Pray Against Satan's Work
It doesn’t take much to see the darkness of the times; but it’s harder to see who is behind it. Is God judging the world and bringing his purposes about? Is Satan running more freely than normal? Is it both? Without a window into heaven, it’s hard to know.
The Bible does give us a small window. Sometimes God rains down righteous judgement himself (Gen 19:24-25). Sometimes Satan gets permission to torment God’s people (Job 1). Sometimes we see both sides of the coin (2 Sam 24:1, 1 Chron 21:1). Always God reigns sovereign, working ultimate good for his people, even through their suffering. Always Satan seeks to harm and tempt anyone he can.
Where does that leave us with the darkness we’re walking through today? Surely Satan is behind much of it. The way this disease has threatened the eldest and weakest, impoverished those already poor, gagged the church’s worship, foddered division and unrest, isolated those already lonely, empowered oppressive foreign governments, and emboldened the proud–the crime scene has serpentine fingerprints all over it. If the hour seems dark, it’s because the prince of darkness is at work.
What’s his endgame? Because he hates the Lord, he hates every human who bears his image. But he especially hates the poor, the weak, and the church. He loves to destroy those he hates and trick them into working more destruction on themselves and others. That’s why the hour carries as many lies as it does deaths.
And he isn’t just working in them; he’s working on us. If you’re more tempted these days to trade glory for sin, to trade courage for fear, to trade peace for a fight, it’s not just a coincidence. How gleeful he would be to see church after church turn into a scared, quarreling, wicked mess.
All this, and the sovereign Lord can pull Satan’s leash whenever he wants to. Not only that, he promises victory for his people (Rom 8:37), who will conquer Satan by holding fast to Jesus even through the worst (Rev 12:11). The battle is ugly, but it’s already won. Until then, our Lord gives us instruction on how to resist him.
First, pray against Satan’s work and for God’s work. Ask God to open the eyes of those Satan has blinded from the truth (2 Cor 4:4) and give them joy in the Gospel. Ask him to keep Satan from hindering ministry (1 Thess 2:18) and to pour out the Holy Spirit (Acts 2). Pray for those Satan is enticing to do his work, even within God’s people (Acts 5:3, John 13:2). Pray against persecution (Rev 2:10). Pray for those he has inflicted with sickness (Acts 10:38, Matthew 8:16, et. al.). Pray that believers would endure (Luke 22:31-32). And pray for unity (John 17:15, 20-21, 2 Cor 2:10-11). We have access to the one who grips Satan’s leash in his hand. Woe to us if we don’t ask the Lord for help!
Second, watch for fear and temptation (1 Pet 5:8). Remember to watch on every side. If you aren’t afraid of the virus itself, watch for fear of government overreach or church decline. If you aren’t tempted by dessert, watch for alcohol or materialism. It’s easy to resist him from one side and forget that he prowls all around us.
Third, whether you see his prowling or not, resist him (1 Pet 5:9). To do this, you’ll need the full armor of God (Eph 6:10-20). This comes down to opening your hands toward the Lord constantly and shoving your palm in Satan’s face always. Don’t entertain sin or fear; but love God and love your neighbor.
Satan is more fearsome than you can give him credit for, and he seems to be putting in extra hours against us. Whether that continues or fades, he has already been overcome. And we will overcome him to as we cling to Jesus through prayer and holiness.