Can The Devil Answer Prayer?

This seems like a rhetorical question, but I believe it’s one worth exploring. First of all, I do not believe the devil can even hear our prayers to God. Why? There are no scriptures I have found that would support this type of belief.

Some that espouse that the devil can answer prayer has as their premise those who are operating in disobedience; meaning that if someone is petitioning the Lord, and is in sin, the Lord will not hear them so the devil intercepts the request and provides an answer to their prayer. The person then believes the answer came from God when in actuality, it’s a counterfeit. This is a weak supposition of  Satan’s ability at the least, and heretical interpretation of scripture at the most.

There are those that are given the devil too much credit and power.

It is this writer’s one hundred percent persuasion that the devil can not answer prayer, because he is not in the “blessing business”, but in the “killing business”!

Scripture clearly bears this out.

                                        

                                                What is the devil’s Modus Operandi

The devil is a liar – Then the serpent (i.e. the devil) said, “You shall not surely die. For God knows in the day that you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:4).”

This was clearly a lie. God specifically commanded Adam not to eat from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil, yet the devil said to Eve that she wouldn’t die (Genesis 2:17).

Jesus said regarding the devil when speaking to the religious leaders, “You are of your father the devil, and the lust (desires) of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44).

The devil is the tempter -  Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-10; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13)

We read in I Chronicles 21:1 that “Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel.” Unfortunately, Satan prevailed against David in getting him to commit sin; David relished in the size of army instead in the power of God who provided the army. The result of David’s sin, seventy thousand Israelites were killed by an angel of the Lord (I Chronicles 21:14).

The devil is a devourer – “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (I Peter 5:8). 

Part of the devil’s plan is to rip God’s people to shreds; to kill, steal and destroy them (John 10:10).

The devil is a sinner – We generally do not regard our enemy as a sinner, but he is the first and chief sinner of all creation. Remember, a sinner is anyone that breaks God’s law which the devil was the first creature to ever to do so.  This is proven in scripture:

11 Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 12 Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13 Thou wast in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, the topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was in thee; in the day that thou wast created they were prepared. 14 Thou wast the anointed cherub that covereth: and I set thee, so that thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till unrighteousness was found in thee. 16 By the abundance of thy traffic they filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore have I cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God; and I have destroyed thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17 Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I have cast thee to the ground; I have laid thee before kings, that they may behold thee. 18 By the multitude of thine iniquities, in the unrighteousness of thy traffic, thou hast profaned thy sanctuaries; therefore have I brought forth a fire from the midst of thee; it hath devoured thee, and I have turned thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. 19 All they that know thee among the peoples shall be astonished at thee: thou art become a terror, and thou shalt nevermore have any being.

Ezek 28:11-19 (ASV)

Here we get a glorious description of the devil prior to his fall. Because of sin he was cast out of heaven down to the earth. The reason for this fall is sin. Some believe this event took place prior to the creation of man.

In I  John 3:8 we read this: “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning (emphasis added). For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil.

                                         

                                      

                                                                    Conclusion

As the aforementioned accounts prove, the devil does/can not answer prayer. Even if it is some type of material benefit that appears to be a blessing, see if it comes with repercussions. What do I mean by that? Scripture tells us the blessing of the Lord makes rich and adds no sorrow with it (Proverbs 10:22).  If one is acquiring things by ill gotten gain, you will experience sorrow eventually, and rightfully so, because you sinned to get something you had no right to.

Imagine the tragedy of those in the body of Christ who live sinful lives and still receive what they perceive as blessings  from the Lord. They will  have no desire to live holy because good would come by being evil. Those type of acquisitions do not come from the devil; it’s a result of their own lustful desires at which point God can allow Satan to exploit them like he did with Judas Iscariot. This was a case where the devil was successful; he caused Judas to commit suicide; in essence the devil killed Judas which I mentioned earlier is part of his evil nature (Matthew 27:5;Luke 22:3).

As John 10:10 says, the thief only comes but to kill, steal and destroy. For that’s all he can do. Jesus came to provide the abundant life of blessing.

