Just as the apostles worked amazing miracles through the power of God, Simon the sorcerer was able to do astonishing things through the power of the devil. So how did the apostles handle the situation? Did they avoid it? Live peacefully with it? Say, ‘It’s no big deal’? No, Peter confronted Simon, saying, ‘Repent…that [God] may forgive you’ (v.22 NIV). Today the forces of evil are still real, and it’s still good to know how to deal with them. Jesus said, ^‘I have given you authority…to overcome all the power of the enemy’ (Luke 10:19 NIV). We can’t blame Satan for everything that happens in our lives, but if we fail to recognise when it’s him at work then he’s always got the advantage. We need to be wise and know when we’re dealing with natural, human, psychological problems. But we also need to be able to work out when we’re dealing with ‘the powers of this dark world and…the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms’ (Ephesians 6:12 NIV). The Bible tells us to ‘be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith’ (1 Peter 5:8-9 NIV). So how can we resist and overcome the power of the enemy? Well, Ephesians 6 talks about the armour of God. With His armour, we can stand our ground (v.13). When we strengthen ourselves in God, spiritual attack can be defeated. Don’t attack the enemy, run to God. On our own it seems impossible, but with God’s help we can recognise, resist and overcome the power of the devil.

What now?

Every time you put on an item of clothing today, pray that you would wear an item of God’s armour (see Ephesians 6 for the list).