If you’re involved in deliverance ministry as a Christian, you know it’s not just about praying for others—it is a battlefield. The devil doesn’t sit back and applaud our good deeds or the virtues we have worked hard to build. He is on the lookout for any weak spot he can exploit, especially lust and pride. These two sins have a way of sneaking in and tearing apart everything we’re trying to do for God. Drawing from the Bible, the wisdom of Church Fathers, saints, and solid Christian writers, let us unpack how these sins mess with ministry, how the devil uses them to trip us up, and what we can do to protect ourselves and our families.

Lust and Pride: The Devil’s Go-To Weapons

Scripture does not mince words about lust and pride. In 1 Jn 2:16, it says, “For all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world.” Lust is that out-of-control craving for sexual pleasure, and pride is when we start thinking we are the big shot instead of giving God the credit. Sure, all seven deadly sins—pride, lust, greed, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth—can mess us up, but these two? They are like termites that can eat through the whole foundation of a ministry.

St. Augustine knew this firsthand. In his Confessions, he spilled his guts about how lust had him in chains until God broke him free. He saw it as a trap that pulls us away from what God wants. Then there is St. Thomas Aquinas, who called pride the “queen of all vices” in his Summa Theologica—it’s the root that feeds everything else. For those of us in deliverance, these are not just personal slip-ups; they are openings the devil uses to trash our mission.

A college teacher I knew, who had been in ministry for years, told me she tried hard to stay pure. But after some counselling sessions, she would get surprised by the thoughts against purity that flows into her. It is not just coincidence; it’s the devil using a basic trick to make her spiritually weak. Another friend said about a ministry group, “A lot of the leaders are full of pride now.” When pride shows up, people start caring more about themselves than anything else, and it all falls apart.

The Devil’s Playbook: Hitting Where It Hurts

The evil one is smart. St. Peter puts it plain: “Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour” (1 Pet 5:8). He doesn’t waste time on what we’re good at—our kindness or hard work. He goes straight for the cracks. If lust or pride gets a grip, it’s like the grace we need just leaks out, leaving us running on empty. A ministry full of pride might look flashy, but it will have no real power. What about one stained by lust? It loses the courage to stand up to evil.

St. John of the Cross, in The Dark Night of the Soul, talked about cleaning out messed-up desires. He said lust and pride block us from getting close to God—especially if we are leading others. The devil’s all over this. He will tempt someone with lust to wreck their credibility or pump up their pride so they forget it’s God doing the heavy lifting, not them.

When the Devil Goes After Our Families

If he can’t get to us directly with lust or pride, he will swing at our families. I will never forget a time I was praying with a lay minister during a deliverance. While we were at it, his wife—miles away at a prayer group—dropped to the floor. People started whispering she’d been hit by an evil spirit. She was embarrassed, especially since everyone knew her as the minister’s wife. That was not just bad luck—it was a cheap shot to shake him up and throw him off his game.

The devil loves pulling stunts like that to mess with our heads—planting doubt, shame, whatever works. But we are not helpless. St. Paul says, “For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness” (Eph 6:12). Our families are in the fight too, and we’ve got to cover them with prayer and grit.

Christian Ways to Fight Back

We have got some solid tools to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe—stuff straight out of Catholic life:

1. Regular Confession: Going to confession wipes the slate clean and fills us back up with grace. St. John Paul II called it a fix for a banged-up soul. Hit it up weekly or every couple of weeks to keep lust and pride at bay.
2. Daily Rosary: The Rosary’s like a spiritual baseball bat. St. Padre Pio said it’s “the weapon for these times.” Pray it every day, especially with your family—it’s a wall the devil can’t climb.
3. Time with Jesus in Adoration: Sitting with the Blessed Sacrament knocks us down a peg and cleans out our junk. St. Teresa of Ávila swore by staying tight with Christ to beat pride and temptation.
4. Fasting and Little Sacrifices: Skipping a meal on Fridays or saying no to something small toughens us up against lust. Jesus himself said that prayer and fasting are essential elements of deliverance ministry. (Mark 9:29).
5. Staying Humble: St. Francis of Assisi kept it real, serving the poor in humility. Helping others without expecting compliments forces pride out of us.

For our families, get them in on this too—Rosary together, Mass as a crew, confession when they need it. When the attacks hit—sickness, weird stuff, whatever—offer it up to God for your ministry. St. Thérèse of Lisieux said even tiny hurts can do big things when we give them to Jesus. I have watched families get tougher when they pray, “Lord, take this mess for the people we are helping.”

Turning Attacks into Grace

The devil might hit us or our families, but we have got a secret weapon: offering it up. St. Paul said, “I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church” (Col 1:24). When our families get slammed, we can show them how to hand it over to God, turning the pain into fuel for our work.

Conclusion

Lust and pride are the devil’s favorite ways to trash deliverance ministry—they sneak in deep and can leave us with nothing to show for it. But we are not stuck. With confession, the Rosary, adoration, and a humble heart—and by covering our families in prayer—we can hold the line. The devil’s prowling, sure, but St. James has the last word: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (Jam 4:7). With God’s help, our ministries will not just survive—they will thrive for Him.