More godly characteristics

Just two more godly characteristics found in these first few verses of Nehemiah 7.... these are things that matter to God. These are things that will help us to live lives that count for Him.
(Don't worry, that picture up there will make sense in a minute.)
Here are our verses again:

I put in charge of Jerusalem my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah the commander of the citadel, because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most people do. 3 I said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the sun is hot. While the gatekeepers are still on duty, have them shut the doors and bar them. Also appoint residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their posts and some near their own houses.” (v. 2-3)

Did you notice that?
Hananiah feared God more than many.
Some fear God a little. Others fear God more.
Are we talking "quaking in our boots" or "knees knocking" kind of fear? Not exactly. Although when we see Who God is, and we realize who we are in comparison, it's not uncommon to fall on our faces in fear. Many in the Bible did. They realized, as should we, that He could rightly cast us into hell because of our many sins.
The fear of God grows out of the knowledge of God.

Praise the Lord.Blessed are those who fear the Lord,    who find great delight in his commands. (Psalm 112:1)

I believe we are talking about a reverence for our holy God, and a desire to know and obey Him.

Blessed are all who fear the Lord,    who walk in obedience to him. You will eat the fruit of your labor;    blessings and prosperity will be yours. (Psalm 128:1-2)

 Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. (Nehemiah 1:11a)

Our Father has been merciful to us, and saved us through the sacrifice of His precious Son; we should enjoy the comfort of His friendship, but never allot ourselves to presume on His grace - never become so casual that we are irreverent toward Him. He knows our every thought and our every deed; we should seek to please Him. This important godly characteristic will help our lives to count for God.

The last characteristic that I wanted to talk with you about is watchfulness. Ahhh, that brings us to the family of geese up there at the top. No, seriously!
It's amazing that about one hundred years ago, Canada geese were almost wiped out. Now, their numbers are rebounding, and some folks even think of them as nuisances! Having raised ducklings, I have seen the differences in the waterfowl "parents" and have enjoyed observing the goslings. Mama goose is usually the one who introduces the babies to different food sources, and she teaches them to swim, too. Papa? His job is to watch. And boy, does he do it well! He pays little attention to his own needs; I have seen them ignore food to continue watching mom and goslings. Papa will turn his head this way and that, scouting for dangers. Dogs, cats, snakes, other large birds, and oy ve!! Humans! His utterances will change from quiet, gutteral sounds to loud, anxious honks as he herds the babies away from the danger that has popped up.

We saw in previous chapters that Nehemiah used both the trowel and the sword in building the walls. Now he is making sure that guards are posted, and He gives careful instructions to the leaders he is appointing. He makes certain that they know, really know the need to guard the city. Nehemiah trusts God, but he also knows the need for watchfulness.

Jesus told us to be on the alert. Peter told us that we must be alert because the devil prowls about and seeks to devour us. As believers, we need to be ever so watchful for the spiritual dangers that Satan strews across our path like a toddler tossing petals at a wedding. As single believers, we must be careful of things that could compromise our testimony. As married believers, we must be alert to things that could harm our marriages. As parents, we must watch for things that could destroy our children.
A time of success is a critical time to be on guard. After a battle with the devil, if we think we've won, WATCH OUT!! We can't let down our guard. We need to be on guard in our homes, as well. Did you notice that Nehemiah tasked each one with standing on guard in front of his own house? It's in verse three.....you can hop over there, quick like a bunny and we will wait....

How can we apply verse three to our lives today? We need to guard what shows and movies come into our home. Guard what comes in on our computer, or on our smartphone. If we have children still in our care, we need to take caution if they spend the night at another home - what are their plans? Who is supervising? They may chafe at our "nosy" questions, but we can warn them about spiritual dangers and how to get help, as well.

This is our last post for the week. Let's commit to making our lives count for God -- let's worship Him, and let's build godly character: faithfulness, reverence for God, and watchfulness.

Join me next week as we continue with chapter seven of Nehemiah!

Studying what matters to God, part III

Yesterday, we noted that faithfulness is important to having godly character; God is faithful, and we strive as believers to be more like Him. How do we build faithfulness?
Let's look at some really practical ideas on this . . . .

