How does the enemy prevent prayer?

How does the enemy prevent prayer?

Well...mostly he doesn't. He lets us think we are going to pray. Then he brings in the 5 Big "Ds".

We talk about it. "I will pray for you." "I'm going to pray about that." 

We think about it. We have good intentions. But...good intentions are nothing if they don't manifest into an action.

But...do we do it?

"Oh, yes, I need to remember to pray about that."  Delay.

"I meant to pray about that, but somehow it slipped my mind." Distraction.

"I'm so frustrated ..what good will prayer do?" Discouragement.

"What can I do for you besides just praying?" Deception.

"I'm so depressed I can't pray." Despair.

Delay, distraction, discouragement, deception, despair. 

I fall into every one of those categories. The enemy hardly has to work at all. I  just may be easy prey.

I don't want to be prey...I want to pray. 

So here a few ways I have found to avoid being easy  prayer prey.

1. Delay: Do it now. Rather than say, "I will pray for you." Say, "May I pray for you now?"

2. Distraction: Write down your ideas for prayer. Then pray off your list. Or if you hear a voice saying, "You are too busy right now. Do it later." Agree and say, "Yes I am too busy. That's why I will do it right now."

3. Discouragement: Make a pact with yourself to pray through the frustration. Honestly express your discouragement to the Lord. And pray for someone else. This will help get your mind off your current problem. Remember, our help comes from the Lord.

4. Deception: Prayer is the most important thing we can do. That it why it is so hard to do! Prayer is the greater work as Oswald Chambers has said.

5. Despair: First thing, before getting out of bed, pray. Start by praying God's attributes so you remember who God is in the midst of your storm. He is WAY bigger than anything you or I may be facing. Trust. If you are in a really bad, depressed place, be confident- the spirit is praying on your behalf.

No matter what Big D is getting in your way, don't fall prey. Pray.

God heard them for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place. 

2 Chronicles 30:27 

When do you struggle with prayer? What do you do about it? 


With faith, hope, and love,
Lori


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Beware!

Twice in the matter of a second, my dog was bitten by a vicious rattlesnake. Now some folks may say the snake was scared, startled. They would reason, "That's why it bit Murphy." Maybe. Maybe that's true. But I know rattlesnakes. And from my experience they are aggressive, territorial. They don't give up their ground without a fight. Rattlesnakes don't retreat. Rattlesnakes attack.

God has an enemy like that. His enemy doesn't relinquish any ground without a full-on battle. His target: generally God's creation and  specifically God's people. People he considers a threat.

His purpose is to thwart God's plans and purposes. 

He aims to create chaos in the areas of relationships and health. He attempts to confuse in the arena of beliefs and behavior. Sex and sexuality have become a couple of his prime targets. He fights dirty. And...he is after that which we hold dear-our family.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could be prepared by seeing a red flag so we would know where an assault would come from? But usually there is little to no warning. Usually we are blindsided. 

But we can be ready. 

We can dress ourselves in the armor of God. But we must wear the entire uniform so we can stand firm. First we hold up our core with the belt of truth, cover our heart with the breastplate of righteousness,and get our feet ready to move with the gospel of peace. Then we go into defensive mode and put up the shield of faith and cover our mind with the helmet of salvation. Finally we move offensively and sharpen our double edged sword-God's word- and use it against our adversary.

Praying scripture is powerful.

Pick a piece of scripture and insert your child's name into the verse.  Pray your child desires to know God's truth, that his heart and mind are protected from evil Pray God woos him and grows his faith. Pray for a boldness and willingness to share his faith. Help your child to learn God's word so when trouble comes-and it will- he will be ready.

By the way, Murphy survived the snake's poison. And we can too. Because... we have a BIG God who calls himself- Savior.

In what areas has the enemy attempted to attack your family? How did you use God's word and prayer to fight back?

Be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. 

Ephesians 6: 18b

The Short Cut

Just on the other side of the sink-hole is a driveway. In order to follow the road closure sign- it will take the owner an additional twenty minutes to access his lake cabin by going the other way. He could choose to go forward-take the short cut- and ignore the sign, but if he does his vehicle will end up nine to ten feet below the surface of the ground. My guess is he's pretty bummed about that sink hole and the inconvenience it is causing him.

However, if he is wise he will heed the caution in order to avoid an even bigger problem.

God gives us and our kids specific guidance too. Often we are tempted to ignore his directions and do what we think may be faster, better, or more fun. I guess it is in the human DNA. That is just what Adam and Eve did. They ignored God's directive to Adam, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when  you eat of it you will surely die" (Genesis 2: 16-17).

Rather than avoid the tree, with the  serpent's clever tempting, Eve went right for the fruit while encouraging Adam to do the same.

Isn't that how sin often works?

We've been warned, we know it's wrong, listen to that little voice that says it's no big deal, then justify our behavior by dragging along another?

There is a saying that has been floating around that goes something like this: "I'm not the friend who will bail you out when you are in jail. I'm the one who will be sitting next to you."

Funny?

Not so much. Tragic really.

Encourage your child to find friends who will bring out the best in him and those he brings out the best in as well. These are life-time and live-giving friends. True friends.

Also train your children to recognize the enemy's voice. It often sounds like this:

You're only young once.

This isn't hurting anyone.

It's none of your parents' business.

It's not that big of a deal.

You're (insert age) you should be able to do it anyway.

Everyone else does it.

If no one finds out, no one will care.

Train your kids to listen to God's voice. God tells us to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy and to put those things into practice (Philippians 4:8).

What lies has the enemy whispered to your child? To you? How do you recognize your Father's voice?

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-put into practice.

And the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:9