Open Doors to Demons: 4 Dangerous Entry Ways Demons Enter Your Life

As you study the subjects of spiritual warfare, deliverance, and strongholds, you’ll often hear the term “open doors.”

This term is used in a variety of ways: “Don’t watch that movie! It’s an open door for the devil.” “Don’t listen to that song! It’s an open door for the enemy.” “Don’t play around with the occult; that’s a major open door for demonic influence.”

So what do we mean when we say, “open door”? Even though the term itself isn’t found in Scripture, the biblical principle most certainly is. Simply put, an open door is anything that would give the enemy the upper hand in your life or that would cause you to lower your guard against the lies of satan. An open door is anything in your life that makes you more susceptible to deception. Another way to word it: an open door is anything you do, say, feel, or think that makes you more receptive to demonic lies. Open doors are spiritual weak points that the enemy can exploit to bring you under the power of deception. Even after you’re born again and even if you’ve already been delivered from a certain bondage, you must maintain a healthy vigilance, for demonic beings are quite persistent.

Demons Return

Something quite startling is revealed in the following portion of Scripture:

When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. Then it says, “I will return to the person I came from.” So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation (Matthew 12:43-45 NLT).

Beware, demons return to check for weak points. They come back to check on you. When an evil spirit loses a place of influence, it comes back in an attempt to reclaim what it can. In the case of the unbeliever, a demonic being can return to gain full influence, including actual possession. In the case of the born-again believer, who is not “empty” as mentioned in the passage from Matthew 12, the demon can still return but is limited on what it can do. When a demonic being returns to find influence in the life of the believer, it can come back to attack and deceive—but never again to fully possess, enter, or attach itself to the believer’s being in any way whatsoever. The demon has to settle for attacking the believer from the outside.

Still, it’ll take what it can get, so that doesn’t mean you can just drop your spiritual guard or live in compromise. Demons don’t need to be able to fully possess Christians in order to deceive them. For the sake of spiritual vigilance, we ought to consider this important question: why would a demon even need to possess a believer who chooses to live according to its lies? A demon doesn’t need to be able to control your body if it can influence your thoughts through deception. So even though the demon cannot literally re-enter the believer’s being, it will still return to deceive. For the believer, open doors can never lead to possession, but they can lead to deep deception. That’s reason enough to live with spiritual vigilance and to watch for these “open doors.”

So what exactly are the “open doors” that can make us more susceptible to deception? More importantly, how does the Holy Spirit help us to keep these doors closed?

Open Door #1: Connections

Your relationships and connections with ungodly people can be open doors for deception.

Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33 NLT).

It’s not my intention to make you suspicious of everyone. Even Jesus spent time with those considered wicked (Mark 2:17). You shouldn’t isolate yourself and sever all connections with unbelievers. How then would they receive the gospel? How then could they witness your testimony? Superstitious thinking might lead you to believe that someone’s demonic spirit might attach itself to you simply because you shook their hand or allowed them to sit next to you. If you are ever greeted by someone who has a demon attached to them, who do you think will have the greater influence—the demon in them or the Holy Spirit in you?

But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world (1 John 4:4 NLT).

Guard your connections, but don’t live in paranoid isolation. There’s a balance to be had.

We don’t have to live in isolation for fear of being spiritually infected by ungodly people. On the other hand, we shouldn’t go partaking in the sinful habits or compromise of unbelievers either. That sort of compromise makes you vulnerable to the deception of their demons. While the demonic spirit in an unbeliever might not be able to possess or own you, it can imprint a whole new deceptive thought pattern onto your mind if you give that individual too much influence in your life. Let a thief have influence over you, and you’ll begin to think like a thief. If you follow the ways of someone addicted to pornography, if you listen to their perverse talk, you’ll find it much more difficult to resist sexual temptation. Allow a religious person to use convincing words to dishonor the Holy Spirit’s power, and watch how doubt begins to form a stronghold in your mind. When you give people influence over you, when they have the power to cause you to compromise, that’s when the strongholds that govern their thoughts start to gain power in yours.