First, to develop faithfulness, we need to recognize the responsibilities that God has given us. We need to define them.  What do we mean?
Well, as a Christian, we have responsibilities: we are tasked with obeying God's commands. We need to live a pure and holy life that honors Him; we need to show love to everyone, including our enemies; we need to glorify Him in all that we do.  If we are parents, we have responsibilities to train and guide our kids in the ways of God. As a friend, we have responsibilities to help our friends, whether it is with comfort or rebuke, always using patience and mercy, since Christ has shown mercy to us. As a member of the body of Christ, we are responsible for using our gifts and talents to advance His kingdom and to glorify Him. We can't be faithful if we are not focused on what we are supposed to be doing!
Another way to develop faithfulness is to make sure we don't neglect the "small" things. Remember this ending to a parable?

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." (Luke 16:10, NIV)

If we are faithful in "small" things, we will be faithful with much more. What are the little things? Perhaps a practical application is our management of the money that God has entrusted to us. I don't expect many millionaires read this study blog, so I can safely say that most of us have "a little" money to manage. Do we squander it on selfish things, or do we invest it wisely for God's purposes? Do we pay our bills on time, or do we have to pay extra because of unpaid balances? Are we honest in our financial matters?
Maybe it's not just money! Do we keep our word with others? Can they count on us to do what we say we will do? Do we live an orderly life; do we keep appointments on time? All of these come under the heading of "faithfulness in small things."

Another aspect of faithfulness is to keep our relationships straight - to keep our priorities right. What would you say was the most important relationship we have? I think most of us would say our relationship with Jesus, our Savior, is first. If it is neglected, everything else goes sideways! Being faithful means spending time alone with Him each day.  Our relationships with family members come next. Those family relationships are so important that Paul said those who didn't prioritize these correctly were not qualified to lead in the church. John even said that if we don't love our fellow believers (who we have seen), we cannot love God, whom we have not seen. (I John 4:20)

Lastly, being faithful is impossible unless we use our time effectively. Many people complain that they don't have enough time to do what they are supposed to do.  Or they can't keep their word, or fulfill a promise because "there's just not enough time." Or, "I'm just too busy."
BUT we all have the same number of hours each day!
Faithful people are those who learn to use their time well. They will find time for recognizing their responsibilities, for keeping track of the small things, for the relationships that matter.
Being faithful is a godly characteristic. It's something that matters to God.
More on this tomorrow!

What matters to God? Part II

This week, we are studying how to make our lives count for God. We are earnestly looking at what matters to God, and finding some answers first in the seventh chapter of Nehemiah, then branching out into the Word for more.
Let's dive in again!

Yesterday, we talked about worship being important. It matters to God.
Let's look at the next two verses in our chapter:

 I put in charge of Jerusalem my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah the commander of the citadel, because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most people do. 3 I said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the sun is hot. While the gatekeepers are still on duty, have them shut the doors and bar them. Also appoint residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their posts and some near their own houses.” (Nehemiah 7:2-3, NIV)

When I read these two verses, I'm impressed by the fact that godly character matters to God. Our old friend, Nehemiah, could not do everything himself. It just wasn't possible! He was an exemplary leader, though, with amazing discernment and with "street savvy" too. He knew that in order for him to be effective, he was going to need to delegate some responsibilities to other men.
What did he look for as they handed him their resumes?
Well, certain administrative skills were going to be necessary.
People skills would be vital.
A healthy dose of wisdom would be truly helpful.
But the main requirement?
Godly character.
The first man that he picked was Hanani. Remember him?

Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 1:2, NIV)

It was Hanani who came to him at the palace with the sad report of the condition of the city of Jerusalem. Nehemiah mentions that Hanani was his brother; he appoints him as the civil leader of Jerusalem.
Next, Hananiah is appointed as the military leader. Notice that Nehemiah does not tout a long list of military accomplishments or the number of battles that he'd won. Instead, Hananiah is appointed because he was faithful and feared God.
He charges his two new leaders with not opening the city gates until the sun was hot, and with bolting them and standing guard when the gates were shut. Nehemiah also tells them to appoint guards from the residents of the city . . .

