I’ve been doing some study lately about demons, and I’m quite convinced they’re not what we’ve been taught and they don’t function in the way we’ve been led to believe. But that’s a discussion for another day. My reason for leading with that subject is that it led me to thoughts about “How, then, does Satan deceive us?†The Scriptures don’t lay that out clearly for us. He’s obviously able to influence our minds (as he did with Peter) with deceit. It’s not through possession, and not with demons, and not with his angels (who don’t possess). Satan can obviously plant thoughts in our heads, and that seems to be his main strategy.
God, also, can plant thoughts in our head, through His indwelling Spirit and even when He doesn’t indwell. This is why Paul spoke so often about guarding our minds, controlling the information we put into our minds, controlling our thoughts, and being transformed in our minds. The mind is the battleground of our hearts and souls.