Jesus, Satan isn’t going to come to me looking like the devil. Help me understand that You didn’t just automatically fight back because You could SEE that You were dealing with the devil. Show me that I couldn’t do a better job of responding if I always knew whether or not it was the devil talking to me. Teach me that spiritual warfare isn’t just dealing with WHO is saying something. It is also dealing with WHAT is being said. Help me accept the fact that even if some one like Paul or an ANGEL from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one You caused to be written in the Bible and was preached to me, let him be eternally condemned (Gal 1:8)!

Jesus, Galatians 1:8 is a very clear statement; teach me that it doesn’t matter WHO I think is talking to me. I am responsible for WHAT they are saying to me; I must either know or find out whether or not WHAT is being said to me is Biblical. If I start trying to take shortcuts on this and start believing everything CERTAIN people say, I set myself up for failure.

Jesus, when Peter took You aside and began to rebuke You and said, “Never, Lord! This shall never happen to You!” You turned and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men (Mat 16:22-23).” Help me be stable in the Bible when my friends tell me that things aren’t my fault; but, You are telling me, through the Bible, that they are. Keep me locked into Your Word when my friends accuse me of things that You are saying aren’t true of me. Even when my spiritual leaders get off sometimes, help me go with the Bible rather than what they think.

Jesus, help recognize such men who are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. Teach me that it is no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. Help it not be surprising to me, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Keep me aware that their end will be what their actions deserve (2 Cor 11:13-15). Help me have a close and intimate relationship with You and Your Word. I believe that You won’t allow me to get off track for as long as I DON’T WANT TO get off track. Help me always desire to stay on track with You.

Jesus, as I have always obeyed--not only in the presence of my spiritual leaders, but now much more in their absence-- help me to continue to work out my salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12). Help me realize that only embracing Your truth is vital to my eternal relationship with You. I accept that this is not a game; it is eternally important.

If the Bible doesn’t agree with something someone is saying, help me always know that it is wrong no matter WHO said it. If it isn’t Biblical and I believe it, my entire armor and especially my shield of faith and sword of the Spirit are going to suffer. They will suffer if I don’t constantly search the Scriptures to see whether or not the things I hear and read are true. I don’t get exempt from this and my favorite ministers don’t get exempt from this either.

Jesus, when again, the devil took You to a very high mountain and showed You all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. And said, “All this I will give You, if You will bow down and worship me.” You said to him, “Away from Me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” Help me yield to Your skills, training, and power to handle Satan in the same way.

Teach me that my God will meet ALL my needs according to His glorious riches in You (Phil 4:19). Always bring me back to the issue of source. Help me not only like God as my only source, help me love Him as my only source. Help me love the fact that He requires sacrifice, service, love to others, godliness and holiness, obedience to His plan, and things like that. Help me love going Your way, even though everything will always have to be in Your timing. Help me love going Your way, even though I may want things now. Help me love going Your way, even though You may say “no” to some of the things I know I can get with money. Help me love going Your way, even though You may have plans for me that I don’t like. So, went Satan offers me a “better” way, a shortcut to getting my needs met, I won’t bow down and worship him.

Jesus, help me realize that Satan didn’t just offer this to You. He is saying to me, If You will bow down and worship me. It sounds like something I would never do. I seems like I would have to become a Satan worshipper and join the satanic church. But, help me realize that, that isn’t the only way for me to bow down and worship Satan. Teach me that no one can serve two masters. Either I will HATE the one and LOVE the other, or I will be DEVOTED to the one and DESPISE the other. I cannot serve both God and Money (Mat 6:24). What is my faith in; what do I trust to protect me and meet my needs; where do I spend most of my time; is it with You or is it with the world and the obtaining of money? Help me realize that it is that simple.

Show me where my shield of faith is. Is it in the Word; is it looking to the existence of God and to His rewards that come through earnest seeking; or, is it laying on the ground while I look for a “better” source? Help me realize, once again, if I get my job, choose my career, plan my day, or decide how I am going to get my needs met without talking to You, I will end up being a slave in a rat-race that dominates most of the hours in every day of my life. Help me allow You to teach me how to get the money I need to live the life You have picked for me.

Jesus, You said to him, “Away from Me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” Teach me that this time it is block/strike/strike system. When You said, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only” these words had already immediately come into Your mind for the shield of faith. Give me powerful Scriptures like this that block or shield off all possibility for me worshiping Satan. Then help me do like You did and strike Satan with the same Scripture with my sword of the Spirit as I used in my shield of faith. Just before You struck Satan with the sword, He You struck him with a Scriptural principle that You have already helped me look at. Teach me and give me the power to say, “Away from Me, Satan!”

Jesus, I am instructed by You through Your Word to submit myself, then, to God. Then I am to resist the devil, and he will flee from me (James 4:7). Teach me that this isn’t a Scriptural quotation; this is Scriptural application. Teach me that both the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit can and must use Scriptural application along with Scriptural quotation. Show me that Scriptural application is doing or obeying what a Scripture tells me to do. James 4:7 tells me what to do. I can tell people about it, teach it, preach it, explain it, and study it; but, ultimately I am going to have to obey it.

Jesus, just like the Scripture You were going to use first popped into Your head to block the attack, help that start happening to me. Then, just like You struck with Your sword by simply saying: “Away from Me, Satan.” help me apply the Biblical principle of resisting the devil like I am instructed in James 4:7. Teach me that, “Away from me, Satan!” is the James 4:7 sword of the Spirit Scriptural resistance strike. Then teach me that, “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” is the sword of the Spirit Scripture strike. This how You and I will be resisting the devil. That is a strike from the sword of the Spirit. Then, just like You used the same Scripture that You used to protect Your mind and heart, teach me and empower me to cooperate with You in doing the same thing in and through me.

Let these three skillful exercises of Yours in spiritual warfare have unlimited amounts of dynamic power and success in and through me. Since Your warfare skills are awesome to behold, help me yield to You so You can do the same work in and through me. They relate to me in the fact that You and the Holy Spirit are making yourselves available to me. You aren’t expecting me to ever be this good. You are offering to work through me as I allow You to fight these battles in complete collaboration and cooperation.