And then Sunday came.

All of a sudden on Sunday, I started to doubt what I was hearing, what Yeshua had been telling me and promising me, including things that he’d been telling me for a few months. All of the sudden I was fearful that I had gone out on this limb to believe him, and he wasn’t going to come through for me.

Quoting the Truth of Yehovah’s Word

I have this habit of keeping my journal on my phone.  I have a dictation app instead of writing it all down. I found that my handwritten journal can’t keep up, and it’s faster for me to just talk to my phone.

On that Sunday I grabbed my phone and started dictating to my journal to try and sort out what was going on inside my head. I felt better after getting that off my chest. Then I went to bed.

But the next day was worse. The discouragement just hung over me like a sadness, like the rug had been pulled out from under me and everything I had been believing for was hopeless.

I decided to spend my lunch hour with Yeshua, like he told me to do – just go to him. So I went to the living room and again picked up my phone for my journal. But then I remembered Yeshua’s instructions: when I feel discouraged or upset, just go straight to him. Don’t try and analyze it and fix it. Just spend time in his presence. Aha, so that means – don’t dictate into my phone, just be with him.

Well, I sat down on the couch and there was my Bible still open to Psalm 112.  That’s when I became convinced that this was it – this is what my friend and Yeshua were both talking about. The enemy was trying to undermine the wonderful things that Yeshua was telling me. Here Yeshua was trying to bless me, and the enemy was trying to get me to doubt all of it, and I started to believe him. Well, when I realized what was happening, I became determined that he was not going to take this from me.

So I quoted Psalm 112, I thanked Yeshua for his promises, I turned on my worship music as loud as I could and praised him. I decided I would believe Yeshua no matter what lies or fears the enemy tried to feed me.

And then it dawned on me… I had dictated all those doubts and fears into my phone on Sunday. I said them out loud.  The enemy is “crouching at my door,” looking for an opening, and I just handed him ammunition to use against me. I started to realize that I had given the enemy a foothold for his lies.

How do we get rid of footholds? We expose them. We kick out the enemy and replace the lies with truth. So I thought about the lies he was telling me, and I denounced them and replaced them with the truth in Yehovah’s word.

Praise & Worship Silences the Enemy

But, the next day, here came the enemy again. He’s sly, he sneaks up on you and makes it sound like your own thoughts. You think it’s just you, and you can’t figure out why you can’t get control of your mind. It wasn’t the same topic. I was prepared for that. No, he used some other thing I had complained about. Finally I caught on and repeated the same steps – Psalm 112 and other verses, just like Yeshua in the wilderness, quoting scripture when the enemy tried to tempt him.  And I praised and worshiped, and thanked Yeshua for his promises.  

And then the next day it was another issue, this time my stomach was in knots most of the day. I just kept up my faith and kept reminding myself that everything he said was a lie. And everything Yeshua said was true, no matter what my mind or stomach said.

That night, the feeling lifted and it felt like a fever broke. Then I had the dream about the stranger in my house. It was the perfect depiction of what had gone on during my week.

In the dream I was cleaning up my house – my life – but I left the door open to the enemy.  And when I realized he was in my house, I didn’t force him to leave. I just went on with my work. I even let him follow me into other rooms – into other areas of my life – areas where I was vulnerable to an attack.

What I should have done the minute I realized he was in the house is kick him out, not take it lightly or try to ignore it.  That’s how he gets to other parts of the house.  I need to keep the door closed.  

Guard Your Words

I learned that I need to watch what I say, so that I don’t give the enemy any ammunition regarding my weaknesses or doubts or worries.  

Psalm 141:3  “Set a guard, Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.”

Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

If I say I’m an idiot, the enemy will agree with me and remind me of it all the time. If I say I’m afraid of this or that, he’ll build on those fears. So now I’m very careful of what I’m saying out loud, even if it’s just talking to my phone journal. It keeps me really conscious of what I’m saying out loud, and it’s a good discipline for controlling my tongue.

Nothing the Enemy Tells us is Reality

Another thing I learned is to remember that nothing the enemy tells us is reality. He mixes truth with lies and plays on our fears and weak points. We have to discern the truth from the lies and recognize when it’s him.

John 8:44 “there is no truth in him, the father of lies.”

When I looked back at what he used to bring me down, in each case, it was fear of something, worry, second-guessing, doubt, confusion. None of it was actually happening, he was just planting thoughts in my head that made me think that there was something to worry about, or doubt, or fear.

Denounce Untruths and Replace Them with Truth

When I start to worry, fear or doubt what Yeshua has told me, I need to kick the enemy out and close the door, so that he doesn’t get a foothold.  That’s what I was doing with scripture that stated the truth. I can denounce anything I’ve said that is not true, and replace it with truth.

2 Corinthians 10:5 “Take every thought captive to the obedience of Yeshua.”

I need to stop myself from worrying, doubting and being discouraged and fill that space with his promises, thanksgiving and counting my blessings. We can reverse our course and not give the enemy any foothold.

Don’t Give the Enemy a Foothold

Footholds that are not torn down turn into strongholds. A foothold is a place to put your foot so you can stand.  You can push yourself up from a foothold, or you can balance yourself. A stronghold is a protected place from which you can do battle. You can throw hand grenades, shoot arrows, fire a rifle.

A foothold begins when we let the enemy’s lies penetrate our mind. A foothold turns into a stronghold when we start believing the lies. If we’re believing the lie, we’re no longer trying to get rid of the enemy, we believe it like it’s truth. He will burrow down in as deep as he can to strengthen his lies and his influence and keep the battle going.

