“Watch and Pray”
By Dianne Prince
“Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4-5, NKJV).
In today’s scripture, the enemy struck up a conversation with Eve. Although God told Adam in Genesis 2:17, “You shall surely die if you eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil,” the devil came along in Genesis 3:4 and said to Eve, “The day you [Eve] eat from the tree you will NOT die.” He told her instead of dying, she would become wise like God. Eve believed him and she ate. Then, she convinced her husband to eat also. You know the story. The fruit did not make Eve wise as the devil promised her. Instead, it caused all of mankind to fall into a perpetual state of sin and it brought spiritual and physical death into what was a perfect world.
That one small, three letter word “not” that the enemy added to God’s Word, completely changed the meaning of scripture, and completed altered the course of the history and the destiny of mankind. The devil took God’s Word and manipulated it to accomplish His purpose. His purpose was to trick man into disobeying God.
Today, the devil is still in the business of manipulating the Word of God. He works day-in and day-out to manipulate our minds, our feelings, our outlook, and our understanding in order to accomplish his purpose. What is his purpose? His purpose is twofold: 1) to impact our decisions to the point that we are no longer a positive witness for Christ to those around us and 2) to disrupt the close relationship that we enjoy with God.
Be reminded today that the devil cannot steal your salvation, but He can make your life miserable along the way. He can damage your reputation causing others to fall away. And he can negatively impact the influence you have on those around you. Be mindful that what looks good or what sounds good on the surface may not be good for you. Think twice about anything that tickles your senses. It may be temptation conjured up by the enemy, disguised as being from God. When making business decisions, beware of claims that are too good to be true. When making personal decisions, be cautious before moving forward on the advice you receive from those around you. And always rely on God’s Word and God’s Word alone when deciding which course of action to take.
Today, make sure you watch as well as pray, and be on guard against the enemy’s deception.
