Protect Your Children From Spiritual Deception: How the Enemy Targets Them
Children can be particularly susceptible to spiritual deception.
They know little of life, and their imaginations override their rational thought. They’re unaware of the traps and tricks the world lays at their feet, and they run headlong into snares of every kind—if left unattended. They’re open to possibilities that might not be good for them, and in many ways, we love that childlike “innocence.” We want them to be free to run unfettered, to explore the great big world around them, and to look at life with untarnished wonder.
But children are vulnerable. Life isn’t all rainbows and unicorns. It’s complicated, riddled with wickedness, and shadowed in darkness. Children can easily become lost in the dark when they have no light to guide them. That’s why they should be protected, instructed, and trained to know the truth about the spiritual world with all its snares and deceptions. When a child, especially a sensitive one, opens up to the spiritual realm, the adults in their lives should take it very seriously. Sometimes adults won’t even know it’s happening to children, but if even a hint of it is seen, it should not be dismissed. Everything possible should be done to put a stop to it—and done so with truth and grace.
Unfortunately, my family unknowingly and naively had already opened the doors to spiritual manipulations with tales of psychic powers, ghost stories, paranormal activities, and a willingness to embrace the supernatural without spiritual discernment. I was ripe for the picking. The dark lion was prowling within the walls of my home, spreading lies and delusions I took as truths. I had no real power to see the future or to possess secret knowledge. No human being does. We aren’t omniscient, and God hasn’t granted us any foreknowledge outside His holy power and authority. But we can be deceived by demonic forces. In the case of my dream, demons were looking for a way to influence me, to cast a hook that I would grab out of childish curiosity and typical human pride. They knew my family dynamics. They knew my dad had quit smoking. Perhaps they knew he struggled with wanting to smoke during stressful times. They are keen observers of human behavior, and they could have guessed I might, one day, witness my dad struggle with this particular habit. So they conjured images in my dream, laying a trap I could fall into—and, yes, demons have the ability to manipulate our thoughts and dreams. If the dream never came “true” in some semblance of reality, they would try another tactic. If it did materialize, then all the better.
The foundation could be effectively laid for my eventual embrace of a sinful identity—a psychic medium. Either way, they were on a warpath. They had me in their sights. They were watching me. They’re watching all of us, looking for ways to tempt us, make us stumble, and seduce us away from God and the hope, joy, and love only He can offer. They hate Him. They hate Jesus Christ, and they hate His beautiful creation, especially human beings who are made in His image. They want to destroy us, and children are not immune. I was not immune, and they would exploit everything about me to rob me of the greatest gift God has given to the world: eternal life.
The Welsh minister Martyn Lloyd-Jones, who is known for his powerful preaching and solid scriptural teaching, said in a sermon on Ephesians 6 that people often open themselves up to the wiles of the devil because they underestimate his power in this world and his effect on the hearts and minds of people, including Christians. It’s not a power outside God’s sovereignty. God is ultimately in control. But the devil is real, and he poses a threat, hence the Bible’s warnings to guard our hearts and minds against his attacks. If we aren’t prepared to do battle with the devil and recognize his tactics—or even believe they exist—then we will be vulnerable, especially our children, who are the most vulnerable of us all.
“I am certain that one of the main causes of the ill state of the church today is the fact that the devil is being forgotten,” Lloyd-Jones preached. “All is attributed to us; we have all become so psychological in our attitude and thinking. We are ignorant of this great objective fact, the being, the existence of the devil, the adversary, the accuser, and his ‘fiery darts’ [how he shoots thoughts and imaginings into our minds to seduce and deceive us]. And, of course, because we are not aware of this, we attribute all temptation to ourselves. So the devil in his wiliness will have succeeded admirably.”
