“If God loves me why doesn’t He make my life easier!” I’m sure that we
are all prone, on occasion, to these kinds of thoughts. Jesus’ prayer is not to
remove us from this world of suffering. Rather, He prays, “protect them from
the evil one”.
To meditate/pray upon
John 17:15 “My prayer is not that you take
them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”
James 4:7-8 ‘Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil,
and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near
to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you
double-minded.’
As we seek to live for Jesus and
witness for Him, the devil is seeking to discourage us and the church.
Someone once said, ‘A man is shown around the enemies’ store of
weapons. He sees swords called lies, spears called hate, bows and arrows called
poison etc. and then he sees, on a table, something wrapped in a cloth, he
asks, ‘What is this’? ‘Ah’ says the enemy, ‘this is my most treasured and
effective weapon, it is called discouragement’.
Jesus’ prayer is not to remove us from this world of suffering. Rather,
He prays, “protect them from the evil one”.
Loyd-Jones wrote, ‘…one of the
main causes of the ill state of the church today is the fact that the devil is
being forgotten. All is attributed to us; we have all become so psychological
in our attitude and thinking. We are ignorant of this great objective fact, the
being, the existence of the devil, the adversary, and his ‘fiery darts’.
As we read in James 4:7-8, are you aware and praying for protection from
attack?
How are you
doing?
How is your heart toward God? Has the devil managed to distract,
discourage or pacify you?
How is your heart toward the church? Has the devil managed to separate
you, enflame bitterness, or blind you to a passionate vision for God’s bride?
How is your purity? Has the devil tempted you to habitual impurity? Has
He caused you to give up the fight and hope for purity? Worse still, has he
caused you to believe that impurity doesn’t matter?
Ask for restoration and forgiveness where needed. Ask for protection
from the wiles of the devil.
0 comments:
Post a Comment