Did you notice that first godly character trait up there? Faithfulness.
The Hebrew word is (as is the case so many times) much more descriptive than the one word, "faithfulness." It carries with it the meaning of reliable, truthful, and firm. It means that Hananiah was a man that could be counted on. When he gave you his word, it really meant something! He spoke the truth and if he promised to do something, you could rest assured that it would happen. If we want our lives to count for God, we need to work at becoming a faithful person.

After all, God is faithful, and it's our desire to become more like Him.

Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens,    your faithfulness to the skies. (Psalm 36:5)

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. (Deuteronomy 7:9)

the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked. (I John 2:6, NASB)

Faithfulness is one of the fruits that the Holy Spirit will produce in our lives as we walk with Him.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ...  (Galatians 5:22, NASB)

Faithfulness is also vitally important in relationships. If we don't trust someone, we won't allow ourselves to get close to that person. We will "keep our distance," because the trust just isn't there. Since our God is faithful, always speaks truth, and always keeps His Word, then as we grow in godly character and strive to be more like Him, we should grow in faithfulness.

How do we grow in faithfulness? Is there a recipe? A formula?
Stay tuned!
We'll look into that tomorrow!

What matters to God?

This week, we started with "Do our lives count for God?"
We then changed the question to "How can we make our lives count for God?"
How can we live, so that our lives make a difference for Him?

A lot is said today about "relevance."
To condense it, we could say that if something is relevant, it "matters."
It's important.
It has weight; it has value.
Many things seem important to us. Are they the same things that are important to God?
Let's look at our chapter and see if we can discern some things that "matter," and determine ways to commit ourselves to those things . . . .

Right in the first verse of chapter seven, we see the first thing we'll discuss that matters to God.

After the wall had been rebuilt and I had set the doors in place, the gatekeepers, the musicians and the Levites were appointed.  (v 1)

So, let's condense this into one sentence here: worship is important, and matters to God -- just as much as guarding and protecting the city! These men are the first to be mentioned, because the whole reason for Jerusalem's existence was the worship of the God of Israel. Scholars say that the worship leaders may also have been assigned guard duty at the gates. Maybe they took "shifts" at the role. That's cool. No worries there; I don't think there's any issue there . . . maybe that is the start of the concept of pastor-who-works-another-job-when-necessary.  And what's to stop the musicians from practicing or holding choir practices while they were standing guard? (Personally, I love men's choirs, and I can just imagine walking up to the walls of Jerusalem and hearing a men's quartet up on the wall, practicing for worship!)
Guarding the city, and protecting it from invaders was not just so that the peeps inside could sleep securely -- it was so that the worship of God in the restored temple could take place, too!
Worship is important. It matters to God.
While we are here on earth, we have many opportunities (and the Word encourages us) to praise and worship God.

Lord, you are my God;    I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness    you have done wonderful things,
    things planned long ago. (Isaiah 25:1)

Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power    and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,    for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;    you are exalted as head over all. (I Chronicles 29:11)

We read in Revelation that a good part of our time in heaven will be spent in praising God. All of us together! Remember that the saints will gather with the angels, the four living creatures, and the twenty-four elders and sing:

 In a loud voice they were saying:“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,    to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength    and honor and glory and praise!”
13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb    be praise and honor and glory and power,for ever and ever!” (Revelation 5:12-13)

And in the nineteenth chapter, we read:

The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried:“Amen, Hallelujah!”5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying:“Praise our God,    all you his servants,
you who fear him,    both great and small!”
6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:“Hallelujah!    For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad    and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,    and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean,    was given her to wear.”(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.) (Revelation 19:4-8)

As the old hymn says, we will be lost in wonder, love, and praise!
I've heard believers who have honestly questioned this. They wonder if they will become bored? It's sad that people think that (and I don't think we will, since the Bible also says we will reign with Him; we'll have jobs to do!).  I think it will be spontaneous -- haven't you worshiped spontaneously when you see a stunning sunset, or a wee babe looks into your face and grabs your finger, or you view miles of mountains and trees from the culmination of a hike? Those are things that make us think, "How awesome!" and "Praise God for this blessing!"
Praise is worship of God, and the act of praising Him is a testimony to His glory and faithfulness. I think that heaven will be a time of enjoying the presence and beauty of our Savior and sharing it with others there.

