James 4:7; Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

You can try to make the devil leave you alone under your own power. Try it and see if it works. You might have better luck getting into a boxing ring with the world heavyweight champ and imagine that you have a chance at winning. GOOD LUCK! You can try to put up a good fight but if you are not a well trained seasoned fighter, you are going to get clobbered! What are you thinking? The truth is that if you are a child of God, YOU ARE A TARGET. You might as well wear a sweatshirt with a bull’s-eye on the back of it. The devil knows who you are. He's got your number. His forces are actively moving about, looking for chinks in your armor, searching for any sign of weakness that will give them an advantage over you. The devil doesn't know everything because he is not omniscient, in fact he doesn't have to. He only needs to know enough about you to know how to get under your skin.

1 Peter 5:8; Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

So how do we stand our ground against such a formidable adversary? The Apostle James said that we should submit ourselves to God. That's easier said than done. So is it enough just to say you believe in Jesus? I DON’T THINK SO. The devil knows who Jesus is. In fact he knows that Jesus is God.

James 2:19; Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

Ok so how about we study the Word of God and arm ourselves with verses. You know what I mean. Those scriptures that people call warfare scriptures. If you don't have the power of the Holy Ghost to go along with the scripture, you are just blowing smoke. That will do you as much good as shooting at a tank with a peashooter. The devil has been around since the creation and knows more about the Bible than we do. Just saying a few verses won't ward off evil spirits. Ok but how about praying? That should work. Prayer is not like a force-field or a shield. Our shield is fath. You can wear out three pairs of kneecaps trying to resist the devil, but there are also forces actively working against you. Look at what happens in these next verses:

Acts 19:13-16; Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of [one] Sceva, a Jew, [and] chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

This doesn't mean that praying won't work. Prayer is an essential part of our Christian walk. Just go ahead and try to make the devil leave you alone by asking him to stop bothering you. Why should he listen? If you are not walking in the power and gifts of the Holy Ghost, you can huff and puff but you are not going to intimidate the devil. How about anointing your house with oil? You can try to pour buckets of oil all around your house but that doesn't frighten the devil. If oil could keep the devil away we might as well live in a deep fryer! You might as well take all of that oil and fry some chicken. Be careful you don't slip on it and break your neck.

Ok but what about rebuking the devil? Beware of what you say. A lot of people talk about dancing on the devil's head. They even mock by saying that the devil is under their feet. If you want to keep him under your feet then you better keep him there with you. I don't want him that close to me. These same people are the ones that when the devil comes and says BOO they run to the Pastor asking for prayer. Pastor, pray for me, the devil is after me! SHUT UP! Be careful about thinking you have power to rebuke the devil. This is what the Bible says:

Jude 1:9; Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

Not even Michael the Archangel that fought with satan and drove him out of heaven dares to make threats and accusations against him. All he says is the Lord rebuke thee.

Zechariah 3:2; And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: [is] not this a brand plucked out of the fire?

The Lord doesn't even say I rebuke you. What makes us think that we can say it? Come on people. Don't get upset. Just learn to do things correctly. I'm not always right but I can admit when I'm wrong and receive instruction.

What about going to church? Going to church won't make you a Christian just like going inside a stable won't make you a horse. Lately what we are seeing in churches is a lot of entertainment and side show attractions. More music and dancing but less word. People are focusing more on signs and wonders, and following behind men that have an "anointing". Rarely do we see people casting out devils, yet this was a major part of the ministry of Jesus. The bible makes it clear that we are not wrestling against flesh and blood. We coexist in a physical realm as well as a spiritual realm. The spiritual realm is much more powerful than the physical realm. Things that occur in that realm affect us in the natural. We keep looking for solutions to conditions by trying to alleviate the symptoms but we forget to look at the source which has its roots in the spirit realm.

Ephesians 6:12; For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places

The problem with a lot of large congregations is that many have forsaken the truth. They explode in numbers because they preach a soft gospel. All you have to do is come to church and listen to the word and you are guaranteed a place in heaven. Just remember to make out your checks before you leave the door. No need to repent. There is no hell. The devil is just a metaphor. God is just a positive energy. Jesus was a good man, that did good things. We can make heaven here on earth.

2 Timothy 3:5; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

(Thanks MarJay)

This is why the devil runs rampant to and fro and in and out of the world. You can get more people to believe a lie when you appeal to their senses. Why submit to God when it is so much easier to accept that God doesn't exist. The problem with that logic is that it is flawed. The more you surrender to Jesus the more you become like him which makes the devil nervous. All he needs is to have more people walking in the gifts and calling of God, full of the power of the Holy Ghost, to make his job virtually impossible. You want to make the devil flee? That's easy, just be less of you and more of Jesus! The devil has got hell to pay! It's time for the snake to crawl back into his hole. What a lot of people don't know is that while we pray things are moving in the spirit realm. Angels take our prayers and place them in baskets and whisk them to the presence of the Father. When we lift our hands to praise and worship God, He is fighting our battles. When we congregate together and when we fellowship we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. When we speak the Word of God with authority the demons tremble. Or you can stay with your hands folded while the enemy destroys your family and your home, your community and your city, your nation and your world. Or you can make a stand with those of us that have not surrendered over to the will of the flesh, that believe in truth and righteousness and Holiness. Are you with me or are you against me? This is where I draw the line. If you are with me then welcome to the front line. Arm yourself and take up your position within the ranks. If you are against me then I serve you notice. Your time is almost up. Surrender...we have you surrounded! Come out with your hands up, or suffer the consequences. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! Those that are with me say AMEN! Shalom