Bible Question:

I have heard a lot of people say that Satan is not able to hear our prayers when we are praying in the Spirit. Where is the scriptural reference?

Bible Answer:

There is no scriptural support for the statement that Satan cannot hear our prayers when “we are praying in the Sprit.”

God and Satan

We know that God hears our prayers and that He knows our thoughts.

You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. (NKJV) Psalm 139:2

However, it is reasonable to conclude that Satan can hear our prayers when they are spoken aloud since the angels can have conversation with humans. The angel Gabriel visited the virgin Mary and they understood one another (Luke 1:26-38). Since Satan is an evil angel, we can conclude that he is able to understand humans. But Satan does not need to hear our prayers in order to devise evil against us. In fact, Satan may laugh at our worries about him. He does not need to know our thoughts or our prayers in order to plan evil against us.

And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.” (NKJV) Luke 22:31

He has his own plans.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (NKJV) Eph 6:11

” In The Spirit”

The Bible never talks about Satan’s ability to hear or not to hear our prayers while we pray silently or “in the Spirit.” The only passage in the Bible that uses this phrase is found in the “armor of God.”

Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. . . . (NIV) Ephesians 6:11-18

You may be interested in an explanation of the meaning of the different pieces of the armor of God which are explained in a previous question and answer . The expression “pray in the Spirit” implies that the person is filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:17-18), but the Bible never says that this means that Satan cannot hear our prayers.

Conclusion:

God has given us the only protection that we need against Satan. We need to wear the armor of God. Prayer is only one part of the armor – not all of it.