Heavenly Father, You are the Creator of all things. You are holy and righteous. You created humans in Your image, to live peacefully in communion with You and Your people. Your love for us (and me) surpasses everything. You want each person on this earth to come to You in faith in Jesus—to live our days on earth with You.
You want good for me. You want me to have no tears, no troubles, no problems. But we broke that when humanity disobeyed You in the Garden of Eden. The enemy took the form of a serpent to provoke our egos—such that we would want to be like God to know good and evil, to be rulers and dictators of our own lives. The enemy made humanity question whether You were really for us
What a false, empty, and loaded provocation that was! But we took the bait.
Now we live in a broken world where the enemy lies, he schemes, he provokes and strategizes to cause disruption and ruin. He wants us to build walls and feel like we’re climbing mountains that are too high for us to succeed. He covers our eyes to see darkness and fear the unknown. He seeks to move You from the center of our lives and thinking to a “side show,” and for people to even question Your Existence.
He works to distract us with relationship problems, worries about how we’ll eat and live, and lies about ourselves and others. He seeks to divide humanity, pitting us against each other.
Oh, he’s slick. He does it smoothly by using people who unknowingly participate. That unanswered text … what does that mean? I lost my job … how will I ever get another? That post … it was directed at me with hate, right? That thought that I’m not good enough, that I have to earn love, that I’ll never make it, that I’m all alone, that I need that thing to find happiness, that I’ll never be healed, that my debts will bury me, that everyone is against me, that that drink, that porn will distract me and make it all go away, that it would be better if …. All of it … lies.
But the root of evil is the enemy and not Your creation. Yes, we have sin—starting with our egos and selfish desires to have our own way—and we participate.
Will I allow myself to be used that way? Will I look at the actions and even hurts brought against me using earthly eyes or spiritually keen eyes? Will I give people the benefit of the doubt? Will I be alert and always praying as Your Word instructs?
I am so grateful for You, Jesus. You came to save us from sin, evil, and the enemy who ushered in death.
Holy Spirit give me eyes to see, an awareness and instinct to ask the right questions, and divine energy and power to fight the unseen world of evil that manipulates humanity’s thinking and prompts injustice, hurt, violence and harm. Your Word says:
A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Help me Holy Spirit stand firm in Your Goodness and Truth. Help me live into sharing Your mercy, grace, forgiveness and patience.
You are All-Powerful, and give generously to all who ask. Stop me before I judge, condemn or act. Prompt me to look behind the words and actions of others to see if there is something else at play. Help me train my mind to question my own thoughts—are they pure, are they in keeping with Your Word, Your way and will. Yes, some people have intentionally chosen evil, but not most. They unknowingly participate in the spiritual warfare that this world is experiencing.
But I know the middle and end of the story! You rose from the dead and overcame death and evil. And the day will come when You return to ban evil to its place in the lake of fire. You will usher in the new earth and our new heavenly bodies to live in peace, fully known, fully loved, and with no more tears.
In the All Powerful Name of Jesus I pray.
Amen.