The Holy Spirit helps us to keep this door closed by giving us proper discernment. Proper discernment isn’t paranoia, criticism, or suspicion. Especially if we’ve been hurt or betrayed in the past, we may have the tendency to be generally untrusting toward people. So by relying upon the Holy Spirit, we can avoid the unhealthy extremes of both anti-social suspicion that keeps us closed off to connection and foolish apathy that allows ungodly or ill-intentioned people to gain access to our lives.

For some, the concern is that they might be wronged or taken advantage of. For others, the concern is that they might be lonely or isolated. We all want true connection, and none of us want to be betrayed or hurt. So the Holy Spirit gives clear, sensible, and protective guidance for our lives.

While being hunted by King Saul, David, who was set by God’s hand to replace Saul, went into hiding. Out of honor for Saul, David refused to retaliate. So David simply waited in hiding, hoping to not be discovered by King Saul, who was angry, jealous, and driven to madness by a demonic being. Several of the men who had gone into hiding with David were defectors from Saul’s ranks. Among the men loyal to David were skillful archers.

All of them were expert archers, and they could shoot arrows or sling stones with their left hand as well as their right. They were all relatives of Saul from the tribe of Benjamin (1 Chronicles 12:2 NLT).

David was also protected by men with swords and shields.

Some brave and experienced warriors from the tribe of Gad also defected to David while he was at the stronghold in the wilderness. They were expert with both shield and spear, as fierce as lions and as swift as deer on the mountains (1 Chronicles 12:8 NLT).

Those loyal to David had created a wall of protection around him. The archers would handle enemies coming from a distance, and the swordsmen would handle any enemies who might break through that first line of defense. No enemies could get close to or even begin to approach David without being intercepted.

Suddenly, men from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah approached David’s encampment. How was David supposed to know whether or not the approaching men were spies sent from Saul? How was he to know their intentions? It was by the Holy Spirit.

David went out to meet them and said, “If you have come in peace to help me, we are friends. But if you have come to betray me to my enemies when I am innocent, then may the God of our ancestors see it and punish you.” Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, the leader of the Thirty, and he said, “We are yours, David! We are on your side, son of Jesse. Peace and prosperity be with you, and success to all who help you, for your God is the one who helps you.” So David let them join him, and he made them officers over his troops (1 Chronicles 12:17-18 NLT).

It was the presence of the Holy Spirit upon the approaching men that caused David to know that they should be allowed to come close.

In the same way, the Holy Spirit guards the door of your relationships, carefully watching over you. You can’t see the motives of others, but the Holy Spirit can. You can’t always see the spirit in which others are coming, but the Holy Spirit can.

Perhaps you’ve already sensed His guidance in closing certain doors. Maybe He’s already urged you to pull back from, tone down, or even completely sever certain connections. He sees the damage some relationships are doing to you. He hears the conversations that take place behind your back, and even better, He sees into hearts. He carefully watches over you, steering you away from whoever might cause you to distance from Him.

This is why you’re sometimes just not comfortable going certain places, doing certain things, or being around certain people. Something in you is irritated, discomforted by something in them. This is why you choose to keep your kids away from certain people, why you hesitate to confide in certain individuals, and even why things just don’t “click” with certain connections.

We’re not to become paranoid hermits who isolate and suspect everyone of bringing negative influence. I don’t mean paranoia and suspicion. I do mean that the precious Holy Spirit helps to guard us against the spiritual setbacks that happen when we closely connect with those whose conversations, influence, and friendships make us more susceptible to deception. I’m a big believer in divine connections; but divine disconnections are just as important.

Open Door #2: Eyes and Ears

What you see and hear can make you more susceptible to deception.

Few things can affect the mind as powerfully as visuals. Visuals have tremendous staying power. The visual experiences that we store in the mind can contribute to the power of issues like trauma, lust, and mental torment (among other issues). This is why the psalmist refused to look at anything vulgar or vile.

I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I hate all who deal crookedly; I will have nothing to do with them (Psalm 101:3 NLT).

