The Spiritual Battle Part II
In our fight for joy, taking time to talk to God and listen to Him is essential. If we don’t actively listen to God, then what or who are we passively taking in? The mind never stops working. Thoughts are coming into our consciousness constantly. Satan knows this and takes full advantage of a passive mind. The number one reason Christians are ineffective in their lives and do not bear the fruit of joy is because they lack discipline in prayer. Connecting with the Creator is the source of joy for all, because He created joy itself. It’s in the connection with God that we can experience the purest of all joys, everything else is a just a substitute. And who better to shut down the thief of joy than our Father of Joy! Prayer is our ultimate weapon when battling on the Spiritual front. Quite honestly, it’s the best weapon on any front!
In sum, we need God to feed us our thoughts, otherwise the enemy will. We want to keep His Word right at the forefront of our mind and on the tip of our tongues. “Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground . . . take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit” (Ephesians 6: 13, 17-18). If we can speak God’s thoughts out loud and know them in our core, then we can think them on purpose and shield our minds from thoughts that weigh us down and tear us apart. Eventually, when spiritual attack manifests fiercely in your life, you, with Jesus, will be able to command the enemy into submission. In Matthew Chapter 4, this is how Jesus himself shut Satan down when he went into the desert for 40 days. He used scripture to defeat the enemy. “The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” He said in reply, “It is written: ‘One does not live by bread alone,but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’” (Mathew 4: 3-4). We too must follow Jesus’ lead and reclaim our thoughts when the enemy tempts us to bring our thoughts to his dirty level and steal our peace.
Not confident in your knowledge of scripture? That’s OK, we all have to start somewhere. Start reading the gospel of John; this is where my reversion to the Faith started. Or listen to Fr Mike Shmitz’s Bible Study in a Year podcast. But if you are feeling too impatient and need comfort for whatever ails you at the moment, I want to suggest doing a google search of biblical scriptures for. . . whatever ails you at the moment. Literally, you can find scripture to remedy any nasty feeling or evil thought. But if that fails, because you are overcome with sorrow, then you need to bump it up to the Holy Spirit! Let me explain.
During Caiden’s most traumatic hospital stay, when he had COVID last year, I was really angry at God. I mean livid. It felt so unfair that we struggled with Caiden’s overall health daily, and COVID was just the cherry on top of all the suffering we had already endured. At the time, I just wanted to numb myself with Netflix and wine (and I did some 😉). But what really worked, changed my attitude, and gave me hope was when no one was around, I stopped to pray, well, mostly yell at God. Yup, I let Him have it. After I let out all the pain, I asked the Holy Spirit to come. Then I put my anger aside for a minute and I forced myself to listen for His response as the tears streamed down my hot cheeks. God, my dear friend, my loving Father, never left me hanging. His response wasn’t loud or fiery, but quiet and profound. Like an announcement, “here I am, never far, loving you and knowing you.” In the past, I have had some loud, prophetic declarations of love that could only have been of God. This quiet presence doesn’t seem like enough, but in that moment, what lacked volume, supplied power. The calm, loving presence of the Holy Spirit soothed and was just what I needed. Healing.
Of course, if you don’t have a prayer life, it will be hard to recognize the voice or presence of God. You don’t have to spend hours to hear the voice of God. You simply have to make time, habitually, to be in his presence. And where is God? The better question is where is He not? Sit somewhere quiet alone, where you won’t be interrupted. Moms, lock yourself in the bathroom if you have to! Don’t worry God will meet you wherever you are at. Then, bring God—the Father, the Son or the Holy Spirit—into your awareness. Picture one of the persons of God in the room with you, or you are somewhere else together with God, whatever feels right to you. What words do you need to hear from God? Whatever is most edifying, powerful and healing is the voice of God. Some people like to use scripture, or written prayer like the divine office or the Magnificat as a jump-off point, and that is absolutely beautiful, BUT this should not replace the quiet time necessary to hear God speak to YOU. Reading is not praying. If we solely rely on written words to inform our relationship with God, our prayer life can lack a personalization that is essential for a lasting commitment to our walk with God. In silent prayer, there may not be any fireworks at first, but if you keep at it, you will begin to hear deeply personal messages of hope and love, giving you the strength to face the day and its struggles. In time, prayer will become a lifeline and source of real power.
What if I am only imagining God’s voice? I say, great! God can use imagination to bring what is real but unseen into your mind’s eye in a tangible and understandable way. Ignatian prayer is based in the utilization of imagination, using our personal feelings and desires to access God. I personally love listening to Pray As You Go as my diving board into conversation with God. The point is to show up consistently and allow time and space for God to work in your heart, heal and build a lasting solid relationship. When we know we are known and loved by the Father, we can stand firm in this identity and trust we are never alone and always protected, no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in. Once we have this relationship firmly established, then we can begin to take full possession of what we have been promised. “A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly” (John 10: 10.) And what does the enemy love to steal from us most? Our joy! It is only when we recognize through prayer, that we have been chosen by God to pick up our cross, one especially made for each of us, and carry it faithfully toward heaven, we can die to our old selves and be made new—you know, the best version of YOU. St. John Paul II spoke life when he declared “we are a resurrection people and alleluia is our song!” We don’t have to wait for heaven to experience eternal joy, we can have a taste right now! We can pick up the cross, carry it and yes enjoy it. We are not meant to merely survive, we are meant to be fully ALIVE in this life, no matter the sufferings we bear at present. Prayer is how you gain access to that life!
Next time, let’s talk specifics on ways to take back what “the thief”, Satan, has stolen from you. Let’s regain your joy and never let the great deceiver talk you out of it again. Until next time, may the JOY of the Lord give you strength. God bless!