Jesus, help me understand that in this and the previous series, You are dealing with James 4:7: Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (NIV). In the previous series, You helped me submit myself, then, to God, You helped me grow in my love for God. Now, in order for me to resist the devil, and he will flee from me, You are helping me develop a HATRED for the things of the body, the world, and the devil. This will help me stop wrong things from coming into my life.

Jesus, help me WANT righteous things that empower me to only do good things to myself and others. And, help me HATE evil things that do only bad things to me and others. Rom 7:15 (NIV) I do not understand what I do. For what I WANT to do I do not do, but what I HATE I do. Teach me that God’s requirement after I have been born again is to WANT to do the right things and HATE doing the wrong things. I can see in Romans 7:15, that I won’t yet know how to DO the right things; but, teach me that God requires me to WANT them. Show me that You put these two attitudes in my heart when I accepted You as my Lord, Savior, and King.

Jesus, help me accept my responsibility for maintaining these two attitudes. And, make it clear to me that the way to maintain them is to apply The Three Keys To All Of Christianity. Help me be continuously ASKING You to empower me to maintain the WANT and HATE that God requires of me. Provide me with the training and power to maintain these two attitudes for the rest of my life. Help me grow in my respect, appreciation, and excitement concerning God’s creation. Show me how to resist the devil without spending a lot of time doing it.

Heb 11:6 (NIV) And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Jesus, help me understand that one of Satan’s biggest efforts against me and all humanity is to try to convince us that God doesn’t exist. If I am a person who has never had a problem with that issue, if I have always known God exists, help me see that, that still doesn’t keep me from dealing with this issue. Show me that millions of people are struggling with it; and, I need to understand how to help myself and all these people.

Rom 1:18 (NIV) The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. Jesus, I know Satan uses people to try to keep other people from coming to You. Show me where the first place is for me to put up my resistances. Reveal to me what these godless and wicked men are suppressing. What are they trying to do to me and the people around me? Make it clear to me that they are trying to keep as many people as possible from getting to know God. Since everyone’s first assignment is to believe that God exists, Satan has come up with as many lies, tricks, and deceptions as possible. Help me fight them.

Rom 1:18-19 (NIV) The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. Jesus, teach me that first of all, this godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, know the truth. Show me that what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. Help me understand that it isn’t an accident, a misunderstanding, or some unavoidable mistake. There are people who are lying to me with the express purpose of destroying my faith in God.

Rom 1:20 (NIV) For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities--His eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Jesus, help me see that God hasn’t left me without all the necessary evidences. He isn’t going to require that I and the people around me believe that He exists and not make it plain to me. Show me that it is easy to resist the lies of the devil and close the doors if I will allow God to provide me with His proof.

For since the creation of the world: Jesus, help me not be blind to the greatness of God; help me be willing to start looking with openness of heart at God’s creation. Since God expects me to allow it to talk to me and impress me, open my heart to it. Since He wants me to learn to appreciate the beauty, the complexity, the unity, and the brilliance of His work, help me appreciate it. Help me not to just go around taking advantage of it without admiring it. Help me not allow godless and wicked men suppress the truth by their wickedness in my heart and mind. Help me fight and resist their efforts and close the doors to them.

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities--His eternal power and divine nature: Jesus, I didn’t know that I could start looking around at God’s creation and see His eternal power and divine nature. Help me let God speak to me in a powerful way because He made creation beautiful, dynamic, impressive, and revealing. Help me not look at creation through the eyes of godless and wicked men so I won’t be blind to it all. God I ask You to reveal Your eternal power and divine nature to me. Show me Your greatness so it will easier to resist the devil and close the doors to him.

So that men are without excuse: Jesus, teach me that the philosophies, lies, deceptions, and misinformation that are coming my way are designed by people who don’t want to spend time with God. AND, they are committed to not ALLOW me to have a close and intimate relationship with Him either. Help me clearly see their motives so it won’t be hard to resist them. Help me know they will do anything to come up with an excuse for rejecting God. Help me use this knowledge so I won’t have a hard time resisting them.