What Can We Do To Combat Satan’s Influence?

Exterior of the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre. By Jesús Gorriti from Madrid, Spain, [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
Exterior of the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre. By Jesús Gorriti from Madrid, Spain, [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. (photo: Register Files)

The Devil made his public appearance this past weekend as the Satanic Temple of Detroit unveiled their nine-foot-tall, 2,000-pound bronze statue during a hedonistic party at the Lauhoff Corporation building on July 25. This public display even required participants to literally sign a document that gave their soul to the devil. Needless to say, the organizers of the event didn’t want any Christians infiltrating their revelry. 

What occurred at the unveiling party is unmentionable and was attended by more than 400 participants. Tickets were required for the event and attendees could even pay extra to get an up-close view of the statue. To combat the devil’s influence, a local group of Catholics circled the site with a six-foot-tall bronze statue of St. Michael the Archangel and continually prayed the St. Michael prayer.

After this event, the Satanic Temple will drive their statue down to Arkansas and plans are shaping up to display the demonic statue next to a public display of the 10 Commandments. 

The devil’s influence in America has certainly been on the rise lately and this summer is no exception. With the legalization of same-sex marriage, the uncovering of Planned Parenthood’s horrific activities and this public display of worshipping Satan, it is hard to deny that there are many evil spiritual forces at work behind the scenes. 

Some say we should exorcise the nation as was done in Mexico, while others seek political means to combat Satan’s influence. In the end, something needs to happen.

One important question we must ask is, “what does Satan fear the most?”

First of all, when we look at the lives of different saints, we see how Satan admits how much he fears them. One famous example comes from the life of Saint John Vianney.

He was a holy priest in France who would daily encounter a demon. It happened so frequently, Saint John Vianney gave the demon the nickname of “the grappin.” He even remarked that “Oh, the grappin and myself? We are almost buddies!”

Yet the demon would not have agreed with that statement. The demon famously once said to Saint John Vianney, “If there were three such priests as you, my kingdom [in France] would be ruined.”

At the same time, while Satan greatly fears holy men and women, he is also deeply afraid of the use of sacramentals. One does not have to look far to see many stories of men and women who use sacramentals such as holy water, blessed salt, the Sign of the Cross, the Rite of Exorcism (which is defined as a sacramental) and other holy objects to repel the attacks of Satan.

Here is one example in regards to the Sign of the Cross:

“St. Athanasius wrote that before the coming of Christ, demonic powers used to deceive the pagans into worshipping them and obeying their oracles. ‘But now,’ he observed in the fourth century, ‘since the divine appearance of the Word [Christ], all this deception has come to an end. For by the Sign of the Cross, if a man will only use it, their deceptions are driven out’” (Paul Thigpen, Manual for Spiritual Warfare).

We see Satan afraid of both saints and sacramentals. Both are visible signs of Christ’s presence and have great power. But what is the most effective tool in driving out Satan’s influence from our country?

If you are interested in discussing this question, I invite you to join me in a free mini-course that I am offering over the next week where we will seek to unravel what it is that Satan fears the most.