Power of a Praying Woman 10/17/06 9:02 AM Page 64
64
The Power of a Praying Woman
“I give you the authority…over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19). We are all involved in a spiritual battle with an enemy who will never let up. Even though it is people who do evil things to us, we have to keep in mind that it is our ultimate enemy, the devil, who is behind it. “For we do not wrestle against ?esh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). Even when we are being attacked by a person, recognizing who our real enemy is will be the ?rst step in standing strong against him. Just as God has a plan for you, so does Satan. Satan’s plan is to steal from you and destroy your life. “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10). He disguises himself so that he doesn’t look threatening, and he lulls you into thinking that you are not in any danger (2 Corinthians 11:14). But he never takes a day off. He is constantly trying to see his plan for your life ful?lled. That’s why you have to “be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). For the most part, we are able to recognize obvious attacks of the enemy. But the more subtle ones, when we are being seduced into accepting something into our lives that will ultimately get us offtrack or destroy us, are harder to recognize. For example, he will attempt to make you believe you deserve every bad thing that happens to you. But deserving is not the issue with God. We didn’t deserve to have Jesus die for us. Yet He did. The point is not whether we deserve the things the devil throws our way. The point is Jesus died so we don’t have to experience them. Ask God to help