Spiritual Warfare

With both Halloween and Reformation Day coming up on October 31, here are some quotes from Martin Luther about Satan himself. There is a legend that when Luther was translating the Bible into German, the Devil taunted him, Luther threw a ink bottle at him. This depicted in the engraving above.

"Why should you fear? Why should you be afraid? Do you not know that the prince of this world has been judged? He is no lord, no prince any more. You have a different, a stronger Lord, Christ, who has overcome and bound him. Therefore let the prince and god of this world look sour, bare his teeth, make a great noise, threaten, and act in an unmannerly way; he can do no more than a bad dog on a chain, which may bark, run here and there, and tear at the chain. But because it is tied and you avoid it, it cannot bite you. So the devil acts toward every Christian. Therefore everything depends on this that we do not feel secure but continue in the fear of God and in prayer; then the chained dog cannot harm us. But this chained dog may at least frighten him who would be secure and go ahead without caution, although he may not come close enough to be bitten."

"When the devil comes during the night to plague me, I give him this answer: "Devil, I must sleep now; for this is God's command: Work during the day, sleep at night." If he does not stop to vex me but faces me with my sins, I reply: "Dear devil, I have heard the record. But I have committed far more sins which do not even stand in your record. Put them down too. . . . . "

Some Christians have the impression that God and the devil are locked in mortal combat and that we, as God's people, are also engaged in this "spiritual warfare." For Luther, the devil is an agent of God.

"God uses the devil and the evil angels. They, of course, desire to ruin everything; but God blocks them, unless a well-earned scourging is in order. God allows pestilence, war, or some other plague to come, that we may humble ourselves before him, fear him, hold to him, and call upon him. When God has accomplished these purposes through the scourge, then the good angels come again to perform their office. They bid the devil stop the pestilence, war, and famine. So the devil must serve us with the very thing with which he plans to injure us; for God is such a great Master that he is able to turn even the wickedness of the devil into good." (see also Romans *:28)

Quotes found at How Martin Luther Dealt With the Devil

Prayer:

Lord,

Especially when so many people are so fascinated by the macabre and the occult this time of year...

Keep me safe by Your hand, protect me with Your angels.

Guard me from the world, from myself, and from the Devil.

Keep me from physical harm, from mental and emotional fear and stress, and from spiritual evil, doubt and temptation.

Help me to remember that Satan is finite, while You are infinite. You are omnipresent, while Satan may have thousands of minions, he can only be in one place at one time. You are omnicient, he may be thousands of years old, but he is not all-knowing. You are omnipotent, he is impotent when confronted with the very name 'Jesus Christ.'

Thank You Jesus,
Amen