Does the Devil have a plan for our lives too?

[CHRISTINE77]

I believe that God has a plan for our lives, and that He knows every hair on our heads. He also has given us free will. The Lord’s Prayer says “Thy will be done”, meaning we should follow God completely with our hearts, minds and souls. It also says “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from (the) evil (one)”. (Parenthesized words are from other translations.)

I believe that the evil one (Satan) also has a plan for our lives and is trying with all his might to lead us into temptation.

What are your thoughts on this?

 

[stbruno]

Because of the sin of Adam and Eve, we have to battle the temptations set before us by Satan as well. However, baptism takes away that sin, and the graces of the sacraments gives us ammunition to battle those temptations.

As Christians, we know the end of the story…God so loved the world, that he sent his only son to save us all. And we have been given so many instructions on how to follow Him, so that one day we can be together in heaven…for which we are born for.

It’s our free will that gets us into trouble, if we choose to fail and follow the devil. That’s the devil’s plans…he even tempted Christ, but the devil was defeated! And He will at the end of time as well. It’s our task to see that he doesn’t win us over. It’s a daily struggle and was when our saints were walking the earth as well. But heaven is attainable. And like all good things, it takes effort on our part. Hopefully, one day we will be with all those saints that go marching in. Because I surely want to be in that number.

 

[jkiernan56]

I believe that God has a plan for our lives, and that He knows every hair on our heads. He also has given us free will. The Lord’s Prayer says “Thy will be done”, meaning we should follow God completely with our hearts, minds and souls. It also says “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from (the) evil (one)”. (Parenthesized words are from other translations.)

I believe that the evil one (Satan) also has a plan for our lives and is trying with all his might to lead us into temptation.

What are your thoughts on this?

Definitely YES. Satan hates God so much that he wants to destroy us as well to get back at God. CS Lewis in his book “The Screwtape Letters” is a very humorous story about how the Devil and his minions try to tempt us.

 

[Neithan]

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis is a great little book on this topic.

Although Satan has a formidable intellect, he does not know all things as God does, and he did not create us, so I would not compare his “plan” for us to God’s plan. In a way, sure, he maybe has a *strategy *for tempting us or something, but he can’t know what we will do like God can. And the Devil is limited in his powers: he cannot read our thoughts; only God knows the inner workings of our mind (better than we do, in fact). I wouldn’t be overly concerned about evil spirits as long as we stay close to Jesus in prayer and the sacraments. I also say the prayer for the intercession of St. Michael after every Mass.

 

[Marsha_Adams]

The devil hates God and he hates all God’s creations.
God is the source of all life. Satan is the source of all death.
God has a plan for our lives. Satan has a plan for our deaths.

But while we are alive, I believe Satan plans to use us to hurt God as much as possible by causing us to sin and by causing us to lead others into sin, and then finally by causing our eternal loss to God.

 

[mabibleteacher]

God has a plan for our lives. We know this to be true from this scripture Jeremiah 29:11: *“For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” *

The only condition for the successful accomplishment of this plan is our willing participation. If we choose to ignore God’s plan for us and live our life the way we want to instead, we willingly subject ourselves to ‘whatever else’ is available.

Satan’s only “plan” is to kill us. He will use whatever method he needs to accomplish that task. We can get an idea of what he is doing from several scriptures:
Ephesians 6:12 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but…against the power of this dark world and aggainst the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Satan’s methods are clear in the following scriptures: 2Cor 4:4, 2Thess 2:9, IChron 21:1, Job 2:7, Zech 3:1.

If you want a really good, easy to read and enjoyable to book to read on this subject and various other subjects, check out Bruce and Stan’s Guide to God. It’s out of print but you can usually get used copies on Amazon.com for about $5 including shipping.

 

[CHRISTINE77]

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful posts. Sometimes I get so angry at Satan for causing all the temptations in mankind that leads to so much suffering and evil on earth. I know that God is the only answer, and to stay true to him no matter what. But people who do not believe in God are easily influenced by Satan, and even blame God for the evil that he causes. How I wish the whole world would turn to God - what a beautiful world this would be!