One lie that my spiritual enemy uses is that God becomes annoyed with my feeble attempts to live for Him and to pray to Him, so He leaves me and occupies Himself elsewhere. I get more than annoyed at my feeble efforts so it is easy to believe that lie, even stop asking God for help. But Jesus says . . .
What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will
instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a
scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those
who ask him! (Luke 11:11–13)
But this lie concerns more than my prayer life. That old
devil also uses it to get me discouraged. He says things like, “You will never
learn, never get it right. Your feeble efforts are a joke in the face of God
and He is fed up with you and of course you should be fed up with yourself . .
.”
Paul knew that Christians get stuck on those kinds of
thoughts. He wrote the church at Thessalonica and told them how he and his
friends were praying “most earnestly
night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in
your faith . . . Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct
our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another
and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless
in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all
his saints.” (1 Thessalonians 3:10–13)
This morning I noted that “He increases my love for others
and He establishes holiness in my heart.” I will not be perfect until Jesus comes,
but that isn’t the point; the point is that He does it. All my efforts are
useless unless I am relying on Him in faith. The sequence is faith >
obedience > growth. “Try harder” never enters the equation.
Immediately following this word about being established
blameless in holiness, that old liar put the thought in my head, “You? Never!” but
that lie didn’t get very far. The very next verse in my devotional booklet was
this one . . .
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible,
but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)
I cannot become blameless, but nothing is too hard for God.
He is amazing. Whenever I am in any spiritual battle, I can be thankful for Jesus
who intercedes for me. He set the example for my prayer life too, making it a
priority in His life. He rose up “very
early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a
desolate place, and there he prayed.” (Mark 1:35)
Prayer is a gift, a privilege. God wants to discuss
everything with me. Even these devotional thoughts are a conversation with God.
He speaks, the enemy interrupts, and He speaks again with reassurance for me
against those lies. He knows every thought, every struggle, every desire, and
continually reminds me that He will never leave me or stop loving me. His Word will
always be available to guide me through the battlefield of life and answer the
attacks of my enemy.
This is why “I find
my delight in your commandments, which I love. I will lift up my hands toward
your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes” and
why I am so glad that “God remembers His
Word to His servants, in which He has made me hope.” (Psalm 119:47–49)
At times, my scattered mind seems an easy target, but I realize
that in the struggle to remember and rely on the promises of God, I am drawn
back to Him continually. I need the daily bread He offers, and I need that “pray
without ceasing” that He commands. Without the struggles, I’m certain that I
would not pray, for the enemy would quickly lie and tell me that I didn’t need God
at all.
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