Tactics of the Enemy

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elgom:
… The one I have discovered after much prayer is the thought that “God will understand.” as a rationale for my actions.
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To counter the thought **“God will understand” **and other self-justifications for sin which our current culture reinforces in many ways, we need to put our love of God first and recognize the half (if that much) truth for what it is.

A few counterthoughts to bring to mind:
  • “I choose to love to God and because I love God and He says to live this way, I will.”
  • “Yes, and God will be deeply hurt in my actions.”
  • “Yes, God will understand my deception as He knows it for what it is.”
  • “No, I must live with and in God in all things.”
  • “God is Truth, absolute Truth, and this is how I must live.”
Frequent confession to get rid of this self-justification of sin is very helpful. Confess often.
 
Discussions such as these bring to mind that line from T.S. Eliot’s “Murder in the Cathedral”:

“The last temptation is the greatest treason,
To do the right deed for the wrong reason.”

It is so much easier to do what is wrong when what is wrong is almost right. It is easy to avoid doing what is wrong when what is wrong is glaringly so.
 
Yes, God cannot be deceived. Rationalizing bad acts for allegedly good purposes is one of the prime tactics de debbil uses to convince us to act contrary to God.

We all know that God is smarter than us. We too often forget that the devil is, too.
 
The enemy uses the tactic of encouraging us to delay something that would be good for us spiritually as well as hurrying us to do something prematurely so that it will not have its best effect.

How often do we find ourselves thinking “I’ll do it tomorrow”? Notice how this builds, one day becomes two becomes five and so on.

On the other hand, we also find ourselves thinking “I must do it now” and when we got through with it we find those we are interacting it with confused or put off with what we had done because they were not adequately prepared for it.

In each case, we are letting the enemy affect the timing to our determent.

We need to ask ourselves “What benefit is there in delaying this?” and “What harm is there in delaying this?” and considering openly in prayer the answers and compare to the answers from doing it now.

Consider the case of going to confession. This is one in which the earlier and more regularly we go, the better for us spiritually. The enemy wants us to delay going as much as he can.

In addition, we need to work on our skills to listen and recognize God’s direction in our life. The more we live as “His sheep” in doing His Will, the easier is becomes to recognize “the Master’s Voice.”
 
I think a tactic of the enemy can be in seeking signs and consolations.
It’s human nature to want approval and when seeking holiness or a deepening in your prayer life we want to know if we are on the “right track” so to speak, and sometimes these things can “appear” and we feel like we are so special…
Now I’m speaking of my own experience, the times that I may have received a sign or consolation I have felt two different things: very humbled…with a quiet joy… Other times, I’ve felt proud and had the feeling of"Gee aren’t I great"!.. By their fruits you shall know them…🙂
 
Another tactic, I think is to try to lead us astray in the unseen world. How often do we feel a physical or mental weariness when we are about to pray? For me, it’s “I’m so tired (mentally, emotionally, physically) that I need to take a nap. I’ll say the Rosary when I wake up.”

I think when this happens, we have to remember we’re not alone. Satan has his demons and cohorts, while we have the angels and communion of saints.
 
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AmandaPS:
Another tactic, I think is to try to lead us astray in the unseen world. How often do we feel a physical or mental weariness when we are about to pray? For me, it’s “I’m so tired (mentally, emotionally, physically) that I need to take a nap. I’ll say the Rosary when I wake up.”

I think when this happens, we have to remember we’re not alone. Satan has his demons and cohorts, while we have the angels and communion of saints.
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And prayer can take many forms. If one form is too much for us, turn to another. for instance, " :gopray2: Oh angel and saints, be with me as I nap and fill my mind with thoughts of God. Oh God, I love You and ask You to fill me as I nap with Your love and peace so that I awaken revigorated and ready to serve You abundantly. :gopray2: "

We can often turn situations into prayer if we think about. We can also bring in our allies into the battle as well. 🙂
 
I have not seen this posted yet and I can’t remember who said it, but someone said that the Devil’s greatest victory was to convince people that he does not exist.
 
If you are doing God’s will and staying mostly focused on God, the enemy will step up attacks on your loved ones knowing the pain it will bring you.

The more you are protected from the enemy, the more he will use those around you as victims. He knows that seeing them hurt and responding sometimes in inappropriate ways will hurt you.

The counter for this (it will help but will not prevent it from happening) is to (1) pray more for your loved ones, (2) pray with them, and (3) to be loving with them especially when they are not loving due to the enemy’s assault.

This can be very tough. Continuing turning to God and offering up your sufferings to Him.
 
T.A.Stobie:
If you are doing God’s will and staying mostly focused on God, the enemy will step up attacks on your loved ones knowing the pain it will bring you.

The more you are protected from the enemy, the more he will use those around you as victims. He knows that seeing them hurt and responding sometimes in inappropriate ways will hurt you.
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I have seen this 1st hand, the most saintly person I know is a young nun of 25 yrs. I am sure she is more pleasing to God than any I know. and the most surprising thing is while she prays and does penance her family seems to be falling completely apart.

May God have mercy on them!
 
The enemy will try to get us to see ourselves as alone against the vast forces opposing us. He will encourage us to believe that everyone including God has left us and that our cause is unwinnable.