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  (John 4:23, NIV)

We should worship God in a way that pleases him .... (excerpt Hebrews 12:28, EXB)

If we want our lives to count for God here on earth, let's practice for when we get to heaven! Let's worship and praise Him!
Worship matters to Him.

Do our lives count for God?

In today's world, just as in the past, many people struggle with thoughts and feelings of depression. They may voice their feelings or they may internalize them. Their thoughts may be "what am I here for?" Or, "is my life worthwhile?" "What am I accomplishing with my life?"

If you walk into a bookstore, just glance at how many shelves are filled with self-help books, and books of philosophy, both new and old. It's amazing!

As we grow older, there is even more of a tendency to contemplate the value of the things we do and say. Are we making a difference? Will we effect positive change? Are we really helping anyone?

I think we all feel that way at times. And we all have had times when our thoughts have been occupied with "life goes so quickly!" It all serves to make us wonder, how can we spend our lives so that they count for something truly worthwhile? If we make efforts to spend our time here so that our lives count for God and His purposes, we are on the right path! Because if our lives count for God, it's not just now, but for eternity!

Our question then changes . . . it becomes: how can we live so that our lives count for God?
Instead of pulling a philosophy text book off the shelf, our focus should be on the Bible! And it may surprise us, but the seventh chapter of Nehemiah has some answers for us.
Remember back when we studied the book of Ezra? The second chapter of Ezra was one of those books that we puzzle over, at first. What is this one here for? (Grin) It's essentially a long list of names, half of which we have trouble pronouncing. Well, part of the next chapter of Nehemiah is very similar to Ezra 2. At first, we are tempted to think, well, this is not going to be one that I remember and come back to . . . but hang on!
Stay with me, OK? You might change your mind!
I hope you will take time this week to read the chapter; our studies are always more fruitful when we read and consider His Word.
This chapter seems like a page in an antiquarian book -- have you seen a chapter near the middle of a very old book, sometimes it's called "Volume II," or "Act II," or "Intermezzo," or something else fancy.  Basically, it's calling our attention to the passage of time. It's kind of a pivot point sometimes, or an intermission. The next part of the book will be different somehow.

Well, chapter seven of Nehemiah is like that. Chapters one through six describe the restoration of the wall and gates of the city of Jerusalem. Then, chapters eight through thirteen are going to tell about the restoration of the people of Judah.
In the seventh chapter itself, when we read the first three verses, we see the precautions that Nehemiah took in order to guard the newly walled city from attack. It's kinda like we are latching the closed door of the first half of the book. From verse four through the end of the chapter, we see how Nehemiah went about making sure that the city was repopulated -- making certain that it was going to be a vibrant, vital center of national and spiritual life.
In Ezra 2, the list of names was there because they wished to document the heritage of the people, and to determine who was a true Jew, and who could function as a priest, etc. Now, in Nehemiah, the list was to determine who could build houses in the now walled city, and who could provide for temple worship?
Let's read the verses:

After the wall had been rebuilt and I had set the doors in place, the gatekeepers, the musicians and the Levites were appointed. 2 I put in charge of Jerusalem my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah the commander of the citadel, because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most people do. 3 I said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the sun is hot. While the gatekeepers are still on duty, have them shut the doors and bar them. Also appoint residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their posts and some near their own houses.” 4 Now the city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt. 5 So my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the common people for registration by families. I found the genealogical record of those who had been the first to return. This is what I found written there: (v. 1-5)

The city was spacious, with room for many houses and businesses. A few had been restored, since we saw references to people building the wall sections near their homes. The rest would need to be rebuilt, just as the walls had been (in less than sixty days, according to our last chapter!).  Nehemiah uses this count and list to remind the people of their national identity, and to encourage them to fulfill their responsibilities. The temple needed to be maintained and cared for, so that the spiritual life of the Jewish people could continue.

