How To Pray When The Devil Won't Leave You Alone

This is Hans Schile from the Finishing Well Podcast.

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But most of all, thank you for listening and choosing the Truth Podcast Network. Today on Encouraging Prayer, we have a subject object you can relate to. So, how to pray when the devil won't leave you alone. So, James, it sounds like you resemble that remark.

I'm afraid so. In the past 24 hours, it was a situation where he really wouldn't. I mean, just coming after me. And I don't mean in the form of temptation, but in the form of being an accuser. And, you know, sometimes you get that. He comes after you in attacks on your faith that say, oh, you know, God really isn't going to support you. Or, you know, you really aren't the person that you think you are in Jesus. And there are so many different ways that the devil can come after us. And the question is, how do we stand firm? How do we stand strong when that happens? Oh, yeah, because he wants to get us to make agreements, especially within our family. Like, I can't even imagine how many times he has told me, you know, you don't really think you were a decent dad with your kids. You know, so he's trying to get that buy-in to a lie. And, you know, I think you're right.

The only chance we have is prayer. Yeah, yeah. And honestly, you know, part of our situation was that someone I loved had to be in court this morning. And it was just a matter that brought all kinds of stuff back from the past. Because, you know, I thought about my kids' prodigal past and times I had sat in the courtroom before. And times like that, it was almost as if the devil was standing in the corner of the courtroom just mocking me. You know, just like, what kind of daddy you turned out to be kind of thing. And those times were so hard that honestly, we went through almost a form of PTSD.

It is like one of the least favorite places for me on the planet Earth to be sitting in the courtroom. So before any of this happened yesterday, God had put a hymn on my mind. And that hymn was an old one written by John Newton. And man, if anybody knows about God's amazing grace, it's tea, right?

Right. So anyhow, this hymn is all about Jesus and all that he does for us. And the hymn is how sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer's ear. It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, and drives away his fear. It makes the wounded spirit whole and calms the troubled breast. Tis manna to the hungry soul and to the weary rest. And, you know, that's such a great hymn because it reminds us of who Jesus really is, the comfort that we have in him, the refuge that we have in him. And when Satan accuses us, man, that's the first thing we've got to do. We've got to run to Jesus in our prayers and just stay close. Yeah, because like you say, it's, you know, I love that image that somebody paints at one time about the eagle that flies towards the sun because no other bird can see the sun.

You know, that their eyes, the eagle's eyes are such that they can look at the sun and still climb. Well, nobody can follow it, right? And so since we can get close to Jesus when he's there, right, where can your accuser be?

He's got to go. Yeah. Well, and that's the beautiful thing about it as well is that Jesus is, of course, called our advocate, which is another legal term in Scripture. And, you know, it literally means Jesus is standing there in the courtroom, if you will, of heaven on our behalf. And so there's another line from this hymn, and it kept coming to mind, this particular line. And here it goes.

Listen, the language is a little archaic, so I may explain it. By thee, meaning Jesus, my prayers acceptance gain, although with sin defiled. So, you know, God hears our prayers because of Jesus, even though, you know, we're not perfected yet. So, then it goes on.

Then it goes on from there. Satan accuses me in vain, and I am owned, a child. In other words, God doesn't disown me, God owns me as his own child, all because of Jesus. So all of these things that, you know, the devil is throwing at me as I'm sitting here and this anxiety comes rushing in. And, you know, he's just hammering me with all these thoughts. As soon as I run to Jesus, I realize he can't touch me, and there's no better place to be. And that's so. Isn't that so? And so when you've got that thing going on, right?

What a place to run. Yeah, just think about the revelation. You know, there's a passage in the revelation that talks about Satan, the accuser of the brethren, being thrown down, but it describes him as the one who accuses them before God day and night.

And we know that, you know, we've sensed that accusation ourselves. But what it says in the very next verse about those who have overcome him is they triumph over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. In other words, because of Jesus, because of what he's done for us at the cross, we are under him, under his blood, shed for us at the cross. And God sees us in a whole new way, sees us as his very own. And our testimony is, yes, yes, you know, I'm a sinner, but I am saved by God's grace. And because of that, I can take my stand under Jesus, and I will not be moved.

And that's the beautiful thing. When our adversary accuses us, again, just run to Jesus, stay close to him as close as you can in prayer. And remember all that you have in him. Praise him, love him, thank him for what he has done for you, our Savior. And again, the devil can't touch you.

No, no, it's so important to remember, you know, wait a minute, I can run to dead. And what a beautiful thing. Well, I guess we need to close this in prayer, James.

Well, let's pray. Abba, Father, we praise you that we can come to you because of your son. We praise you that we are your own. Thank you for your Spirit who has washed us and given us new birth and new life in you. Oh, Father, how good you are. Thank you, Lord, that no matter what the devil says we are, you say we are yours. And oh, we praise you for it in Jesus' name. Amen. You can hear more from Pastor James by visiting his website, jamesbanks.org, or by visiting Peace Church in Durham, North Carolina. May God bless you and encourage you as you pray.