This is why it’s so important to stop the lies when they start.  Take authority as soon as you see the enemy’s scheme.  

Those were good lessons for me, and are now automatic if I detect the enemy pressing against me, or if I say something that could be used against me.

Discern Between the Voice of Yehovah and the Voice of the Enemy

It was 40 days later that the enemy came back to challenge me again. I had been spending more time in prayer, receiving understanding and revelation in some areas, and sure enough, the enemy noticed. But this time he used all different tactics. He drew me into things that I normally do, but then twisted them. I noticed that I was hearing Yeshua’s words, but not in his voice. It was in a mean-spirited tone, demanding, there was no love in it.

But Yeshua told us, “My sheep hear my voice.” (John 10:27) We know Yeshua’s loving demeanor.  He’s not going to hit us over the head, or yell at us or scold us.  He won’t use guilt or condemnation. When we see the enemy trying to pose as Yeshua, we can declare it a lie, and stop it.

You can recognize that that’s not how God talks to you, or that’s not love, or this is not how the Spirit operates.  When we find that, we need to denounce that and reset our sights on the truth. Believe in the truth that you know and walk in that instead of in the lie you’re hearing.

I finally recognized this as a tactic of the enemy and turned it off. I realized that this time around was going to take extra strength. I asked the Lord to show me what else I could do. He showed me several more things.

Believe in Yeshua’s Promises, Love and Faithfulness More Than You Believe the Enemy

First, I had to realize that it would require that I have more faith. I have to believe in Yeshua’s promises, his love and his faithfulness more than I believe what the enemy is putting in my mind.

Isaiah 11:3 “And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear.”

This is faith beyond emotion or logic. I can’t wait for the feeling to go away, or until I feel stronger, or try to analyze it and fix it.  The bottom line is that I just have to decide to believe Yeshua more than I believe the enemy and determine to walk in what Yeshua has told me.  

Stay in Lockstep with Yeshua

Yeshua has taught me how to stay in lockstep with him. For me it means:

• Checking in frequently with Yeshua to submit things to him and receive instruction.
• Listening continuously, being super alert to anything he might want to show me or tell me throughout the day or night.
• Obeying immediately and precisely when I hear him speak.

This is really key for keeping the enemy out. In battle, there’s no time to question the orders.  This is not the time to leave it for later or think up a better way. The instructions are meant to bring Yehovah’s will. When we do it exactly as we’re instructed, there’s no room for the enemy to interfere (although he will likely challenge you).

Joshua 3:1-4

“They came to the Jordan River, Joshua and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. At the end of three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people, ‘As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. In order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.’”

Spiritual warfare is a precarious path. You need Yehovah guiding you, because you have not passed this way before. His instructions are sometimes very precise, because you’re at a critical crossing.  Maybe he wants to do a miracle like he did for the Israelites.

Involve the Holy Spirit

A more obvious strategy is involving the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 6:12

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

We need to pray in the spirit to bring Yehovah’s will and protection and to dislodge the enemy. Pray for extra discernment, alertness and power. Pray and seek him before you do battle.

Envision Yeshua Joining You in the Battle

Of course, there’s Hebrews 13:5 “He will never leave you or forsake you.”  Believe him that he is with you and will not forsake you even for a minute – especially during the heat of the battle.  Envision Yeshua joining you in the battle. He is not on the sidelines.  

Psalm 109:31: “For he stands at the right hand of the needy, to save their lives from those who would condemn them.”

See him on your side, envision him at your right hand.  

Watch What He is Doing And Do it

As you’re seeking him for instruction, try to discern what he’s doing.

Is he interceding? Hebrews 7:25 “He ever lives to make intercession for us.”

Is he joyful? Remember Nehemiah 8:10 “The joy of the Lord is our strength.”

Is he dancing or singing? Remember Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”

This tells us that this is how he saves us. One version says “he is silent in his love.” So even if he’s silent, he’s still loving us.

Is he on his throne? Job 36:7: “He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous, but with kings on the throne he sets them forever, and they are exalted.” Wow, if we see that he’s sitting on his throne when we are in battle, we can be sure his eyes are on us and he will exalt us.

We can see what is he doing and follow his lead. Yeshua told us he only does what he sees the Father doing. Take note of what Yeshua is doing and do it.  Take on the same Spirit that he has during the battle.

Not long ago, I saw him kneeling, saying the Lord’s prayer. But, Yeshua doesn’t need to say the Lord’s prayer.  He was showing me what I needed to do. See what he’s doing and do it. Hear what he’s saying and say it.

The Accuser is Thrown Down and Conquered by our Testimony of What Yeshua’s Blood Has Done For Us

Here’s another strategy Yeshua showed me:

Revelation 12:10b-11a

“the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony…”

This is how powerful your words are. They can be used against us, or they can be used to defeat the enemy. Our testimony of the blood of the Lamb is that we are redeemed, forgiven, cleansed, justified and sanctified. And when we speak those words, the enemy has nothing left to stand on. The accuser is thrown down and conquered by our testimony of what Yeshua’s blood has done for us.

Walk in Resurrection Victory

And finally remember Romans 8:11:  

“God raised Yeshua to life.  And since God’s Spirit of Resurrection lives in you, He will also raise your dying body to life by the same Spirit that breathes life into you.”   

That’s why “Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.”  1 John 4:4.  

Shut the door on the enemy and walk in victory!

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