Does Satan attack us when we pray for others?

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Harmony1988

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Lately it appears that the more I have prayed for others the more I seem to be under temptation, since my greatest battle upto date and still is with sexual temptation, that’s what the temptations are.

Before I go to sleep, randomnly during the day, at church, when i wake up, now this isn’t like everyday temptations that we all encounter, these are much stronger than normal for me when I’m praying for others, particularly my grandad who also suffers from the same thing. It’s accompanied with feelings of hopelessness and suicidal thoughts, thoughts also that the Lord will not hear me, also thoughts that the Lord will not answer my prayers. Just today when I was at church right at the back, some lady came and stood next to me, and kept looking at me constantly, I thought she was possessed, she kept looking left, forward, left, forward. And my friend who is shacking up with her boyfriend also seems to have developed a keen interest in me, looking for me on the trains, and etc, a very bad combination of things I have to overcome at the moment. 😦

It’s getting increasingly difficult. So back to the main question, is satan’s attack intensified? If so, why does God allow that, surely we can’t be praying for others intensely and then falling the next minute, what use would that be? :confused:
 
It is. That is why it is good to
  1. Say some protection prayers, ask Mother Mary to protect you and you can also pray with Psalm 91
 
It is. That is why it is good to
  1. Say some protection prayers, ask Mother Mary to protect you, pray for the precious Blood of Jesus to cover you and your dear ones to protect you, and you can also pray with Psalm 91
  2. Satan wants to discourage you from praying for those, so do not give up but carry on. Remember, temptation is not a sin, it is indulging in temptetion which is a sin. So if you get such thoughts you can joke to yourself - ‘you see God, I get those stupid thoughts again, but back to You’
 
Getting at the cause or the why of certain temptations we may exerience can be difficult. It is always productive and positive whether we know the cause of temptation or not, to deal with that temptation and move on…sometimes we can worry ourselves far too much expending much energy over the actual cause of temptation rather than simply and prayerfully overcoming it as best one can and moving on prayerfully in trust and confidence…
Temptation is simply temptation and is not sinful no matter how ugly the temptation nor its primary cause nor origin…of course, if one is aware that the temptation is arising due to clear fault on one’s own part, then one needs prayerfully again address that fault and any resulting temptation and then move on…
The enduring of totall undesired and unwelcome temptation can lead to real humility.

Even in the case of sin, we acknowledge our sin with heartfelt sorrow and a true desire to avoid absolutely in future, confess in the case of mortal sin for sure…and if we wish we can mention the temptations we strive against and find difficult to endure in Confession…The Sacrament of Reconciliation is the source of great Graces…and then move on…
 
Harmony, I don’t know about the satanic aspect, but do know that if you’re tense about something, and if you’re sensitive in a particular part of your life or need, it will bring a particular high intensity of emotion and put a particular lens on your mind. It will absorb your thoughts passionately at odd and even moments.

In my case, I should be painting but I’ve lost my nerve. It doesn’t alter the fact that I always have a lens I look through in any scene, in the sky, the trees anything, every, any day, even pictures in the newspaper…I see it all as if studying the colours and shapes, light and shade, as preparing for a painting. Most people dont. I even as a child had the most amazing dream about the Eucharist…but as I was being drawn into the unfolding of that amazing dream, I was examining the subtle hues of the clouds in the sky…in my dream!!!

If one is lonely, plus bored, or on semi-auto-pilot that focus will come into play. If one is lonely, those things associated with the companionship one longs for can be the lens one’s mind favors.

It’s understandable that one would have feelings of hopelessness and self-dislike when the mind focuses on something that doesn’t fit in with the good person you want to be, try so hard to be. And that consequently one might fear God won’t answer prayers because one feels so dillusioned with self. How can He still love me, I mess up too often. I’ve done it again. But he does.

It isn’t fair that it should be so difficult. One sees the anguish in many a post.

You are better than you think you are, you need to have strategies to distract you…and seek some simple, encouraging scriptures scriptures to repeat…the more stress you feel over the temptation, the worse things get. How to program the mind!

As regards to other people’s strange actions…from falling flat on my face too many times I realise when people act strange the cause more often than not is different to what one thought.

However, the other aspect you touch on needs its own post.

God bless, Trishie
 
I’ve grabbed a book I have by Fr Jim McMannus CSsR, "Healing in the Spirit…and in case by any chance you concern about evil spirits has some basis in fact for you, I’ll try to paraphrase what he’s written that is relevant. In case anyone has concerns about the content…it’s a priest’s book with foreword by Ambrose Griffiths OSB, Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle
First recommendation: focus all attention on the Lord, not the evil spirit, if there happens to be one. You understand that I think the first post has a fair degree of truth.

The priest reccommends
1, Prayers of praise, rejoicing over Christ’s victory over satan and evil
  1. Pray for Christ’s protection on all involved. Christ is present, have no fear “Lord we claim Your victory now. You are our protector and deliverer.”
3.A prayer of binding of any evil spirit **in the name of Jesus **…(of fear, of unforgiveness etc).
  1. Command the e. spirit to depart. " I command you in the name of Jesus Christ, unclean spirit, to depart from this beloved son/daughter of the heavenly Father to depart and never return." You leave the Lord to deal with the rest.
Keep praising God, keep praising Him; and thank God for His love, grace, and redemption.
  1. Invoke the Holy Spirit to come and fill the person/yourself afresh. Where there was darkness we pray for the Spirit of light, where fear, the Spirit of courage, where a spirit of sin, for the Spirit of holiness.etc… Since the person/you are temple of the Holy Spirit, “invoke Him with great confidence. The Spirit comes to claim, sanctify, and fortify what rightly belongs to Him”.
If you pray all this for someone else, do so in silence, without alerting them or suggesting some evil assails them, just pray silently for them, the priest strongly recommends. Maybe a number of times, or whenever needed.

I don’t know if all this is helpful but this priest finds it so…and I can’t see you suffering like that without offering whatever I can.
 
And another thing…I just remembered you other question…you may be right about the difficulties that follow praying lots for others. It would be my experience. We have to continue though. If one does receive a particular call to pray for others, it’s not too popular with the lower regions! It costs.

“It is God’s will that in this world souls shall dispense to each other, by prayer, the treasures of Heaven, in order that when they reach their everlasting Home they may love one another with grateful hearts, and with an affection far in excess of that which reigns in the most perfect family on earth.”

“I have often thought that perhaps I owe all the graces, with which I am laden, to some little soul whom I shall know only in Heaven.” [Saint Therese of Lisieux]

God bless you, trishie

“Cease to do evil. Learn to do good, search for justice, help the oppressed, be just to the orphan, and plead for the widow. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” [Isaiah 1:17-18]
 
Trishie said:
3.A prayer of binding of any evil spirit **in the name of Jesus **…(of fear, of unforgiveness etc).
  1. Command the e. spirit to depart. " I command you in the name of Jesus Christ, unclean spirit, to depart from this beloved son/daughter of the heavenly Father to depart and never return." You leave the Lord to deal with the rest.
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Sorry to butt in Trishie, but I thought that binding evil spirits is not allowed and is even spiritually harmful? We discussed it in a recent thread and the conclusion was that only exorcists can do it. It is an imprecatory prayer to say: “I command” or “I bind” an evil spirit which only those with the Church’s authority can say. No direct communication should be made to the evil spirit. What should be said is: Father, protect me…or Archangel Michael by the power of God protect me…, etc. These latter are deprecatory commands and are ok to use. 🙂

here were the two deciding links:

saint-mike.org/apologetics/qa/Answers/Spiritual_Warfare/s0403220053.html

saint-mike.org/apologetics/qa/Answers/Spiritual_Warfare/s0312160332.html
 
But you can say, “Lord, please bind this evil spirit.” Or, “Dear God, let this evil spirit be bound in the Name of Jesus.”

Harmony, I definitely recommend that you start praying some deliverance prayers. It sounds like you are under demonic assault. Don’t blame yourself for the evil thoughts and temptations harassing your mind. Part of the enemy’s attack is guilt- the Devil, according to Scripture, is the great accuser of the Church.

Just try to resist these thoughts as best you can when they come, and pray for divine intervention on your behalf. Also, appeal to your guardian angel for aid.

Don’t feel discouraged! The fact that you are undergoing these difficulties suggests strongly that you are doing God’s will, and I assure you from personal experience that there is a great light at the end of the tunnel. You will only come closer to God through this experience, provided you persist, and this is probably why God is allowing it.

That’s what I’ve experienced when enduring such tests.
 
Thanks for the correction, Nick. The priest recommended this in his book and perhaps spoke as a priest, forgetting the correct approach for a layperson…I’ll keep that in mind. 🙂

God bless you, Trishie
Nick9 said:
Sorry to butt in Trishie, but I thought that binding evil spirits is not allowed and is even spiritually harmful? We discussed it in a recent thread and the conclusion was that only exorcists can do it. It is an imprecatory prayer to say: “I command” or “I bind” an evil spirit which only those with the Church’s authority can say. No direct communication should be made to the evil spirit. What should be said is: Father, protect me…or Archangel Michael by the power of God protect me…, etc. These latter are deprecatory commands and are ok to use. 🙂

here were the two deciding links:

saint-mike.org/apologetics/qa/Answers/Spiritual_Warfare/s0403220053.html

saint-mike.org/apologetics/qa/Answers/Spiritual_Warfare/s0312160332.html
Click to expand...
 
Trishie said:
Thanks for the correction, Nick. The priest recommended this in his book and perhaps spoke as a priest, forgetting the correct approach for a layperson…I’ll keep that in mind. 🙂

God bless you, Trishie
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God bless you Trishie. I used to bind Satan in that way and may have suffered as a result until I read that it was wrong. It is good that we can advise each other on this forum. 🙂

Nick
 
Yea I heard about not addressing demons in specific ways. I have to re-read the posts again to keep all this in mind. Thanks for your posts guys, especially Trishie, some excellent insight and analogies that made me understand.
 
Don’t forget to pray the Lord’s Prayer. “and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” It is a very powerful prayer. Often, at night, I will recite it over and over, and it makes me feel very peaceful, and then I drift off to sleep.
 
Use the prayer of Saint Thomas Aquinas for chasity and purity. It’s helped tremendously. You should also ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to protect your heart too!
 
CHRISTINE77 said:
Don’t forget to pray the Lord’s Prayer. “and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” It is a very powerful prayer. Often, at night, I will recite it over and over, and it makes me feel very peaceful, and then I drift off to sleep.
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I do 😃 I usually have a recording of Pope Pius XII saying the Our Father in latin and I pray/meditate along with it, it really does help me.
 
In a certain way, Harmony, this tells me that you are very close to God to have such suffering.

Sirach 2:1 when you come to serve the LORD, prepare yourself for trials.1 Peter 4:12-13 Beloved, do not be surprised that a trial by fire is occurring among you, as if something strange were happening to you. But rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ…

A lot of times we cry out “why do I fall” after praying for someone else. The devil probably wants you to quit praying, make you feel like you aren’t worthy of praying. But as to the innocent suffering…when we suffer in innocence, who do we embody but Christ on the Cross? Souls are saved by your participation in His sufferings. So many saints agreed to take on suffering for the sake of souls. Paul did this himself (2 Cor 1:6). Through you, Christ can deliver the power of the Cross, the power to save, to others. I’m probably not articulating this as best as I can, but so many of the saints had this disposition…St. Faustina comes to mind, St. Christina, Padre Pio…

Of course, carrying the Cross is far easier said than done…don’t I know it too!
 
Satan is not happy with you at all. So you should seek shelter in the Lord and His Blessed Mother. I also pray for others and I have grown much in my faith and devotion in a short period of time. Satan came on very strong in the beginning. But I adopted a sacramental: I wear a scapular and do my scapular devotions on a daily basis. On my scapluar there is a St. Benedict medal - which is satan-repellant. I also pray the Rosary daily and read Scripture which are my weapons. And I have started calling on my guardian angel to be with me. I even call on him/her when I go out for a jog. I work at a university and I pray for strangers (mostly students). I have about a 15 minute walk from the parking garage to my office. So as I walk I pray for people that I see. With each person (or groups of people), I say an “Our Father” or “Hail Mary” or “Glory Be.” As part of my scapular devotions I am to say 6 of each of those prayers a day. So I do three on my way to the office and 3 when I leave of each. I am not sure how many people I end up praying for …dozens, I would think. Sometimes, I feel the Holy Spirit gives me an insight on what to pray for that person, other times I pray for their relationship with Christ, or I pray for their own intentions. I am sure Satan is not happy…he comes around, but has not been able to get to close…I walk well protected and I continue to pray that I am graced with the protection that I mentioned above.
 
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