By Steve Brown
Chief of Operations, People Resources Team, The Navigators

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In J.R.R. Tolkien’s famous trilogy, Lord of the Rings, Gollum’s lust for the ring ruined his life. He was physically transformed, emotionally tormented, and held in spiritual bondage to the ring and to the evil power behind it. The ring consumed all his normal desires and controlled his life. It’s just a story, of course…but like all great stories, it was built on principles of truth. Through his lust for the ring, Gollum opened a door that allowed the enemy to interfere with his life. And we can do the same.

Door Openers For Demonic Interference

Ephesians 4:26 says, In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry… But Paul isn’t finished with his thought. He continues in verse 27 – and do not give the devil a foothold. Paul links anger with giving the devil a foothold, or a place to stand. A foothold gives the enemy a beach-head or permission to interfere in our lives and ministries. It’s like giving the devil a building permit. Paul makes another connection in 2 Corinthians 2:10-11, If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. Here Paul points to unforgiveness (or bitterness) as playing into Satan’s schemes. A door opener is a pattern of sin that gives the enemy an opportunity to interfere in a person’s life and ministry. This pattern opens the door to the enemy, allows demonic interference, and plays into the devil’s schemes. Along with anger and unforgiveness, some other door openers are:

• Fear (2 Tim 1:7-8; 1 John 3:18)
• Flesh/Lust (1 John 2:15-16)
• Pride (Proverbs 13:10; 2 Timothy 2:23-26)

When these emotions or patterns have been consistently harbored and practiced over a long time, they become door openers. A flare of anger or episode of pride won’t necessarily establish a foothold, but if the pattern of anger or pride isn’t dealt with and becomes habitual, a door will eventually open. Lust was Gollum’s door opener. His first encounter with the ring ended in violence, but if he had repented then and turned away from his sin, evil would have found no opening. Instead, Gollum fled with the ring and lived in secrecy and darkness, seduced into allowing himself to become dominated by the enemy. How do you know if you have an open door?

Possible Signs of Demonic Interference

Many of us have been in situations where we feel stuck and unable to break free. Here are some questions to help you determine if you might have an open door:

• Is there resistance of wills? (Unwillingness to seek help or move toward others)
• Is there confusion? (Not sure what’s the problem or issue)
• Are there irrational responses? (Responses don’t make sense)
• Are there out-of-proportion responses? (Response is an overreaction to the stimulus)
• Is there doubting God? (Difficulty trusting God or unusual fear)
• Does the problem resist normal solutions? (Can’t figure out how to solve the issue)

If you can answer yes to any of these questions, you may have an open door. If you have an open door, what should you do?

Understanding Our Brokenness and Shame

“But as for me, I am poor and needy;…” Psalms 40:17

Gaining a good understanding of our brokenness and shame is an essential part of our personal spiritual warfare. Through this understanding, we can become more aware of where we are prone to open doors and our spiritual warfare weak points.

Our door openers, which can be exploded open by relational conflict, can be caused by our brokenness and our shame. Some things that contribute to our vulnerability to open doors include:

• Wounds from our past
• Abuse
• Our design (how God made us)
• physical characteristics
• learning disabilities / academic challenges
• low blood sugar
• allergies
• etc.
• Addictions
• Blind spots

All of the things on the list can affect our view of ourselves and others, can help us misinterpret events, and can make us think or respond negatively. These can all play into the enemy’s hands.

Another reason for exploring our deeper selves is found in Matthew 22:37 that states the following:

“You shall love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

In order to love the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind, we have to grow our heart, grow our soul and grow our mind. We can grow our heart by healing the emotional wounds from our past. We can grow our soul by freeing ourselves from those things that hold us in bondage. We can grow our minds by replacing the lies we have embraced with the truths revealed by God.

How Do You Deal with Door Openers?

“Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in your faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering.” 1 Peter 5:8,9

“Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Ephesians 6:11

Submit – Focus first on submission, or yielding to God. Usually when I’ve struggled with an intense emotion like anger or fear, it’s a sign that I haven’t been yielding to God in some area. Submitting includes not only my actions but my thoughts: I need to think about things the same way God does. Submitting my actions and thoughts to God begins the process of freeing me from my door opener.

Resist – In the spiritual realm, will has more power than desire. You may want to follow hard after God, but if your desire isn’t supported by your will, your walk with God will be impotent. The same holds true as we battle the devil. We may want to resist him, but he won’t yield. If we exercise our will to resist him, though, he must flee (James 4:7). Augustine characterized Satan as a yapping dog. A dog doesn’t run from you just because you want it to; exercising your will by stomping your foot and saying, “Go!” sends the dog scampering with its tail between its legs.

Renounce – One way to exert your will is to renounce or close the door opener you’ve allowed in your life. Laborers must use spiritual weapons to fight spiritual issues. Praying through the Personal Spiritual Warfare Tool helps to renew perspective and gives an opportunity to identify any door openers you may have allowed in your life. Once you’ve identified a door opener you can, by an act of your will, pray something like, “Heavenly Father, in the name, power and authority of Jesus Christ, I choose to renounce the door opener of _______________ that I have allowed in my life. I ask you to take back any ground I may have given the enemy. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”

Stand Firm – Once you renounce, you need to stand firm – by faith not surrendering the ground you’ve taken. When Jesus was hungry and weak after forty days of fasting, the devil came to tempt him. Jesus didn’t try to overpower the enemy. Instead, by faith he stood firm in the commands and promises of God and resisted the evil one. Paul commands us in Ephesians 6:11-14 to stand against the devil’s schemes, stand your ground, and stand firm. Standing firm is the battle we face after closing any doors of demonic interference. Once you’ve identified an open door, you should Submit, Resist, Renounce, and Stand Firm. Simple—just not easy. Have you opened any doors that could give the enemy permission to interfere in your life and ministry?

Closing Thought

Though the work of closing door openers is personal and internal, it does not have to be done alone. Community and friendship are powerful allies in our life-long battle against our enemy. Isolation can play into the enemy’s hands, but community can be a safe-guard. So, ask God to lead you to a safe friend with whom you can share your battle. And together you can journey to triumph.

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Steve and Kathy Brown have four children and live in Colorado Springs, CO. Steve has ministered for the past 17 years with the People Resources Team (PRT) in Colorado Springs – focused on caring for Navigator staff.