Life is war! Our enemy is powerful, cunning, experienced, and supernatural. His minions are multitudinous. His ways are devious and destructive. He is a ravenous lion (1 Peter 5:8), appears as an “angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14), and is working 24/7 all around the globe to undermine the work of the church and hurt the heart of Christ.

In recent months, I’ve thought a lot about the tactics of our enemy. In my limited understanding I will never comprehend the full strategies of the devil. Still, I want to consider one aspect of his work by postulating what I might do if I were in his shoes.

What I would KNOW . . .

While the devil is NOT all-knowing, he is brilliant, supernatural, and shrewd from thousands of years of experience. There are some things he certainly knows.

The Bible – James 2:19-20 tells us, “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe — and tremble!” Satan and his demons are well-versed in biblical information. They seek to twist, undermine, and cast doubt on sound biblical teaching. They also know what the Bible says about them and their work. When it comes to our battle against evil, they are familiar with our classic instruction about the war and supernatural weapons we have for the battle. As it says in Ephesians 6:18, “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”

Satan and his demons are well-versed in biblical information. They seek to twist, undermine, and cast doubt on sound biblical teaching.

Church History – For millennia the devil has been engaged in spiritual warfare. He is fully aware that his greatest defeats have come during seasons of spiritual awakening and revival. It is during those times that the church has advanced in supernatural power – converting lost souls, transforming society in countless ways, and counteracting evil in its many forms. Satan is keenly aware that every one of the historic seasons of exponential Christian advancements has been rooted in movements of united, biblical prayer which fueled repentance, powerful preaching, and massive gospel expansion.

Satan is keenly aware that every one of the historic seasons of exponential Christian advancements has been rooted in movements of united, biblical prayer which fueled repentance, powerful preaching, and massive gospel expansion.

Human Nature – The devil cannot read our minds but is an expert in observing human behavior. He knows our tendency to live independently of God’s supernatural provision for our lives. He was active in Laodicea, for example, as he assisted that church in living by their own riches, efforts, and sufficiency rather than pursuing intimacy with their Savior. He likes things this way.

The devil cannot read our minds but is an expert in observing human behavior. He knows our tendency to live independently of God’s supernatural provision for our lives.

What I would DO . . .

So, if I were the devil I would use my best deceptive tools to keep Christians from praying together. I would keep them busy and isolated from one another. I would do everything possible to keep them distracted and disinterested in biblical, balanced, worship-based prayer gatherings.

So, if I were the devil I would use my best deceptive tools to keep Christians from praying together. I would keep them busy and isolated from one another. I would do everything possible to keep them distracted and disinterested in biblical, balanced, worship-based prayer gatherings.

To accomplish this, I would do the following . . .

Fuel the Spirit of Rugged Individualism – By keeping Christians independent of each other, I would keep them independent from God. I would do everything possible to make sure they believed that the only way to pray was at home in a “closet” even though the New Testament evidence is overwhelming about the priority of praying together. If I were the devil I would keep believers frustrated in their personal prayer lives by preventing them from learning to pray by praying together.

If I were the devil I would keep believers frustrated in their personal prayer lives by preventing them from learning to pray by praying together.

Dig Ruts of Boring Prayer – When they did try to pray together, I would make sure the prayer meetings were based on old, traditional approaches that focused more on human needs than God’s power. If I were the devil I would do everything possible to encourage boredom and gossip in “prayer” times so most people would stay away from these sleepy, passionless, misguided gatherings.

If I were the devil I would do everything possible to encourage boredom and gossip in “prayer” times so most people would stay away from these sleepy, passionless, misguided gatherings.

Delight in Theological Orthodoxy Without Spiritual Passion – The devil knows how effective it is to get Bible-loving Christians to delight in theological correctness without spiritual intimacy. It worked very well for him in Ephesus (see Revelation 2:1-7), a once-great church that fell out of love with Jesus, even though they had great theology and teaching. Our spiritual enemy delights in lulling us into being apathetic and content with good sermons and grand theological ideas, as long as we stay off our knees to powerfully make truth real to our hearts.

The devil knows how effective it is to get Bible-loving Christians to delight in theological correctness without spiritual intimacy.

 

 

Our spiritual enemy delights in lulling us into being apathetic and content with good sermons and grand theological ideas, as long as we stay off our knees to powerfully make truth real to our hearts.

Encourage “Idle” Preaching on Prayer – Sermons on prayer frequently fall on deaf ears, especially when the leaders do not model a passionate and consistent commitment to actually pray with their people. If I were the devil, I would keep pastors content to just talk about inspiring prayer ideas as long as they did not actually lead their people into extraordinary gatherings of prayer. I would know that prayer information without prayer implementation just anesthetizes Christians from spiritual reality. This would be a “win” for my team.

Sermons on prayer frequently fall on deaf ears, especially when the leaders do not model a passionate and consistent commitment to actually pray with their people.

 

Prayer information without prayer implementation just anesthetizes Christians from spiritual reality.

Promote “Success” in the Ministry – Crazy as it sounds, I might even promote church growth as a replacement for real spiritual transformation. I would encourage an interest in numbers, activities, strategies, and events. This would keep God’s people away from brokenness, repentance, and passion for God’s transforming presence. This would distract them from a real pursuit of the awakenings that have undermined my malevolent work.

Knowing that he cannot keep people from eternal life because of the power of the gospel, I believe he at least tries to keep believers from eternal rewards by getting them to rely on their own flesh rather than the Spirit of God in their ministry efforts.

Knowing that he cannot keep people from eternal life because of the power of the gospel, I believe he at least tries to keep believers from eternal rewards by getting them to rely on their own flesh rather than the Spirit of God in their ministry efforts.

Yes, if I were the devil, this strategy would be one of my most important. I would amass all of my most subtle and deceptive troops and tools to prevent churches that pray from becoming powerful praying churches, at all costs. As long as Christians remained sincere but isolated – active but powerless – entertained but shallow – I would win.  And I would love it so.

Copyright © 2019 Daniel Henderson. All rights reserved.

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SPECIAL NOTE: For further teaching on the power of praying together and how to make prayer experiences dynamic, balanced, and spiritually invigorating, check out our resource Old Paths, New Power. This devotional is an excerpt from the book. God is using this teaching tool to awaken new conviction and clarity among pastors and congregations for leading the church to become a true house of prayer.