“Never let yourself be intimidated by the schemes of demons.” (Inner Word)
We cannot and must not ignore this anti-God dimension on our spiritual journey. As St. Thérèse of Lisieux says, it is true that cowardly demons cannot harm us if we live in a state of grace. The Lord has also given his followers power over demons (Mark 3:15). Yet, Scripture warns us: “Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
These fallen spirits, which Scripture refers to as demons, seek to rob human beings of their greatest treasure—love for their Creator and Redeemer, their loving Father. That is why they try to deceive people with every kind of cunning in order to spread their impotent hatred toward God.
We must learn to deal with this! The more we strive for holiness and the spread of the Gospel, the more we can expect their tenacious resistance. This can take the form of tactics designed to wear us down, constant accusations, spreading fear, reinforcing the negative inclinations of our nature, and so on. But they also seek to keep us in illusions, entangle us in false teachings, and so forth. In short, they use everything to serve their destructive plans.
However, we must not allow ourselves to be intimidated and, in doing so, attribute to them a power they do not possess. Therefore, we should not fix our gaze on the demons to “search their depths” (cf. Rev 2,24), but rather turn directly to our heavenly Father in prayer. This means we must call on God for help against these forces—again and again. It is then our Father Himself whom they flee from, and who desires to triumph within us.
Vigilance, yes—but no fear of the demons!