Christian Living

WHEN EVIL CALLS, PRAY

by Charles (Chuck) Robey
06/15/16
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" For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man." (Psalm 5:4-6)

You don't have to have a PhD, from that well known liberal arts college, to see that we are now living in troublesome times (2 Timothy 3:1-8,13). Some of our leaders may try to deny it, but no question we are facing an end time struggle with evil (2 Timothy 4:3-4). Today's twisted evil forces wants all resemblance of good dead. You see evil hates good. Our enemies are the demonic hosts of Satan, always assembled for mortal combat (Ephesians 6:12). And Satan knows his days are numbered. However, he also knows that that he is a creature and therefore not omniscient or infinite. He knows too that God places limitations on him (Job1:12). Thus, the good attribute is that we Christians can resist him (James 4:7). We should always be on guard (1 Peter 5:8), and always take a stand against evil (James 4:7)

It is time, however, for us to say we will not give in to Satan's evil ploys. For we are the people of the living God, and we believe in His promises (Jeremiah 29:11). So, it's time to gear up for the battle, and win the spirit war that is raging against God's people (Ephesians 6:10-11,13-20). God has given us a powerful tool, and that is the privilege of personally talking to him in prayer (Psalm 27:8).

The story is told that two boys were late for school. And as they were walking, they heard the school bell ring in the distance. One boy said, "Let's stop and pray that we won't be late". The other boy responded by saying," Let's run and pray while we run". Yes, as Christians, we have the benefit of prayer, but we also sometimes have to put action with our prayers (Hebrews 11:1,6). Such is the case in combating the evil forces of this world.

Jesus knew exactly what He was doing when He taught us to pray (Matthew 6:9-13). He also knew exactly what He was doing, and that we would be going through this tough end time scenario, when He gave us His proclamation of not to worry in (John 14:1-6). And His peace is just as true today, even though today's problematic environment is almost impossible at times, as it was when given to His disciples (John 14:27).

So, some food for thought. These troublesome times will surely test our endurance, as exampled in these parables (Matthew 13:1-23). The times will try our patience, as well (1 Peter 1:7). And teach us to rely on our Father God (2 Cor 1:8-11).

Sad to say, some of the house hold of faith may not be able to withstand the test of faith.(2 Cor 13:5-7), when it comes to combating evil. Other's may fall by the wayside (Titus 1:16). Then, others may not be able to survive the hardships (Hebrews 6:8). However, God will take care of His own (Matthew 6:31-33). He tells us to come to Him boldly (Hebrews 4:16).

Why may I come to Him boldly, in these troubled times ? For the simply reason, I am a child of my heavenly Father, saved by faith in His free grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). And now I believe in the redemptive work of His crucified Son (John 1:1-12), and am now washed, sanctified, and "justified in Him (1 Cor 7:11).

A word of caution for these hard times. Don't fall in the trap of "Christian self indulgence". It's easy to take on the me, myself and I disease. The prayers that make us happiest aren't , "God , give me what I want" or, "Please make my life, during these hard times better". They are, "Lord, what do you want" ? How may I serve You ? " What do You want me to do for Your kingdom today ?" You see, that's the reason Jesus endured the cross, for our sake (Hebrews 12:2). He knew these days would be here. No matter the circumstances, as we give ourselves to God, He has a way of helping us understand that the story He started long ago in our lives will end well, come what may. And that includes our spiritual battle with today's evils.

There may be hills and valleys before we get to heaven, but get there we will, because His grace holds us up and will never let go. Even if this evil world happened to end tomorrow, the best is yet to come (Psalm 18:28-33, 35-36). You see, I've read the back of the book, and we win.

Yes, God knows our needs and cares deeply about them in today's world. The simple truth, if we will only trust Him, in our prayers and step outside of ourselves (Matthew 4:4), we will be blessed in spite of these evil times (Acts 3:15).

Just remember, we exist for Him and because of Him, as he doesn't exist solely for us. He knew, from the very beginning, this old world would exist as it has. His plans are sure and complete, regardless of Satan's fabricated lies, and false plans.

Author's Post Script
Is America now, or will America experience "National Judgment", in the near future ? God only knows (Romans 2:1-6).

Often times, the purpose of God may include using Satan for beneficial purposes in the life of a Christian (2 Cor 12:7). In other words, God often times has and will use evil people to effect His sovereign will. While we Christians sometimes admit to struggling with this question, the suggestion is that this question falls into two categories: 1) God does it to judge a people or nation (Daniel 2:21) and/or 2) God does it to bring about an even greater good (Romans 8:28). However, God does in fact give His people what they want at times though it may not be best for them. He gives them over to their evil minds (Romans 1:24-32).

The 2012 election in the United States was certainly one of the most aggressive and closest races in history. When the dust finally settled, the popular vote was split nearly evenly between the two candidates. Many of the “religious right” seemed rather shocked and upset that their conservative candidate didn’t win. How could this be? Surely God wanted their candidate to win, and surely there were far more prayers being offered up on the conservative side than the liberal side. Yet none of this seemed to matter.

That brings me to ask, should we Christians forgo voting in favor of prayer ? Since God will divinely appoint the leader he desires anyway, is voting futile ? Should we just stand by for God to rise up a worthy leader ?

I disagree, in part, as often times God may give us a choice, of voting for the lesser of the two evils. You see, in this last election, the majority of the religious-right voted for the more religiously conservative candidate, but God appointed the opposing candidate. This suggests that God’s will was actually for the other candidate to win, and the religious-right didn’t understand God’s will at all. Was this God's judgment on America ? Was this why we are now experiencing evil? You see, the Bible not only teaches that God appoints our leaders, it also says he controls their behavior (Proverbs 21:1) (Exodus 9:12).

So,how much of a role does God play in appointing our leaders. Luckily for us, the Bible answers this question! (Romans 13:1) (John 19:11) (Proverbs 8:15) (Daniel 2:21) (Acts 13:22) ((Psalm 75:6-7) (Daniel 4:17) (Proverbs 21:1) (Exodus 9:12)

Email Recipient Comments
I have thought about the issue of voting, as a Christian, for the lesser of two evils, as it were. In consulting God's word, it came to me that Jesus said we are to render to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's (Matthew 22:21, Mark 12:17, Luke 20:25). I think that voting (doing our civic duty) is one thing that we "owe to Caesar" as Christians and citizens. Therefore it is incumbent upon us to vote whenever the opportunity arises, no matter how distasteful the choices may be.
I just keep thinking if Jesus comes back this fall, before the election, we won't have to worry about who to vote for.
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Amen Bro, keep preaching it !
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A verry good article.