Insidious Attacks

Great Ladies DFW Writers’ Workshop 2013

Insidious Attacks

If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

As I drove around this morning running several errands, an unbidden thought crept into my mind: You consider yourself a Christian, but you don’t know how to pray as well as real Christians. Quit kidding yourself.

Ever have thoughts like that just sneak into your mind? We know where they come from . . .

. . . but they’re so insidious they can sometimes throw us for a loop.

I know Satan is a liar and that his mission is to steal, kill and destroy, but at times he sneaks up on me so effectively I’m at a momentary loss as to what to do. Sometimes I actually sit and contemplate what he says for several minutes before I snap out of it.

All I have to do is mention that Jesus defeated him 2000 years ago and that he has no power in my life. He runs away and hides at the mere mention of the name of Jesus, so why do I entertain the thoughts he puts in my mind?

Of course, I really don’t know how to pray right. None of us do. But as Christians we have the Holy Spirit taking our prayers and relaying to God what we should have said, and we have Jesus Himself sitting at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us. So what if we don’t know how to pray right. God wants us to pray anyhow. He can sort out the message.

Do you have off the wall thoughts like this pop into your mind causing you to question your Christianity—at least for a moment? How do you handle it when this happens?