Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. I Peter 5:8-9 (KJV)

This says for us to be sober, which means controlled- don’t be like a drunk, but keep your wits about you. It tells us to be vigilant, which means to be cautious, alert, to watch, pay attention and be on guard, staying awake. Why? Because our adversary walks around as a roaring lion. The adversary is the devil, satan. An adversary refers to an opponent in a lawsuit. He is the slanderer and accuser. He walks about as a roaring lion. He is not a lion; he just tries to walk around like he is. He still walks about like he did in the days of Job. He is seeking, prodding, and pushing us to exploit our weaknesses. He’s waiting to pounce and devour.

Satan, the devil, the accuser and our adversary, pokes around to find any weakness in us, in our words, and in our actions. It may be anger, impatience, unforgiveness, immaturity, out-of-proportion emotions, wrong mindsets, ignorance, insecurities, etc. When a weakness is exposed by his accusations, he pounces and attacks us , trying to leave us with nothing.

Therefore, we must be sober, keeping ourselves under control, and vigilant, staying alert and aware. As we do, we can identify what he is doing against us and prevent him from being successful. The Bible says he is seeking whom he MAY devour, meaning he can’t devour us if we don’t allow him to do so.

This passage also tells us to resist him. That means to stand against, to set against, to withstand, or oppose. We do this by using the name of Jesus and speaking God’s Word. Doing that and refusing to cave to his pressure is how we resist him and send him on his way, like Jesus did in Matthew 4.

As we know God’s Word and are filled with the Holy Spirit, we can be aware of the devil’s schemes, devices, plots, and plans. When we know his strategy, we can stand against him.

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Ephesians 6:10 (KJV)

We are to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, fully clothed in God’s armor, with no cracks in that armor. Then, satan can’t penetrate to get in and expose and exploit any weaknesses. Then, just like Jesus did, we can say that the devil has no place in us, since he is unable to expose anything to exploit.

The Word says the devil tries to make himself out to be a roaring lion, making a lot of noise. We can silence him with Gods’ Word, along with the name and blood of Jesus. As we stay covered in Christ’s blood and stay in the Word, we grow in God to resist and overcome the enemy every time. Remember, the devil tries to prowl around and pounce on us to pulverize us. Stay alert and watchful, and profess God’s promises to put him in his place and pound him into the pavement.