Power of a Praying Woman 10/17/06 9:02 AM Page 75
Lord, Show Me…
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That’s why you must be diligent to monitor what you allow into your mind. What TV shows, magazines, and books do you look at? What music, radio programs, or CDs do you listen to? Do they ?ll your mind with godly thoughts and feed your spirit so you feel enriched, clear-minded, peaceful, and blessed or do they deplete you and leave you feeling empty, confused, anxious, and fearful? “God is not the author of confusion but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). When we ?ll our minds with God’s Word and godly books and magazines written by people in whom God’s Spirit resides, and we listen to music that praises and glori?es Him, we leave no room for the enemy’s propaganda. If you want to determine whether your thoughts are from the enemy or the Lord, ask yourself, “Are these thoughts I would choose to have?” If you answer no, then they are probably from your enemy. If, for example, you are sitting in church and you suddenly envision the choir naked, recognize where this is coming from. Rather than beat yourself up for having impure thoughts, tell the enemy to get off your brain because you will not allow your soul to be a dumping ground for his trash. Tell him you “have the mind of Christ” and you won’t listen to anything that is inconsistent with that (1 Corinthians 2:16). Refusing to entertain unrighteousness in your thought life is part of resisting the devil. How many people have we known who should have done that and didn’t? You don’t have to live with confusion or mental oppression. You don’t have to “walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardnening of their heart” (Ephesians 4:17-18). Instead you can have clarity and knowledge. Even though your enemy