The answer to this problem is not to think the devil is behind everything we deal with and face in life, but to consider the possibility of this dimension in the spiritual struggle, because the Bible certainly does. It is imperative to recognize that the devil is active—even with our children—and to expose him, “to rip away the camouflage with which he always hides himself,” as Lloyd-Jones says, and to fight evil with the spiritual weapons of faith, prayer, and truth God has given us in His Word. It’s also important to recognize where we, our children, and our families are most vulnerable and to protect our families accordingly. Satan will use our individual and particular interests, personalities, inclinations, passions, and insecurities to tempt us into his web of lies. He will create deceptions and temptations tailored to target each of us. How he tempts you will look different from how he tempts me, but he’s still behind it, and we must not dismiss his work in another person because we haven’t experienced that in ourselves.
I was a compassionate child. A sensitive child. I felt sorry for homeless people and anyone suffering, struggling, or in pain. I stood up to bullies in school to help the underdog. I wanted to help, to save, and to stand in the gap between light and dark. I was a perfect target for Satan to tempt with “powers” designed to help people. The principalities and spiritual rulers of this world are hell-bent on thwarting God’s purposes for humanity. They are clever in how they lure us to their side. They deceive with expertise and precision. They are masters in fashioning counterfeits to fool us. They mirror God’s ways, twisting His words and designs into their own.
When God sent Moses to Egypt to oppose Pharaoh and to set the Hebrews free from slavery, the magicians and diviners in Pharaoh’s court mirrored the miracles of Moses. When Moses turned his staff into a snake, the magicians did the same (or something similar enough to make it look like the same). When Moses turned the water into blood, the magicians did the same. When Moses unleashed hordes of frogs onto the land, the magicians did the same. Of course, this is where their powers ended because they could not duplicate the rest of the plagues. God’s power, after all, is real and unlimited, while Satan is merely a counterfeit. Regardless, this power to mimic and deceive is often used to blind people to the truth. Real gifts and talents from God—even those of sensitivity and compassion for others—can be twisted by the enemy to deceive. And who better than children to trick about what’s real and what isn’t? What a beautiful lie to tell a child—that they have secret powers to help people! That’s what this one dream became for me—a doorway to exploration about who and what I could become, not out of a lust for evil but out of a desire to do good!
Satan will always use our feelings, our dreams, and our hopes about ourselves and our purpose in this world to lure us into his wicked schemes. I have spoken to many people who refuse to think their New Age beliefs and practices are wrong and wicked precisely because of this point: They believe what they’re doing is good because their motivations are good and because they’re “helping” people. But good does not come out of a lie, and the belief I somehow had psychic abilities was a lie. Yet, I believed it to be true. I had no frame of reference to think any other way. I might have doubted whether I really had the power at that moment because I was unskilled and young, but I believed in the possibility. That belief led me down the path of delusion and near destruction.
Freedom Begins When the Light Exposes the Lie.
You feel spiritually restless, yet something about today's popular "spiritual" practices doesn't sit right with your spirit. You want peace, clarity, and truth—but the messages around you sound confusing, mixed, and strangely empty. How can something that feels so positive lead to so much anxiety, bondage, and fear? And how do you discern what's truly from God in a culture saturated with spiritual counterfeits?
The answers don't come from more self-discovery or spiritual experimentation--they come from truth revealed through experience, Scripture, and redemption.
Through years of immersion in the New Age—and a dramatic rescue by Jesus Christ—bestselling author Jennifer Nizza uncovered how darkness often masquerades as light. This breakthrough resource reveals how seemingly harmless practices like tarot, astrology, Reiki, manifestation, and energy healing open doors to spiritual deception, and how Christ alone offers real freedom, peace, and salvation grounded in biblical truth.
As you journey through Darkness in Disguise, you'll discover how to:
Discern false spirituality that contradicts the Bible
Recognize New Age beliefs influencing culture and the church
Identify counterfeit peace versus true peace in Christ
Understand the spiritual dangers of psychic practices and divination
Break free from spiritual deception through biblical truth
You are not powerless, and the enemy's deception is not stronger than God's truth. Deliverance is real, freedom is possible, and clarity is available when you return to the unchanging authority of Scripture. This book is a call to wake up, stand firm, and step fully into the light of Christ.