This is also why Job made a covenant (agreement, promise) with his own eyes. He made a commitment to himself to not look upon a woman with lust in his heart.

I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman (Job 31:1 NLT).

The images you allow before your eyes can become imprinted on your mind. Visualization is one of the most powerful forms of thought. The enemy seeks to use these powerful thoughts against us. He uses them to aid in his effort to cloak our minds under the darkness of his deceptive lies.

The enemy takes disturbing, sinful, or distracting visuals and brings them to memory when you’re at a weak point. He may bring a tormenting memory to you while you’re half-asleep or even remind you of a sexual image when you’re trying to pray or read the Word. This is why it’s so crucial that we be aware of what we allow to pass into the mind through the eyes. The images and visual experiences we collect can later be used as ammo in the enemy’s weapons. He can bring to remembrance a visual or even create a new visual, a composite of all the ungodly things we’ve witnessed, to produce negative effects.

Spiritually speaking, the ears work in a similar manner to the eyes. The ideas and words we listen to can cause us to become weaker in our fight against deception.

For example, the music you listen to can be leveraged by the enemy to gain a tactical advantage. No doubt, the Bible makes it clear that there’s a spiritual element to music. David’s harp playing caused demons to flee.

And whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp. Then Saul would feel better, and the tormenting spirit would go away (1 Samuel 16:23 NLT).

The prophet Elisha requested music to accompany him while he prophesied. Something about the music helped to stir the spiritual power in which he was operating.

“Now bring me someone who can play the harp.” While the harp was being played, the power of the LORD came upon Elisha (2 Kings 3:15 NLT).

The anointed music of David expelled demonic influence, and the harp helped to stir the prophetic power on Elisha. Music is spiritual. The enemy can likewise use music. The devil perverts the power and the effect of music to increase the effectiveness of his deception against us.

Something about music has the power to make the soul more receptive to ideas. This is why it’s especially important that we monitor the lyrics that come with the music we enjoy. Because music makes us more mentally and emotionally receptive, the words that come upon the music are able to be planted with more depth. So when you listen to music that makes you angry, depressed, doubtful, cynical, prideful, or disconnected from reality, you’re making yourself more vulnerable to believing the ideas that the enemy wants to plant in your mind. This is why I’m astonished by believers claiming to be desperate for freedom while also praying inconsistently, reading God’s Word rarely, and listening to ungodly music daily. The life of the believer is supposed to be one of victory, but you can’t constantly fill your mind with worldly music and then expect to lay hold of that victory. The reception of ungodly music is just one example of how the ears can serve as open doors to deception.

In general, you should be careful about what you listen to, because words are programmers of the mind. Beware of ungodly advice, unholy conversations, dishonoring gossip, and selfish complaining. Over time, these communications can begin to train your mind to follow the patterns of deception rather than the patterns of truth.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof (Proverbs 18:21 KJV).

You can hear truth or deception, encouragement or doubt. The words we hear can produce life-giving thought patterns or spiritually unhealthy thought patterns.

Now, I’m not telling you to live in fear, hide in your home, or walk around with earplugs and blinders. We exist and live in this world. You’re going to unintentionally hear things in passing, see images you’d rather avoid, and talk to people who don’t watch carefully what they say. Your whole spiritual life isn’t going to fall apart because something flashed on your screen or was played in a public place. Furthermore, when you hear an unwelcome sound or unexpectedly see an unwelcome sight, this doesn’t mean that demons are able to seize upon the moment and attach themselves to you.

I know of some Christians who are so bound in legalism that they stop to have a renouncing ritual every time they visit a public place. I have even heard teachings that tell people they need an exorcism if they accidentally see an ungodly image flash across their phone screen or unwillingly hear a secular song on the radio at the market. Taking it even further, some will tell you that a single conversation with an unsaved person or even seeing a secular company logo on a product at the store is cause for major concern. That’s not how it works at all. That’s not how any of this works. I’m not being facetious, nor am I trying to mock anyone. However, this is just powerless, legalistic, virtue-signaling bondage posing as spirituality. It actually causes misery and spiritual heaviness. Sadly, people who believe such defeated, religious myths live in their own very complicated form of bondage. Those who think like that have not placed their faith in the Holy Spirit’s ability to guide and protect.