(There are variations between the two lists that are difficult and cause people no end of questions. They want to compare them, and then get into discussions of inerrancy and copies and scribes and more. I'm not going down that rabbit trail, thank you very much! I will leave that to the scholars, since the Spirit has shown me some points that we can study without delving into things that can certainly be accepted by faith. After all, when we meet Ezra and Nehemiah in heaven, if we are still interested, we can ask them.)

What I'd like to study this week is HOW we make our lives count for God. It's an important message that we can find in this chapter.  Stay with me, OK? And be sure to read the chapter!

Friday slowdown

Enjoy this prayerful rendition of an old hymn . . . blessings to all who pause here.

1. He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
   He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
   To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
   To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.
2. When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
   When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
   When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
   Our Father’s full giving is only begun.
3. Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
   Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
   Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
   The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.
4. His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
   His power no boundary known unto men;
   For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
   He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

(Annie J. Flint, 1866 - 1932)

Your turn to speak!

As a community of believers, we are only stronger as we study, pray, and talk together. Other people's words can often help us understand more fully and more clearly things that we thought we knew quite well.
That's why I look forward to these posts when some of you consider questions and leave answers in your comments. It's awesome!

As usual, I will post two questions . . . you are welcome to choose one, or to answer both!

1. How can we know which doctrines are worth "dividing" over, and which ones should be set aside to preserve unity?

2. Since Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (and his servants as servants of righteousness), how can we be on guard against his servants in the church or small group?

I look forward to reading your answers and learning!

Practical applications

We often think of infiltration and espionage as dark and thrilling . . . spies lurking about with hats pulled low over their faces, furtively glancing about before walking quickly and purposefully away.
But we need to know that often the devil uses espionage! He will infiltrate the ranks of believers and church congregations with "secret agents" that profess to be Christians. But their hearts are really in the world, and they oppose godly men and women. They oppose them because just like Nehemiah, true men and women of God expose others' spiritual indifference and sin, either simply by example, or by confrontation when necessary.

Let's make some practical applications from chapter six of Nehemiah . . .

First, we should not put all of our confidence in our own work, but instead have confidence in the God who enables us to work. During these winter months, it's an ideal time to work here on the farm. The vegetation has died back and trees can be felled and briers cleared; areas that need mowing can be gotten to more easily; stones can be collected to make paths and allow cleared areas to be sown. It's nice to step back after a day or two of hard work and admire the progress! Wow, doesn't that fenceline look swell -- you can see the fence now. Those slopes look much better and will be mowed easily now.
It would have been tempting for Nehemiah to kick back and admire his new wall, don't ya think? Those stones look amazing - everyone worked so hard and they took great care to nestle the stones into the mortar and leave no holes or spaces. Look at the broad area there for soldiers to use in defending the city; looks great, doesn't it? And those gates? So proud of everyone who worked so diligently . . .
Nope.
Didn't happen. These ongoing problems and opposition from the enemies forced Nehemiah to stay alert. On his toes. Fighting the battles.
And trusting in the Lord.
Sometimes we mistakenly think that some one accomplishment or prize will solve all of our problems. We'll be able to rest and enjoy the success. We may think that a program or building project will solve all of the problems of our church. Wellllllll, it doesn't really work that way! No sooner have we achieved our goal (personally, or with the congregation) than other problems erupt like the bubbling mud pits at Yosemite Park. (Grin) Might even be more like a volcano.
Why?
Well, first because that is the way life is! And second, because God uses these things to keep us looking to Him and growing -- rather than kicking back, patting ourselves on the back, and trusting in OUR WORK. We need to remember to trust in Him!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart    and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,    and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Trust in the Lord and do good;    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord,    and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord;    trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,    your vindication like the noonday sun. (Psalm 37:3-6)

Another application: don't expect perfection in this world!  We CAN expect God to accomplish significant advances for His kingdom through our trusting and our hard work, just like Nehemiah did by rebuilding the walls of the city of Jerusalem. But until our Lord and Savior comes back, we aren't going to hear "they lived happily ever after."  Even after the wall was completed, the enemy infiltrated and stirred up more trouble.
We cause ourselves problems when we look for perfection in the Christian community, too. After all, believers are called saints, right? They are perfect and sin-free, right? Well, no. (Grin) As one of our readers noted recently, if we hop from church to church looking for the perfect doctrine, fellowship, leaders, etc we will never find that perfect church! In fact, I would go out on a limb and state that we will never see a perfect church in this fallen world. If that is what we are searching for, we will soon quit in abject frustration! However, if we follow her advice, we can be well served: find a church that has many of the qualities we are looking for, and get involved to make it even better! We can trust God to use us to advance His kingdom; we should not fall into the trap of perfectionism.

