Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see
whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone
out into the world (1 John 4:1).

Paul warned us against the deception which comes through demonic
influence (1 Timothy 4:1). John also cautioned us to test the
spirits and to distinguish the spirit of truth from the spirit of
error (1 John 4:1-6). Satan’s demonic forces are at work
attempting to pollute your mind with lies in order to keep you
from walking in the truth. Hannah Whitehall Smith wrote:

There are the voices of evil and deceiving spirits, who lie in
wait to entrap every traveler entering these higher regions of
spiritual life. . . . These spiritual enemies, whoever or
whatever they may be, must necessarily communicate with us by
means of our spiritual faculties, and their voices, as the voice
of God, are an inward impression made upon our spirit. Therefore,
just as the Holy Spirit may tell us by impressions what the will
of God is concerning us, so also will these spiritual enemies
tell us by impression what is their will concerning us, though
not, of course, giving it their name” (Quoted from Martin Wells
Knapp, Impressions, Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishing, Inc.,
1984, pp. 14-15).

Due to the deceptive nature of his impressions, Satan’s voice may
not always be detected objectively. You need to pray in order to
disassociate yourself from deceiving spirits.

Heavenly Father, I commit myself unreservedly to Your will. If I
have been deceived in any way, I pray that You will open my eyes
to the deception. I command in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
that all deceiving spirits depart from me, and I renounce and
reject all counterfeit gifts (or any other spiritual phenomena).
Lord, if it is from You, bless it and cause it to grow that Your
body may be blessed and edified through it.

This daily devotional is published and distributed by
http://www.GOSHEN.net/ . It is written by Neil Anderson at
http://www.freedominchrist.com/ .