1. Read your Bible.
We can’t overlook the mysterious transaction that happens between the Holy Spirit and us when we read Scripture. Scripture tells us that his role is to remind us and renew our thinking with Jesus’ teachings (John 14:26). We don’t just read Scripture to study and learn. We need it to detox from the ideologies, worldviews, and values of the world the devil
bombards us with daily and instead allow the Spirit to remind us of what is true. To remind us of Jesus.
2. Confess your sin.
Our sin only goes one of two ways — confession or “consecration.” We either humbly bring our sin to Jesus in confession, or we deceive ourselves into believing it’s not that bad or try to make it out to be good or holy. Managing and defending sinful choices can be exhausting and lead to a life of deception. Confession can be a powerful tool that forces us to be brutally honest with Jesus about our mistakes. He invites us into this practice not only to heal and forgive us but to keep us sober-minded about sin, ourselves and the devil’s works.
3. Find your people.
We all hate that awkward moment when we’ve got something in our teeth, and no one tells us, but a good friend will find a discreet way to give us a heads up. Deception is like that.
We don’t always have our guard up when walking into the subtle traps the devil lays for us. Good friends can watch our back and be our eyes and ears when we are slipping into something outside of what Jesus has for us. We all need friends like that; that are discerning and have the courage to speak to us about our blind spots.
4. Say your prayers.
When Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them how to pray, it’s wild that a good portion of the Lord’s Prayer is dedicated to helping us avoid sin and the devil (Matthew 6:13). It might be an awkward prayer, but Jesus calls us to pray for help to avoid being deceived by the devil. Of all the things Jesus could have taught, he is fully aware of the crafty work of the devil and invites us to look to him in prayer to not fall for the devil’s designs.