If God does not answer the prayers of the disobedient Christian, certainly the devil is not granted the power to circumvent God’s prevention and provide a “blessing” against God’s will. The devil is only interested in stacking up bodies in his killing fields. God is the only one who stacks up benefits for His people in His fields of blessing.

What about Horoscopes - Are they harmful?

The New Oxford American Dictionary defines horoscopes as: a forecast of a person’s future, typically including a delineation of character and circumstances based on the relative positions of the stars and planets at the time of that person’s birth.

A short forecast for people born under a particular sign as published in a newspaper or magazine.

Horoscope is a compound word. It comes from the Greek hōroskopos, from hōra which means time, and skopos which means observer. So it’s one that studies and gazes at the stars or an observer of times.

Generally people will pickup the morning paper and read what their “horoscope” says under their astrological sign to get some idea of how their day will go and what they believe is their future. Something as “innocent” as a horoscope reading is a clear violation of the word of God. Why?

It places faith in man’s corrupt wisdom instead of God’s infinite wisdom. It’s also divination; one is trying to determine the future based on the stars and planets position in the heavens. God has declared all of human history from beginning to end (Read the book of Revelation entirely).

Psalm 119:105 – Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.

James 1:5 – If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God (emphasis added).

These two passages alone let us know that God is the object of all wisdom, and His word provides the direction for wisdom.

All accurate future and man’s destiny is contained within the pages of scripture. Consulting another source, whether it’s a psychic, a witch, a wizard, tarot card readers, or some modern day wanna-be prophet to divine one’s future is dangerous and MUST be avoided by all especially Christians at all costs (Leviticus 19:26,31; Deuteronomy 18:10-14; I Samuel 28:7-19).

Astrology does not have influence on anyone’s life in that the alignment of the stars and planets will affect your life and destiny.

God created the stars for times and seasons (Genesis 1:14) not to be worshipped or determines one life today or for the future. These practices are demonic and are forbidden by the word of God. They’re practiced by those involved in the occult.

We’re to give glory to the one who created the heavenly bodies, not the bodies themselves (Psalm 8:3; Colossians 1:15-17; Revelation 4:11).

You can not drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you can not partake of the Lord’s table and the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to anger? Are we stronger than He?

                                                                                                                           ˗ I Corinthians 10:21-22

Where will you spend eternity?

Be honest with yourself my friend, do you ever wonder where you’ll end up when you die? If you haven’t thought about it, you should RIGHT NOW!! The bible tells us in Hebrews 9:27, “It is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgment”. I know I’m not the first person that has preached the word of God to you; so what that means is God is trying to arrest your attention. If you’re not listening to his voice, you need to begin listening today!

Perhaps you’re the type of person that believes you’re  “good” in your owns eyes and you don’t need God. None of us are good (Psalm 14; Psalm 53). According to the bible it says, “he that trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he that walks wisely will be delivered”, Proverbs 28:26. Every word of God is true.

Another passage in the bible says this, “now or today is the day of salvation”. Another verse says, “if you hear the Lord’s voice, do not harden your heart” (2 Corinthians 6:2; Hebrews 3:15).

You DO NOT have all the time in the world you think you have. Every time God’s word is rejected, you harden your heart against his grace and mercy; your chances for salvation in Jesus Christ grow slimmer everyday. Are you willing to take the chance and presume on God’s grace and say, I’ve got plenty of time for God and Jesus, I’ll get saved later!”  

Your later may be today, and right now! This could be your last night on earth!

The life you’re living now may be great for you, but I absolutely guarantee you, it will come to an end.

Where will you spend eternity? Jesus is coming back!

Have you seriously thought about that?

If you haven’t done so, repent of your sins today, and receive Jesus Christ today as your personal Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10). What in the world are you waiting for! If you don’t, you’ll spend an eternity in the Lake of Fire (i.e. Hell fire). That’s forever and ever!

Sin is a spiritual disease of the soul, and the only cure is confession of your sins and asking God the Father to forgive you of your sins through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  When we commit sin, we transgress God’s law.

