Submit to God.
Resist the devil and he will flee from you

James 4:7

Every follower of Christ has a spiritual enemy. Any believer who does not know or believe this is in serious trouble, because their ability to identify the enemy’s work in their lives and resist it will be nonexistent. The enemy (Satan) wants to destroy the lives of believers. Today the Christian family is a favorite target because God has joined together a man and a woman in Holy Matrimony in order to glorify Himself.

In John 10:10 we read, the enemy comes “to steal, and to kill, and to destroy”. He is the author of lies. “He is a liar and the father of lies” John 8:44. By enticing a Christian to believe his lies, he can steal their joy, kill their love, and destroy their relationships.

The enemy will speak thoughts into your mind that contradict the Word of God, that play on your insecurities and doubts, and cause miscommunication between a husband and wife; between children and their parents and between sibling. The enemy specializes in putting suspicious and critical thoughts into your mind and trying to make you think that his lies are true and that God’s truth is a lie.

When something happens between you and a family member to undermine or threaten your marriage, or your family, ask God to help you discern how much is due to works of the flesh and how much is the plan of the enemy in operation. Then take steps to resist both.

Fill your mind and soul with God’s Word

Pray often that you, your husband and members of your family will have the ability to recognize the enemy’s lies. In order to do that, you must have a clear knowledge of God’s truth. So fill your mind and soul with His Word. Ask Him to show you clearly what is true and what is not. Keep praying and God will reveal this to you. Resist the enemy by choosing to live in obedience to God’s ways and by praising God for who He is. The enemy hates that and has to flee from you.

Ask the Lord to help you discern the lies of the enemy—especially when there is strife or tension in your family.

Strife is a spirit!

Ask the Lord to open your eyes to recognize any spirit of division or confusion as the enemy’s plan to divert us away from the plans of God. Purposefully submit your life to Christ. Surrender to Him in every way and choose to live according to God’s Word. Learn to submit to Him by reading and speaking His Word so that it is implanted in your hearts and becomes part of your lives as you live in obedience to it. Ask God to enable you to submit to Christ in prayer, in praise, in worship, and in gratitude.

I pray whenever you and a family member have a disagreement that turns to strife, or have unholy attitudes, suspicions, and criticisms that destroy your unity, you will stop and say, “Enough! In Jesus name, spirit of strife be gone.”

If you refuse to allow any spirit other than the Holy Spirit to have a place of influence in your lives, The Peace of God will prevail

Thank the Lord, who has given us victory over all the plans of the enemy.

Thank the Lord that the enemy is a defeated foe and has to flee from our lives when we expose his plans to the light.

Thank the Lord that the Holy Spirit will give us both wisdom to identify the enemy’s work in our lives and the power to resist him.

Adapted from: The Power of a Praying Wife Devotion © 2011 by Stormie Omartian.