PRAYING HANDS OR PREYING HANDS
When we are on our walk to be Christ-like we must remember that
it is a non-stop progression until our bodies become glorified. And that moment won’t be reached
until we get to heaven. In the meantime, we must always seek God’s guidance and direction to stay
on the right path. We must be praying without ceasing to stay in constant communication with God and to
have a closer relationship with Him. And every day we must put on the whole armor of God to defend ourselves
from the devil’s attacks.
Because we are God’s children, the devil is out to get us. He is out to destroy
us spiritually, physically, mentally, financially, and emotionally; by any means necessary. For 1 Peter
5:8 says to “be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom
he may devour”. On our own the devil will succeed, but through Jesus Christ the devil is defeated.
We must be aware and alert
to the fact that the devil will use anyone and anything to get us to lose our focus on God. He knows what
we like and will use that to his advantage. He will attempt to manipulate any situation to shift our focus
for just a second. Keep in mind the devil is rarely over-the-top with his manipulations and his influences.
He is, however, very subtle in what he does. Think about it, if the devil is attempting to influence
you to do something wrong do you think he will bring along a total stranger or someone you don’t particularly like to
aid in your wrong decision? No! Instead, he will use those close to you, such as friends
and family. He will use those close to you because in your mind you think they have your best interests
at heart.
But
remember, it is not your friends and family that you have to look out for; it’s the devil. He is
just using them to get to you. It says in Ephesians 6:21 that “for we wrestle not against flesh and
blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness
in high places.” Now, at the same time, you must be aware and realize who the devil is using to get
to you. And the only way to figure that out is to pray and ask God for discernment. Ask
God to open your eyes and your mind to see who the devil is using to get you off track. You heard that
old saying “keep your friends close and your enemies closer”; well the enemy is the devil. And
if you keep him around long enough you will start doing the wrong things.
Again, the devil is very subtle in his manipulations, and he
will use those close to you to knock you off track. The question is, are you able to see when someone is
preying on you rather than praying for you. Will you be able to see it when someone invites you to a get-together
at their house with friends/family you haven’t seen in year, but in doing so you will miss Bible study that same evening?
Will you see it when a family member is constantly asking you to borrow money because some emergency came up?
Yes you are able to help them and it’s the right thing to do, but when will you see that you are becoming a crutch
for this individual and that by continuing to cater to their needs you are not allowing God to work His wonders through them.
Those are but a few examples
of someone preying on you rather than praying for you. They are not looking out for your best interests
but rather their own. That is where selfishness comes into play and that is the devil’s playground.
Until we grasp the concept of the devil’s subtleness towards manipulations we will continue to fall prey to his
ways. We must ask God to give us the wisdom to combat these attacks. Proverbs 2:12-15
says that “Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, who have left the straight
paths to walk in dark ways, who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil, whose paths are crooked and
who are devious in their ways.” Therefore, ask God to give you wisdom and He will show you who is
preying on you, and who is truly praying for you.