You may be asking, what laws have I broken? We’ve all broken the ten commandments (Exodus 20). Have you ever told a lie, stolen, hated anyone (murder at heart), lusted after someone (adultery at heart), taken the Lord’s name in vain? The obvious answer to these questions is YES! So, by your own admission, you’re a lying, thieving, murderous, adulterous, blasphemer!  How do you look in God’s eyes now? If you’re honest, you should feel ashamed.

We know that all lawbreakers should be punished wouldn’t you agree? No earthly judge in his/her right mind would exonerate a convicted pedophile, rapist, or murderer would they? We all know they deserve to imprisoned or executed. We as humans all deserve damnation for the crimes we’ve committed against a Holy God. And because God is a just and perfect judge, he must punish sin!

The wonderful news is Jesus has provided eternal salvation to all those that believe in his accomplished work on the cross. Your sins through Christ will be cleansed forever and never counted against you again. Jesus took the punishment we deserved and bore our sins himself (Isaiah 53:4-5; I Peter 2:24-25). This act satisfied God the Father’s wrath against sin. There was a great exchange! God took our sins and nailed it to the cross, and in exchange He granted us his righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).That is why we must believe on what he did or else we’re lost. Please keep in mind, your sins are only forgiven if you confess them to God! Jesus death on the cross and shed blood for sins only applies to those who believe!

Hopefully God the Father is drawing you to the Son through this note (John 6:44).

Ask the Lord to forgive you of your sins and believe on the blood sacrifice of Jesus on the cross! He is the only way to salvation friend (John 14:6). There is no other person that can save you (Acts 4:12).

Salvation is the greatest gift of all time. Nothing can exceed it (Ephesians 2:8,9)!

Where will you spend eternity? Jesus is coming back again (Revelation 19:6-11).

The Book Of Hebrews – Part 1

Chapter 1 – The writer declares Jesus greater than the angels (vs. 4). I n fact, He created them (vs.2). The Father declares Jesus the Son of God God himself affirming his deity (vs. 8-12). Verses are a direct quotation from Psalm 45:6,7.

The writer is clearly making the distinction between Jesus and the angels Vs. 13 is another O.T. reference to the Messiah (See Psalm 110:1).

Chapter 2 – The writer urges us to take heed to the things we’ve heard (the gospel) so that we do not drift away from them. If the O.T. children of Israel were punished for disobeying their gospel, how much more will we suffer if we disobey a greater gospel? (vs. 1-3)

Jesus was made (humanly) a little lower than the angels so that he could die for his people (Matthew 1:21) – (vs.9).

Jesus had to become flesh and blood like us – the seed of Abraham in order to die and destroy him who has the power of the death, the devil (vs. 14).

When He did this we were made free forever. Jesus incarnation displays his love in that he fully identified with us in humanity and weaknesses.

Chapter 3 – Jesus, greater than Moses

There is a comparison going on, the children of Israel who did not heed God’s word in Moses’ day died in unbelief in the wilderness. They did not enter into God’s rest; the promised land of Caanan. The writer quotes Psalm 95:7-11 twice in the chapter (vs. 7-10, 15).

The only one’s that will enter God’s rest are those that will remain faithful. True believer’s will do this. Vs. 12-14 are an admonition to believe the gospel so that sin does not get a hold of you to the degree that you’re blind to the truth.

Chapter 4 – Writer begins again stressing the importance of heeding the gospel so that we can enter into “THE REST OF GOD” (Vs. 4). Writer reiterates those in the O.T. did not enter the land of promise due to disobedience/unbelief (Vs. 3,7).

Verse 8 deals with only an earthly rest through Joshua – the promised land of Caanan, but it’s not the final rest that comes in accepting the gospel and having eternal rest.

God’s word is a double edged sword. It’s cuts into the inner man, to his thoughts and his heart. Our lives are never concealed from God’s holy word (vs. 13-14).

Jesus feels all that we do and are. He’s a loving, caring savior who always identifies with our weaknesses because he was tempted in everyway – not with every temptation without sin or even the capacity to sin (vs. 15).

Let us go to the Lord to find help when we need it (vs. 16).