Why are evil spirits very strong sometimes?

Sometimes we have to take responsibility for our own actions...it's not always evil spirits but our bodies are sinful and we fall at times. As Christians though, we look to the Holy Spirit who is sanctifying us...even though we will struggle with sin until death, we look to Him who is changing us for the better.

Surrender the thoughts etc

Claim promises in the Bible that promise victory and thank-God for your own victory in the area you are praying for. James 4:7,8 is great.
Audibly thank God.
Stay away from anything that can feed those wrong thoughts ie., tv ,wrong reading .

Feed your mind with edifying mind food .Read your Bible regularly .Stay in prayer as you go about your daily life.

Luk 22:31 "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat,

that means that the old serpent has started to fight you. so be thankful, because he will be the one losing this fight and you will come out stronger every time.

i've been having trouble with bad thoughts lately, leftovers of my unsaved self. like others have said i'm trying to read the scriptures daily, sometimes a lot and sometimes a little. i've also tried not to watch too much tv that would persuade me to look at sinful nature as being ok or "the norm." Also praying will help you. i've noticed that while i'm praying to not think evil or sinful thoughts, at that very moment i'm having healthy thoughts so i'm getting what i want then and there!

bluebird88 said:

I felt powerless to resist the sinful thoughts/behavior, even if I tried very hard praying...

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That's an easy question to answer.

If you submit to our Lord Jesus Christ the enemy will flee.

If you have sin in your life then the demonic realm has right to your "house".

These attacks will come upon you if your foundation in our Lord Jesus Christ is shaky.

How do you stand with our Lord Jesus Christ.

Have you any unconfessed and unrepented sin in your life. Have you any unforgiveness in your heart.

Do you get angry, bitter, and resentful to other people.

Have you been wrong, offended, hurt, rejected, and/or abused?

bluebird88 said:

I felt powerless to resist the sinful thoughts/behavior, even if I tried very hard praying...

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Well there are "entry points" we can leave open that allow the enemy access to our hearts. Probably the main one is unforgiveness. Jesus warning is severe:

Matt 18:33-35 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

This "promise" from the Lord is to be taken extremely seriously. The result of unforgiveness is bondage and harsh treatment, without protection from God (he "turns us over"). This is not to discount grace, but to emphasize the spiritual discipline of forgiveness.

Neil Anderson's book The Bondage Breaker is a good read at times like this; it definitely helped me.

bluebird88 said:

I felt powerless to resist the sinful thoughts/behavior, even if I tried very hard praying...

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Because of your sinful nature. It's not hard for the devil to tempt someone since he's an expert. If you make any poor decisions, small or great, you can be opened up to temptation. The more you believe in Jesus, the more satan is on the prowl for you. The only way you can conquer these evil spirits is by making godly decisions and studying the word of God continually. Sometimes The Lord will allow your prayers to go unanswered because you asked with the wrong motives, or you have made a bad decision and the Lord wants you to receive the temporary consequences, a sort of tough love. There is good news though, because the more you make godly decisions the more chances there are you are not far from Gods will and that you will get prayers answered. The flipside of the coin is that if you make bad decisions, it becomes easier and easier to make more and more. A quote that continually pops in my mind is this (from Genesis 4:6-8 NIV):

6 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

God gives people a choice to sin or to do what is right, so if they intentionally sin, especially, they will reap undesirable consequences regardless of their relationship with Him. If you sin, you might end up in a minefield of sin, or a bad situation where there is hopeless temptation all around because of a simple insignificant decision you made earlier without thinking through. And it is in the power of the Holy Spirit to enable you to make good decisions. Read this from 1 Corinthians 10:12-14:

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

One other thing I've had problems with is trying to hard, or trying to be a good person. This is a good way to come up with very offensive abominations towards God, and at the very least get prayers unanswered. In the past, I've made vows, for example "I vow to follow my diet perfectly today". That is dangerous, and opens you up to more temptation than ever because you just said to God "I'm gonna do this myself, I don't really need you that much anymore." That's not what you're thinking, but that's what my deceptive sinful heart has been saying. Trying to do good things for God is like offering Him contaminated rags. He does good things through us, and by faith that he has enabled us to have.