I love family gatherings. My motto is: The more, the merrier! And when I had teenagers in my house, I learned to be quickly adaptable to three more boys for dinner without notice. But it wasn’t a problem… we simply made room.
What would be a problem is if I took that same thinking and gave the devil a place in my life.
That may sound silly (like, who would do that?) but I was thinking about it recently after ministering to a woman who was battling depression and forgiving herself for some regrettable mistakes. In Ephesians, Paul said, “Therefore putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another. ‘Be angry, and do not sin’: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:25-27).
I had always viewed this instruction as a warning of the open door that strife and anger can give the devil in our lives . And I believe this would be an accurate understanding of Paul’s teaching– but I’ve learned it’s not limited to only this.
As I ministered to this woman, I realized she was “giving place to the devil” by allowing Satan to bombard her mind with negative and fearful thoughts. And in addition, her inability to forgive herself was also giving him a foothold.
To give place to someone means to make room for them.
Let me give an example: Suppose you and I were sitting in a booth at our favorite restaurant and another friend walks in and we invite them to join us. Upon accepting our invitation, what do we do next? We scoot over and make room for him or her. In other words, we make a move to allow room to be made.
Are you catching the spiritual significance of this?
The Apostle Paul said it very clearly:
“Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil [give no opportunity for him]” (AMP).
“Don’t give the devil any opportunity [to work]” (GWT).
“Neither give place to the devil” (NKJV).
Because Jesus gave you and I authority over the devil (Luke 10:19, Matthew 28:18), then we are the only ones who can MAKE ROOM for him or not.
We need to use our authority.
I’m reminded of a vision Kenneth E. Hagin (the founder of Rhema Bible Training College) shared concerning our authority over the devil. In his book, Believer’s Authority, he said while having a vision of him and Jesus in conversation, a small impish demon stood between them jumping up and down making lots of noise. Besides being annoying, the little imp was making it difficult for Brother Hagin to hear what Jesus was telling him.
Not wanting to be disrespectful, Brother Hagin tried ignoring the demon and strained harder to hear Jesus, all while wondering why Jesus didn’t do something about it. Apparently, in his vision, this went on for a short while until Brother Hagin got mad and frustrated and told the demon to quit it and leave! Immediately, the demon fled and there was peace. Jesus then looked at Brother Hagin (in his vision) and said, “If you hadn’t done something, I couldn’t have.”
Brother Hagin thought he misunderstood and said, “You mean You wouldn’t have…” But Jesus said, “No. I couldn’t have.” Jesus went on to explain to Brother Hagin our authority as believers over the devil and referred to several scriptures, including the ones I gave you previously. [You can read the whole vision here.]
My point is this: “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). One word from you will put the devil on the run!
You don’t have to allow the devil any room in your life.
And this isn’t limited to strife. When you meditate on wrong things (such as pity, lust, negativity, anger, etc.), you are making room for the devil to hold you in bondage. DON’T DO IT! Begin to recognize his strategies and hold your ground. Tell Satan NO and speak God’s Word over your heart and situation. Decidedly refuse to give the devil any place in your life!
And always remember, giving place to the devil is giving place to defeat.
