While writing to the Ephesians, Paul taught them to know that there is an ongoing war which is spiritual and not physical. He considered the war as against principalities, powers, and demonic rulers of the earth. For the same reason, he reminded the Corinthians that the weapons of their warfare are not physical. It goes without saying that if the battle is not physical neither should the weapons be. Therefore, in order to secure victory in the ongoing battle, one must be aware of the weapons that the enemy engages. One of them is manipulation.

A prayerful life plus obedience to God will help in no small way to walking in the Spirit.

A clear case of how Satan manipulates people can be seen in the life of King David. For no justifiable reason, he ordered that the army of Israel should be numbered. That initiative was contrary to the mind of God. The initiative also failed the test of scrutiny by the king’s trusted advisers; but David had his way. It was Satan who moved him to embark on that frivolous exercise which later led to the destruction of thousands of people and livestock. Saul was manipulated to envy, anger, murder, wrong decisions, and eventual death. Satan and his angels constitute blockade to people’s progress (1 Thessalonians 2:18). However, Jesus has already won the victory! In our previous meditation, we anchored our chances for victory on walking in the Spirit. A prayerful life plus obedience to God will help in no small way to walking in the Spirit.