On the other hand, some believers blast vulgar secular music in their car with their children present. They regularly watch demonic or sexually graphic movies. Their home is a safe haven for worldly culture, worldly conversations, and worldly entertainment. Rarely talking about or even thinking about spiritual matters, these sort of believers may live like Christians on Sunday and even avoid what we would label as the “big sins” throughout the week. But they lack such spiritual depth or awareness that one could not distinguish them from moral atheists. Their Christianity is more of a nice decoration that they wear, or a nice code of ethics by which they raise their kids, than it is an actual death to self or commitment to Christ. They may do such things out of ignorance or a misunderstanding of their freedom in Christ. Those who live this way very rarely think about spiritual warfare, and they gently mock those who do talk about it.

When guarding our eyes and ears, we must exercise a healthy awareness, while avoiding the immature extremes of superstitious fear and secular compromise. If you carry out a willful, consistent practice of allowing ungodly things into your mind through sights and sounds, then you most certainly will become more vulnerable to deception’s power. By seeing and hearing that which is ungodly on a habitual basis, you gradually train yourself to think according to the patterns of deception. That way of thinking makes you vulnerable to any lie the enemy might want to push on you, and the resulting deception is what ultimately leads to bondage. Close the door. Lock the door. Trust the Holy Spirit to guard the door.

So when guarding your eyes and ears, how exactly do you avoid the extremes of paranoia and ignorance? Honestly, I don’t think any true believer actually wants to be legalistic or apathetic, even though many are without realizing it. How can one keep the delicate balance? We want to be holy, but not religious or self-righteous or prideful or paranoid. We want to be sober-minded and grounded, but never worldly or compromising or passive toward spiritual battle.

Lest you toss up your hands in dismay, thinking it impossible or at best very difficult to properly guard your eyes and ears while also keeping a healthy balance, I need to remind you—the Holy Spirit has not left you alone to fight deception. To avoid the two unhealthy extremes of paranoia and apathy, we need only to adjust our perspective. If you focus on demons and their power, constantly giving them credit for everything and imagining that even one mistake can give them a “legal right” to have complete dominion in your life, then surely you’ll fall into the trap of paranoia.

Conversely, if you focus solely on the pleasures of this world, believing that your freedom in Christ means that you can participate in anything and everything with no consequence, then you are a prime target for deception and, ultimately, spiritual bondage that you might not even recognize as bondage.

What’s the solution? Consider the Holy Spirit. It’s that simple. Don’t be overcome by a fear of demons, nor by an apathy toward the spiritual realm. Instead, be overcome by a love of the Holy Spirit. Those who love the Holy Spirit fear only one thing—grieving Him.

And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30 NLT).

Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. He dwells in you, with you, and around you. Your eyes are His eyes; your ears, His ears. So the Holy Spirit within you will help you to both recognize and then reject ungodly sights and sounds. In the believer, there is a divine discomfort that is felt whenever seeing or hearing an actual contradiction to God’s nature. We can actually sense His grief over the ungodly visuals and messages.

The more mindful we are of the Holy Spirit’s feelings, the more reactive we become to ungodly audio and visual experiences. The more considerate we become of the Holy Spirit’s presence, the more natural it becomes to avert our eyes from ungodly sights or to keep our ears from ungodly sounds. Recoiling at sinful sights and sounds will become more and more instinctive. By surrendering to the Holy Spirit through obedience and an intentional mindfulness of His nearness, we train the body to live clean.

So then the key to freedom is not found in compiling an exhaustive list of “open doors” and then living the rest of your life with that list in hand. That list could take years to compile and still be incomplete. You can’t systemize discernment. It’s of the Holy Spirit. The real power is found in simply walking in the Spirit.

Open Doors #3 & #4

There are two more major open doors that open believers up to demonic forces. You can learn about these dangerous entry ways and how to experience permanent deliverance from mental, emotional, and demonic strongholds, by checking out my in-depth book: