1 Peter 5:8: “Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
James 4:7-8 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resisi the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands you sinners, and purify your hearts, you men of double mind.”
I was having one of those days. You know what I mean. One of THOSE days! When everything goes wrong. It didn’t matter what I did or how hard I tried to get things back on track, they just didn’t. I tried to maintain a generous attitude, but my patience and generosity became threadbare. It seemed the more I prayed for things to improve, the worse things got. The more I prayed for help, the more I needed help.
Granted, these were minor irritations that happen through the day while running errands, but the number of them were piling on my nerves like the proverbial straws which, we’ve all heard the saying, eventually broke the camel’s back. Well, after several hours of handling one ‘straw’ after another, I was reaching my breaking point.
Understanding the power of words, I am careful what comes out of my mouth. To this point, I had not verbally expressed my frustration, irritation, exasperation, etc., but I could feel the mercury rising in my thermometer.
As I drove to my next errand, I thought about how I might be able to discharge the impending explosion. I know that I am not invisible, not to God and not to the devil. I know the spirit realm enough to know that I don’t want anything I do to give the enemy an open door to my life. I saw these few hours of frustration as a testing ground. How would I fare? On what side would I land? God’s side or the devil’s.
As I pulled out of the store parking lot, and pulled into traffic, I knew I was coming to the moment of decision. If I didn’t take control of my emotions, they would take control of me. Something had to be done. With this little war waging in my mind and my heart, I decided on a course of action. Instead of using expletives or cursing out loud, using foul language or taking the Lord’s name in vain, I took all the energy of the tangle of negative emotions that I could feel rising inside of me, and shouted, “I PRAISE YOU, JESUS!”
I won! I came down on the side of God. I passed the test. The mercury dropped to its resting place. The straws fell to the ground, and I was at peace. The rest of the day was uneventful.
After every Mass in most Catholic churches, the congregants pray the following prayer. It’s also good to pray every day whether you’ve been to Mass or not.
Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humble pray, and do thou oh, prince of the heavenly hosts, cast into hell, Satan and all evil spirits who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
