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| Q: | I was casually discussing prayer with prospective members who have an extensive knowledge of Scripture. I'm afraid they are confusing ideas learned from other religions or books they have read and using it as fact. I would like to broaden my knowledge so I am prepared for our next discussion. After asking around, these beliefs are fairly common in this area. Could you please answer the following: 1. When praying out loud or "in your mind" to God, can Satan or his demons hear or know our prayer and use it against us? 2. Have you heard people claim that when they pray alone and out loud, they pray to God in tongue--just so God will know what they mean and the devil won't? Is this a common misinterpretation of a verse in the Bible? 3. Is there any merit to the belief that a demon can be around you and you can "feel" it's prescense or see it, and . . . ? 4. . . . in order to get rid of it you must pray OUT LOUD that you rebuke it? 5. Could you suggest any books that discuss popular facts and common myths concerning prayer ? | ||||||
| A: | Satan and his demons can observe what a person does or says, and he understands sinful human nature, but he is not ommiscient. If there is nothing evil in our prayers, there is nothing there for Satan to use against us. Satan is probably a lot more interested in observing our sins and weaknesses which he can use against us than in trying to figure out what our prayers mean. There is nothing in our prayers that we need to keep secret. In discussing our protection against Satan the Bible does not speak of finding the right formula or method of prayer or our own actions. It emphasizes the protection of God's angels who oppose Satan and the use of the Word of God which strengthens us. It is foolish to think that we have the ability in ourselves to outwit Satan or speak a language he won't understand. Our confidence should not come from our own actions but from using the Word to resist Satan and trusting in God's protection. The way to oppose Satan is described in Ephesians 6. | ||||||
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