1-800-NOT-HOPE

We have been drafted into a spiritual battle because we know the Lord.  Even those who do not know Him are in the battle, as well, only they have been captured and are operating under the enemy's
authority. 1st Peter 5 states:
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

We have been given access to the power of the God of the universe, maker of heaven and earth.  He is full of might and majesty, and we can skillfully use His power when we face spiritual attacks.  We do this by prayer, and we do this by resistance.  We know that the enemy is bent on destruction, and we can cling to the words of life that our Savior brings.  He will fill us with His strength as we call upon His name, the name that is above every name.

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If we want to experience a full and satisfying life on this earth and life with God in eternity, there is one way to do that.  If we want to know lasting hope and confidence in our prayers to be heard and
answered, we can come to God through Jesus Christ. John 6 says:
67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"
68 But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
69 Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

In Washington state, a man who is apparently an atheist wanted to see what would happen if he set up a prayer line - to Satan.  On The Christian Post website, you find this account:

In an episode of NPR's "This American Life" radio program, host Ira Glass recounted the activity of The Satanic Missionary Society, where, like Christian prayer hotlines, callers can phone in and leave voicemail messages requesting prayer.

The satanic prayer hotline, hosted on a blog, was launched by a man in Olympia, Washington, named Chris Allert, who doesn't believe in God or Satan. Annoyed by Christians who wouldn't stop evangelizing, he began the prayer line out of curiosity to see who would call. He soon found out people were taking prayers to Satan really seriously and wasn't sure what to do with that, Glass explained.

So, according to the story, once the prayer line was established, voicemails began arriving: someone prayed for a club to have a hex placed on it because of loud music; another wanted his first job, still someone else wanted the person who stole from him to be punished.

And, a young lady who was pregnant allegedly was calling on the devil to take the life of her baby.

Some callers viewed the prayer line as a joke; others called in while drunk.

It's certainly a perversion of the real intent of prayer as established by God.  A local prayer ministry leader, Patrick Walton, according to the story, "is not moved by the satanic prayer hotline, and says the best thing to do is to stay tuned into God, not getting bogged down in fighting the devil."

Walton says his ministry is focused on Biblical prayers; he says: "Our simple answer would be, we pray prayers from the Bible, what we call (and many others) apostolic prayers, or prayers that the apostles prayed. We also pray prayers from the Old Testament as well..."  He says, "We try and pray from the Bible, maintain a culture of devotion to Jesus and the whole of the Bible, and we ask, as Jude did, that the Lord would rebuke Satan..."

I think it's important that we do recognize that we are fighting a spiritual battle - there is a real enemy, but we acknowledge that God is greater.  We must be consumed with Christ and not overly focused on fighting the devil, but we do recognize that God has given us to the tools to do so.

We must be careful not to get so caught up in what the enemy is doing that we miss what God is doing or wants to do.  We can keep focused on God's power and preeminence. That is not to minimize the work of the enemy, and we can be diligent to fight him Biblically.

Regarding this joke of a hotline, we acknowledge that people are in need of answers, they want hope, and the enemy cannot give that to them.  The founder of the hotline was not sure what to do with those requests; fortunately, the believer in Christ can be certain of how to respond.  The world cannot provide the proper answers, either - if we're looking to the world for answers, we are searching the wrong place.

If you desire peace with God, you can go to our website at FaithRadio.org and scroll to the bottom of the home page - there is a link through which you can learn about a relationship with Jesus Christ; click on the words, "Find Peace."  You can also call 1-888-NEED-HIM.  And, if you need prayer, you can call us at 1-800-239-8900 and you can share your prayer request, to be prayed for by our ministry staff.  You can also submit a request through our website.