When in Doubt - Pray it Out

One of the biggest stumbling blocks that hindered my knowing Christ as my Lord and Savior was doubt. I grew up hearing the Gospel, I knew who Christ was, seeds were planted in me through VBS and church. However, there was always a doubt that Christ was who He claimed to be. This doubt was the result of Jehovah Witnesses teachings that had crept into my family through my paternal grandmother. Though my parents had persistently guarded their children against these teachings, this false doctrine still found a way into my mind. My grandmother gave me a Jehovah's Witnesses Bible, which is DIFFERENT than all other Bibles, and other J.W. reading materials when we'd visit during the summers or holidays. I was a child so I had no idea that these teachings weren't true. By the Way, J.W. do not believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God who died for us and rose on the third day. They do not believe in the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, nor Christ as God's one and only Son. They believe that only 144,000 people will be saved and that they have to earn their salvation. There are other beliefs that they adhere to but suffice it to say, the foundations of their faith are based on false doctrine.

"Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sistersall over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.

10 In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. 11 All power to him forever! Amen.

12 I have written and sent this short letter to you with the help of Silas, whom I commend to you as a faithful brother. My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you that what you are experiencing is truly part of God’s grace for you. Stand firm in this grace.
13 Your sister church here in Babylon sends you greetings, and so does my son Mark. 14 Greet each other with Christian love.

Peace be with all of you who are in Christ. " 1 Peter 5:8-14

Two of our enemy's greatest weapons are lies and doubt. These are the tools he uses to derail our faith and make us ineffective in our service to Christ. Because he can not tear us away from Christ, he does all that he can to render us useless in the kingdom. He feeds us lies, lies that lead us to doubt Christ, our salvation, our identity in Christ, and our ability to serve Christ. He tells us we are not good enough, smart enough, or worthy enough. Our enemy likes to throw our past into our faces - reminding us of our sins and accusing us of forgiven wrongs. He loves to remind us of our shortcomings, our inabilities, our limitations, and our faults. He loves to kick us when we're down. He bathes in our insecurities, our self-pity, our self-doubts. He gloats at our failures and celebrates when we fall short in our spiritual walk. He is our accuser.

Our enemy knows no bounds when it comes to his shenanigans. He doesn't play by the rules. He isn't fair. He is immoral. He will stoop to the lowest levels. He will even use the ridiculous. A dear friend of mine just started in the ministry. From the moment she accepted, she said the spiritual heat has been turned up on her. She had been under attack. The enemy has been feeding her lies about her abilities to serve in this capacity. These lies in turn lead her to doubt the clear calling God gave her. One of the enemy's lies even went so far as to say she couldn't serve in this particular ministry because she couldn't dance. What??? Our enemy is sneaky. He is diabolical. He is evil!

Our enemy likes to expose and attack our weaknesses. He is an expert hunter, poking and prodding until he finds our weakest link. Then exploiting it to hinder us from being who we are called to be in Jesus Christ! The enemy, Satan, prowls about looking for those to devour. Like a lion who hunts the young, inexperienced, weak, old, or afflicted, our enemy attacks us when and where we are weakest. His mouth filled with sharp lies - lies we cling to, feed ourselves, or allow others to feed us. He attacks like a lion, fixing his lying mouth around our jungular, using the claws of doubt to capture and weaken his pray, us. But we are not his helpless victims!

God has given us spiritual weapons to defeat our foe. In fact, the victory has already been won! We just need to claim that victory in the Name of Jesus Christ - putting on the full armor of God!

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." Ephesians 6:10-18

Christ knows what we are up against. The enemy even tried to tempt Jesus with his lies and decption. (Matthew 4:1-17 The Temptation of Jesus) However, Jesus was armed and ready. Satan tempted Jesus three times and each time, Jesus repelled his enemy with scripture.

Prayerfully read Ephesians 6:10-18 again. Ask God to help you be alert and ready at all times.
We can defeat our enemy by being spiritually fit - daily prayer, reading the Bible, committing scripture to memory, meditating on Scripture... You can turn away lies and doubt by knowing, believing, and reciting God's truth - as many times as necessary until doubt flees from you. Don't dwell on the lies and the doubts. Pray and release it to God. One friend wrote all of the lies down and then prayed about each one, writing LIE over them one by one as she prayed. I once wrote the lies down and burned them in my fireplace as I prayed for God's victory over them. Share your struggle over doubt with other believers who can encourage, pray for, and help strengthen you. Trust God to help you overcome any lies or doubts you have about your faith, your identity in Christ, or your ability to serve him.

So...when in doubt...pray it out!

In His Love, Cathy