This morning I am sitting in my comfortable chair and sipping my morning coffee, strong and creamy, as I write this blog. I do not usually write at 8:00 am but I was awake very early and this has been on my mind for a few days. Some of what I am about to write I have only shared with one or two people ever. This will not be a theological treatise nor will it be scientific theory. What I write this morning will be my personal experience and the conclusion I draw from that, some would call it anecdotal. My belief seems to be unique; perhaps I have a bit of an Elijah complex as I know of almost no one who agrees with my viewpoint. I will not try to convince you to change your thinking on the matter, I only want to share mine and so I share this story.
The year was 1977 and my little family and I were living in Little Rock, Arkansas in an upstairs apartment of a fourplex in a lovely part of the city. After the birth of my first child, Katie, I had resigned from my position in a bank to be a stay-at-home mom and I was loving life.
It all began with me waking in the middle of the night and seeing demonic spirits in the room. While that sounds frightening my response was annoyance; they had interrupted my precious sleep. Not wanting to awaken anyone by speaking out loud, when this occurred I would simply, in my mind, speak to them and tell them to go. And they always did. Around the same time I began experiencing strange phenomena in the early morning or during afternoon naps when I was neither fully awake nor fully asleep. These experiences were disconcerting so I would cry out to Jesus and then immediately wake up.
The next progression was during the day. In addition to the apartment’s front entrance, there was also a staircase outside the kitchen. The staircases were constructed of a metal frame filled with concrete steps. It was virtually impossible to walk up those steps silently. Running up them produced a loud, distinctive ringing sound. Occasionally throughout the day I would hear the sound of someone running up and down the back staircase but when I looked out both the front and back doors there was no one so I concluded that it was an evil spirit sent to harass me. The ringing was so loud that I sometimes wondered if the neighbors could hear. One day when a friend was having lunch with me the sound began. I nonchalantly asked her, “Do you hear that?.” Looking puzzled she responded, “Yes, what it it?” I already knew that I was not hallucinating but still I was comforted to know that the noise could be heard by others.
And then the spiritual confrontation got more personal. One afternoon I was sitting on the sofa while one-year-old Katie was down for a nap. A inaudible voice spoke to me and offered me celebrity and fame. I responded without spoken words that that was impossible as I was not beautiful. The spirit told me to look at a magazine lying on the coffee table. On the cover was the face of the current Hollywood female superstar. The spirit said, “Look closely. She is not so beautiful, it is an illusion and I can do that for you.” As I looked at the photo I realized that beneath the glamorous illusion her face was actually the face of a very ordinary woman. I then told the spirit to go because I was not interested in his offers. And he left.
A few days later the enemy of my soul once again came to me. This time he told me that on the coming Thursday intruders would enter my home and that there would be bloodshed. I was terrified. I began praying to God seeking wisdom and peace. My husband was out of town for the week, traveling for his work with Arkansas State Parks. My toddler and I were alone. The fear grew and as I continued to cry out to God for help he gave me a verse which is precious to me still all these years later: “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7) I clung onto that promise with all my being. Wednesday came and still shaken I needed a plan. I decided that when I went to church that evening I would find my close friends there and ask if my baby and I could stay with them that night. But when I arrived they were not there. Throughout the meeting my mind was occupied with what to do; should I go to my friends’ house anyway or should I go home. To be honest I felt a bit silly to go knocking on their door (I mean, they might think I was nuts.) so I faced my fear and opted to go home. Back at home I tucked Katie into bed and then fell asleep repeating to myself, “God has not given me a spirit of fear but of power, and love, and a sound mind.” When I woke up that dreaded Thursday morning I immediately sensed the very tangible presence of Love in my home. I don’t have words to describe the supernatural, heavy thickness of that Presence but I knew beyond a doubt that the Love was so powerful that no force of evil could possibly enter my home. Perfect Love had cast out all the fear in my heart and mind. I passed the hours of that dreaded day singing, dancing, praising God, and with my baby basking in the presence of Almighty God.
I believe with great conviction that the enemy of our souls can read our thoughts. In this story all the conversations that took place occurred in my mind through thoughts, not vocalized words. There are many more stories I could share in this regard but this is enough for today. In a nutshell, every time I have rebuked or told Saten to flee, even inaudibly, he has, either immediately or after some time of my resisting him. I am not aware of any scripture that specifically says that demons can only hear our audibly spoken words nor of any that say that they can hear our thoughts as well. Most of us would agree that evil spirits can put thoughts in our minds and even influence our dreams. Is it such a huge stretch to acknowledge the he can also hear our unspoken responses to him?
I have read that some believe that in The Garden during the time before The Fall the people and the creatures could communicate through their thoughts as well as with their voices. No one knows whether that is true or not and at first it is a disconcerting idea; I do not want people to know what I am thinking! However, it is also an intriguing idea to consider. But that was before The Fall, before sin, before we humans felt the need to hide. It was a time when every thought was pure and good. Truth is, I can hardly imagine such a time, but I want to. With all my being I long for that innocence and believe that perhaps we will again experience it one day when all things are made new and our innocence is completely restored.
“God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect…Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.” —NLT
“My enemies did their best to kill me, but the LORD rescued me. The LORD is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.” —NLT
“Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies” —NLT
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Coffee, Tea, and Reverie 
I’m so glad you shared this! I’ve always wondered how people “knew” that satin couldn’t read our thoughts.
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