Don’t doubt that Maya is doing her service expertly and that she is powerful. The moment we think, “Okay, Maya, I know exactly what you are doing, and I know how to defeat you!” Maya laughs and says, “Oh? You think you can defeat me?” Krishna Himself says that Maya acts perfectly according to His will. Someone who acts perfectly according to Krishna’s will cannot be obstructed by anyone else. So only Maya’s original source of strength, Krishna, can defeat her. When Hiranyakasipu asked Prahlada where he got his strength, he said, “My dear father, I have gotten my strength from the same place you have gotten yours.”Because Prahlada got his strength by surrendering to Lord Visnu, he was able to overcome Maya. Hiranyakasipu also received his strength from Lord Visnu, but he could not overcome Maya because he did not take shelter of that source of his strength.
(LFD, Vol2, Spiritual Strength in Executing Sadhana-bhakti, Pg 49 and Pg 50)