I have battle scars and I'm sad to say I've seen many followers of Christ fall under attack and lose. 2 Corinthians 2:11 talks about forgiving and says, "in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes." I think the longer you are a Christian the more you see his schemes. Ya see, beelzebub's got nothing new in his bag so you can learn to recognize them. He attacks different people, and different countries for that matter, in different ways but for myself here's a few things I often look for:
* "If, then" questions: He questioned Jesus this way..."If you are the son of God, (then)..." I know I'm under attack when "if, then" questions come up that I know go against what God says in the bible. For example, "If you were really a Christian, wouldn't you stop failing at...." or "If the fellowship cared about you, then wouldn't they..." or "If God loved you, then wouldn't He..." These are often about proof...
* Incitement: 1 Chronicles 21:1 [David Numbers the Fighting Men ] Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. He's an instigator and loves disorder. Feeling driven to argue, unforgiveness, complaining, grumbling, being prideful and blaming. When these feelings aren't fleeting, I take notice of attack.
* Temptation & Justification: Genesis 3:1-4, "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. Remember he's got nothing new up his sleeve. He takes something you find tempting, makes you question why God wouldn't want you to have it, then lies about the consequences.
There are other ways but these came to mind first. It may be interesting to ask others how they see the devil attack just to gain more wisdom. Just this morning, I was sharing with someone about feeling insecure with a task I'm doing at work. All of a sudden she mentioned it sounded like our enemy was attacking me. I'm praying about it 'cause she's right...trying to make me feel insecure is right up satan's alley. He's got to hate victorious Christians who walk around 'in victory'!
So besides praying, looking at scriptures, and being open with others..here are some things I do during attacks:
Isaiah 44:5 - One will say, ‘I belong to the LORD’; another will call himself by the name of Jacob; still another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’ and will take the name Israel. Some times I write on my hand The Lord's as a reminder that God has claimed me and that Satan can't have me back.
Matthew 4:10 - Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ ” I tell him to get away and speak scripture like Jesus did. Yeah, you read right. Reading the word in these situations is great and speaking it out loud is even better. Be bold.
Luke 22:31 - "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. & Job 1:9-11“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
I remember there are verses that says he's had to ask permission to attack and that when God said yes, it was because God had faith in them to overcome. With God believing in me that much, I'm so encouraged that I can almost feel satan run off. Focus on God's great belief in you!
Romans 16:20 - "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Paul wrote this to disciples in Rome. As a reminder, that God has already won, I write the word 'satan' on the bottom of my shoe. It feels great when you set your foot to the ground and walk around! :)
Here's an GREAT article that I thought you might enjoy called "The Battle Scars of a Satanic Attack" http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=13757&forum=34&38
Anyway, this is a short blog on a huge subject. You can always google satan/devil on biblegateway.com's keyword search and it pulls up all the verses that mention him. Looking over those has helped me to see his devices and to learn just which piece of God's armor I need to make sure is ready for attack. It's also helped me to help others when they are under attack like my friend did today. As Paul West said in the article...satan wants to 'take the fight out of you' - but we are not unaward of satan's schemes and we won't let him!