This is just another lie.

Our biggest ally, God, is always with us, whether we sense Him or not. We also have at anytime good people praying for us and our stuggle against the enemy. They may not be physically in our presence, but spiritually there are from their monestaries, convents, homes, adoration chapels, churches, etc., as well as the saints in heaven. We have a lot of strength and power to draw upon in our combat.

If you are acting in Love and in Truth, you are never outnumbered at anytime even if you feel overwhelmed. There are situations where you get reinforcements, people who can do some things better than you can, things that you can not, or to allow your efforts to become more focused on smaller groups. Never give up.
 
As a person prone to depression, it is very hard sometimes to remember God. I know that Satan loves to use these down points in my life to draw me further away from God; to make me feel emotional and spiritual isolation.
 
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AmandaPS:
Unworthiness of God’s love.
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Good one, Amanda.

The enemy likes to convince us that we are unworthy to turn to God for help and just struggle alone or give up what we are trying to do. The enemy wants you to turn away from or ignore God. This is a major victory for him when you do so.

This is a lie built from two truths to sound familiar.
  1. As Sinners, we are unworthy of God’s gifts.
  2. As His Children, we are most worthy and deserving of his love and help.
If we are feeling unworthy, we need to turn to God the Father as an infant turn to his parents and say, "Father, help me."
(and it if helps, picture yourself as a young child running up to and embracing your father (God the Father) in a large hug which he fully returns as he picks you up.)

Remember that after the Lamb of God before we receive the Eucharist we say “Lord I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.” This is acknowledging our sinfulness but also in humility trusting in the mercy and love of God.
 
The enemy knows that if we really apply ourselves we can do a lot for ourselves and others in growing closer to God and deepening our love for God and our fellow man. He thus tries to convince us to do the least we can and still believe that we will be saved.

See the Spirituality of “What is the Least I can do and be Saved?” thread for further discussion about this minimalist attitude and its effects on us.

We need to remember that we are call to love, and in love give of ourselves, not the smallest part possible, but all of ourselves.
 
As human beings, we all at one point or another become angry. At ourselves, others, God.

I think that Satan tries to foster that anger within us. I’m not quite sure how to expound on this thought, but I’ll try.
 
I believe that one of the devil’s more effective techniques is to work through the people one puts more trust in than most people-their friends.

Taking advantage of the influence a friend has on one another, I believe he can manipulate someone to lead another into sin. I think I have at least one friend like that, who was slowly starting to warp my mind and attitude because the way he said it always seemed correct. He’s very good at making his point and can provide the stronger argument for almost any topic. It wasn’t until I started becoming more concerned with my faith that I was able to stand back and realize what was happening to me. To this day, he can still at least temporarily make me feel somewhat unsure of my beliefs, and I’m so caught up in his argument that I don’t think to pray for guidance.

Of course, it can work the other way around too if we aren’t careful enough.
 
I’m going to try to expand a bit on what I said earlier about Satan and his cohorts using anger as a tool against us. This makes sense in my head, but I have trouble putting thoughts to words so please bear with me.

Ourselves - I know that times in which I constantly stay angry at myself, it sends me further from God. Oftentimes, it also increases depression, a sense of isolation, and feelings of unworthyness of God’s love.

Others - Oftentimes, we feel that others have wronged us, whether it was intentional or not. We do not know what is in their hearts, but we dwell on the infraction. We want retribution; vengence. Offer it up to God, for both are His.

God - There will be points in our lives when we wonder why God allows evil to befall us or when we get an unexpected answer to our prayers. I heard it said that God allows evil to happen so that goodness can prevail. All of our life struggles can be used to strengthen our trust in God.

Hope this makes sense.
 
The enemy will use decoys to distract us from those who can benefit (spiritually) from our help and with this decoys comsume of time and effort harmlessly to him.

Sometimes these decoys will pose like those looking for help in their faith, but rather are people who are not open at all, usually enjoy debating for the sake of debating, and consume our time running around in circles.

A good sign that the decoy tactic is being using is the use of debate tactics against you. (They want to win the debate, not listen and learn for the conversation.)

Discernment needs to be used as to (1) they are the least open to listen, (2) you are suited to deal with this person now, and (3) others will not suffer if you do so. It is possible that you may be able to help this person and counter the decoy, but in many cases it is very very difficult.

The counter to decoys (and people that you really are not suited for helping) is to recognize them as decoys or too hard for you to truly help and focus on those you can.
 
Thomas makes a good point about decoys (some who probably don’t even know they’re being used). Especially in a medium, such as the internet, when people are more or less, anonymous words on a computer screen, it is harder to discern whether they are interested in dialogue, or are doing it for arguement’s sake.

As you read a discussion going in circles, nowhere fast, you may tend to become more frustrated. You wonder at another’s seemingly unability to understand your point of view. You wonder what you are saying wrong, or what you are forgetting. Your frustration cascades to the point of burn-out. Score one less apologist in the battle to spread God’s truth.

In a medium such as this, we need to choose our battles wisely. If needed, take a breather. Help those willing to listen. You can not save everyone, but you help no one when you are burnt. Choose your battles wisely, and if needed, leave the arguers for the “bigger guns.”
 
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