Daily Devotional - 10/25

Prayer Focus - Enemies


Day 4
Pray for:
One person who was mean to you when you were a child
One person who has given you a lot of trouble recently
One person from your family (immediate or extended) that has given you trouble
One person from work or a social circle that has given you trouble



Pray about:
Their physical needs
Their mental needs
Their emotional needs
Their spiritual needs
Your ability to offer complete forgiveness from your heart
Your ability to let go of the hurts and move on whether they will ever apologize or not



Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear and grant me the strength to obey.



Psalms 55



"Listen to my prayer , O God, do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught at the voice of the enemy, at the stares of the wicked; for they bring down suffering upon me and revile me in their anger" ( vs 1 - 3)


The voice of the enemy. What a disturbing thought. Satan speaks to us, often in our thoughts. Random strange thoughts that we wonder about and think "Where did that come from". Ideas that we know are not good for us. Temptations. Satan prowls like a roaring lion (I Peter 5:8-9)and we are definitely in a spiritual battle (Ephesians 6:10-18). We forget so easily and then we are easy victims. We think that our thoughts are just our thoughts, and so why not indulge them. Why should we be so strict with what we think about, we reason. No one knows. What will this one thought do? But that is where all sin starts. It starts with just a thought indulged, a small desire, that over time grows and grows. James 1: 13 - 15 states, "When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."

Satan plants a little thought like - I never do anything right - in our heads and then we begin to dwell on it. Soon we are angry and frustrated. This eventually becomes depression and negativity. We stop functioning properly and become completely inward focused. Satan has won, all from that little thought. Or how about - my husband/wife doesn't act like he/she loves me. We take that thought which might run through our head and begin to dwell on it. Soon, our husbands/wives are the worst individuals alive and we are so upset that we are the worst spouses alive as well. And it gets worse from there. We have to recognize that there is an enemy and it is not another human being. It is Satan and he will use whatever will work on us. We need to remember that we will hear his voice. That is why the Bible and God has said to take every thought captive (II Cor 10:3-5). It is that important.



"But I call to God and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice. He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me." (vs. 16-18)


We cannot win this battle alone though. We are no match for Satan and we should not even try to battle him alone. We need God to win the battle. We need God's word and we need an active prayer life. We need to be calling out to God continuously, morning, noon, and night. God will hear us but we have to call out to Him. We need to plead with Him. He will ransom us from this spiritual battle. His armies are much greater than Satan's. The story in Kings of when Elisha opened the servants eyes to see all the armies of the Lord can remind us of that fact and we can be comforted in our smaller troubles! (II Kings 6:8-23)


"Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall. But You, O God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of corruption;...But as for me, I trust in You." (vs. 22-23)

Let us cast our cares on the Lord because He cares for us and He will sustain us. He will never let the righteous fall. Let us be righteous, and let us choose God. Let us be able to say like the psalmist, despite what is going on around us and even if no one else was willing to follow God anymore, "But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord"




Prayer for the Day



Dear Lord,


We are distraught, Lord, at the voice of the enemy and we are even more distraught that often we don't recognize that it is the enemy. Sharpen our ability to discern our thoughts and help us to take every thought captive. We know that what we dwell on impacts our lives and our actions. We want to dwell on what is wholesome, good, and lovely. Let us direct our thoughts to whatever is honorable and right. Guard our hearts and our minds and help us to turn continually to You for the help and the strength that we need to stand firm in this spiritual battle. Make us into mighty warriors, Father, because we know that that is what You desire for us. You desire the victory for us and for others. Help us to be part of the solution. We are casting our cares onto You and turning to You. We know that You will ransom us and we will do our part as well. You are great. You are our God.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT


1. Do I recognize that Satan can feed me thoughts? Am I taking captive every thought and striving to dwell on what is good? What thoughts from Satan am I especially prone to grab hold of and dwell on? What thoughts and verses can I use to counteract them?


2. Am I praying morning, noon, and night? What can I do to remind myself to pray more and especially at these three times? Where do I pray best? When have I felt most connected to God in prayer? How can I duplicate these times?


3. What cares do I need to cast on God in prayer? What verses can I memorize and meditate on that will remind me how much God does care for me?

4. Am I committed to trusting God no matter what happens? What would make me hesitate in my trust in God? What has made me turn back/look back in the past, even if it was just in my heart?