Lastly, one final application for us -- if we compromise with the world, it hinders the work of the Lord. Remember what we saw about Tobiah? He and his son had intermarried with some of the Jewish nobles' families. Apparently, he had convinced them (my grandma would have said Tobiah "snowed" them!) that he was an awesome guy. This was pretty astonishing, considering how vehemently he opposed Nehemiah and the wall. Anyway, we'll see in later chapters that Nehemiah is gone "on leave" for a while, and when he comes back, he finds that Tobiah is living in the temple! (Don't worry, Nehemiah takes care of things.) It's a good reminder not to compromise on the important stuff!

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. (I John 2:15)

...don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. (James 4:4b)

Our study of chapter six is ending this week. The devil is indeed persistent, and will disguise his schemes quite well. We must discern and resist him -- when our Lord Jesus returns, we will have the ultimate triumph over this terrorist!

Prayer requests

We've been studying a good bit recently about resisting the devil and his schemes. I feel moved today to ask if some of us are being threatened and intimidated by the devil.

It's a common occurrence in the life of believers. In fact, any time that we are determined to pray more, to study more, to be more kind, to share the gospel more actively, etc., we can just expect him to step up his attacks! As C. S. Lewis noted in his amazing work, The Screwtape Letters, it's the progress of a believer on fire that needs to be slowed down and impeded. The lukewarm Christian, who is not interested in working and glorifying God, is no threat to the devil!

Our adversary wants to attack our desires, our thoughts, our activities, even how we see ourselves. We must be on guard and abide in Christ through surrender and communication with Him. As we slip on the pieces of the armor of God, we must be in prayer, too.

The devil knows that if we follow Jesus' greatest commandment, to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind, that he is powerless over us. Our first prayer when we feel Satan is working against us can be to ask the Lord to guard our hearts; to keep us from being complacent or from letting anything be an idol -- anything that takes first place in our lives, and pushes Christ out of that spot? That's an idol! Ask Him to help us remember His sacrifice for us, and that we are safe in Him.

Next, ask Him to defend our minds. As we tighten the strap on the helmet of His salvation, remind ourselves to keep our thoughts where they belong.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)

We can saturate our mind with verses that keep us aware of His care and protection. Those will help defend our minds.
Next, we can keep the devil at bay by staying calm.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:15)

He is not the God of chaos or confusion, but offers the peace that is beyond understanding. We can ask Him to calm our hearts and emotions, and fill us with His peace.

Sometimes if the devil is troubling us, we are tempted to let the wrong kind of communication slip out of our mouths. (Am I right?) It may be an irritated response, or it may be reckless words that slip out and hurt others as surely as if they were swords. Ask Him to help us guard our tongues so that the devil doesn't cause us to use words as weapons. Our testimony suffers and Satan scores a win when that happens.

Lastly, one of the devil's best tools is depression and discouragement. We can pray that God will place His hedge around us, so that our bodies are preserved -- pure, holy, and healthy -- for Him. As women, we are often prey to depression and we act it out in ways that are unhealthy; perhaps we abuse ourselves with neglect, or contempt, or too much food, or unhealthy attitudes. When we pray, we can remind ourselves that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made," and that we are loved, JUST AS WE ARE. We can ask Him to help us ignore the devil and glorify Him in our bodies.

In fact, I truly believe that we can be pretty invincible if we are praying and trying to glorify God with every part of our lives! Satan may try to tear us down, but through intimate communication with Christ, we can become more and more like Him and remain in Him, safe from the devil's wiles.

If you are feeling the presence of the devil in your life, please know that all of the prayer warriors who study here are kneeling with you and praying.
If you have any kind of request, or a praise, that you'd like for us to know about, please leave a comment. It's an honor to pray with you.

Let's pray!