satan

Week #5 Night Time RX for Sleep

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You need not fear the terrors of the night, the arrow that flies by day (Psalm 91:5)

In our previous devotions, we explored the security found in God of the Most High. How his refuge and shelter provide a strong secure dwelling place. Beginning in verse 5, the psalmist shares various scenarios, which builds our confidence in security of dwelling of the Almighty.

When I read the verse: You need not fear the terrors of the night, the arrow that flies by day, I thought of Satan and the different terrors he can inflict.

Imagine the following scenario:

Your day has been one of love and trust for God. No matter what concerns may have arisen; you have stayed faithful and strong. Let us take our current pandemic. Yes, you have worries—economic worries for your job as your hours have been cut; concern for your family’s health as your relative begins to cough and run a fever; emotional concerns as you notice an increase in anxiety and depression. Yet, through each one of the worries and throughout the day, your faith has not wavered. You have stayed connected with the Lord through prayer, worship and fellowship. The Lord’s shield protected you and you feel comforted under his wings. Until nighttime–You wake up in the middle-of-the night and your anxious mind has taken over. You begin thinking about all the worries you have and they are suddenly insurmountable. Your daytime calmness and resolve, has somehow changed to doubts and panic. Questions run through your mind: What if my wife has the virus, will I get the virus? My boss says my cut in hours in only temporary, but what if I lose my job? How will I feed my children? The security of the day is gone and your nighttime has become a terror. Satan has not only thrown arrows at your faith, he is also terrorizing your nighttime.

Thankfully, the psalmist reminds us that the Lord’s protection is 24/7. We can be reminded of this protection through prayer and scripture. Just like we combat the enemy during the day, we can combat him during the night (Ephesians 6:16). If you are disturbed by doubts, fears, insecurities, or your past haunts you during the night—pray against this. Your nighttime (RX) or prescription includes the following:

Every night at HS or ½ hour before bed do the following:

  • Read a passage of scripture
  • Listen to soothing worship song
  • Pray to the Lord to provide a protective covering over your mind while you sleep. 
  • Mediate on Psalm 91:1-2 or comforting verse as you doze off to sleep.

May the Lord’s peace and comfort bring you rest.

Write out and memorize: Psalm 91:5

Reflect: What worries/stresses can disturb your nighttime rest? Write them out and then use the RX for Sleep to invite the Lord’s peace into your night.

Prayer: O Lord, my protector at night, may I rest under your strong wings of protection secure against the terrors of night and the arrows of the evil one. Amen

Christian Nursing 101: Intercessory Prayer: Differentiating the Source

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When I first thought about writing this article, I wanted the title to be “Take Back Prayer in Nursing”. That is because I feel we have let prayer, communication between God and man, become a buzzword for anything spiritual. Once a reverent privilege to enter the throne room of God to speak praises, confession, or petitions to our holy Creator. Prayer has been relegated to an existential experience of sending positive thoughts, connecting with the universe, or random words to the unknown. My concern is not with non-Christian and their spiritual journey.  Instead it is with  Christians who espouse their prayers and petitions to a random receiver, or worse to evil spirits.

Thus, the article guides Christian nurses back to the tenets of our faith and Bible teaching on prayer. Since not all prayers are the same, Christians should be cautious when asked to pray for at least two reasons: who we pray to does matter and prayer is more than just reading a few lines.

Finally, we should strongly resist a compulsion to communicate with other gods, energy force or entities by patients, families, or staff. The Bible clearly teaches the \reality of evil spirits or demon world; which is in contradiction to God and Christ.

I would enjoy hearing more about your experience with non-Christian prayer in nursing.

NCFI Cares: Our Nursing Uniform–Breastplate of Righteousness

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A breastplate covers and protects our vital internal organs and is a necessary component to our nursing uniform. This breastplate isn’t just a metal or physical protection, for our breastplate is righteousness. Satan loves to taunt us with our shortcomings, human desires, and anything that causes us to look at the depravity of our soul. Which is true—we are depraved human beings. BUT, we are righteous through Christ’s payment (Hebrews 9:11-14). This is our true shield of righteousness, the blood of the cross that has cleansed us (Ephesians 6:14; Hebrews 9:22).

Satan wants us cower in fear and shame. When in contrast, we stand holy and pure before God. For he sees us through the blood lens of Christ. When we beat ourselves up because of sin, or try to “work” to be holy, we are playing into Satan’s hand.  I also think when we judge others for their sin, then we have forgotten the basic truth of righteousness; “ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (John 3:17; Romans 3:23).

Our breastplate is a shining, holy assurance radiating from Christ which permeates through us, bringing a warm welcoming grace to patients, families, and colleagues (Revelation 1:13-15; Exodus 34:29)

p.s. To access the scripture online, try Lumina/Bible.org.

NCFI Cares: Active Vigilance

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How can we stand firm in the trenches of spiritual warfare? Engaging four important participles–“fastening, putting, fitting, and taking” found in Ephesians 6:14-16. Unlike a passive bible study or time of prayer, this is active engagement. It is not a time of boredom, like waiting in line. Instead, it is a focused vigilance.  Similar to when we are observing a patient who is very sick. We watch their vitals for changes while monitoring their signs and symptoms. Attentively we use our nursing knowledge and assessment skills to watch for complications. We are taking notes and ready to respond if our patient becomes critical. This is the same attentiveness needed to guard ourselves against the lures of Satan.

Like Jesus Christ, we will be enticed by Satan to sin (Matthew 4:1-11) and trust the Lord to strengthen and guide us. The Lord not only helps us during temptations, he seeks to develop our faith through the process. According to Keathley, a Bible scholar, the Lord uses Satan’s lures: (a) to prove us or strengthen our faith (1 Peter 1:6-7; (b) to teach us (4:12-13) and (c) to increase our love for God (James 1:12). Satan tempts us to sin and taint our witness for Christ, whereas the Lord uses our response to mature our faith and trust in him. Let’s stay actively vigilant and ready to respond to Satan’s temptation.

Prayer: Our Lord is faithful to strengthen you and protect you from the evil one while directing your hearts toward his love and the endurance of Christ, amen. (1 Thessalonians 3:3-5)

Here is the link to a great resource in understanding the biblical teaching of Satan. Satanology by J.H. Keathley at Bible.org

NCFI Cares: Peter’s Wisdom

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During the Last Supper, Jesus warned Peter that he would be sifted by Satan and deny him three times (Luke 22:31-34). As the evening continues, Peter repeatedly denies Christ. His denial is not quietly, but vocally and wholeheartedly. After the third denial, we hear the rooster crow and our hearts break with Peter’s. For his personal sin becomes part of our redemption story.

After reading Peter’s experience, we are not surprised when he uses the metaphor “devour” to describe Satan’s tactic for Christians. For I am sure Peter felt sifted, distraught and close to being devoured. Thankfully, in the same passage Peter reaches out to all of us with wisdom:

Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour. Resist him, strong in your faith, because you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are enduring the same kinds of suffering. (1 Peter 5:8-9).

Peter encourages us to stay “sober and alert” meaning we can’t get complacent about Satan and assume he’s on vacation. We need to “resist him” by being strong in our faith. Not a faith filled with words and strength, but a faith dependent upon Christ (1 John 5:5). The true victor in the war with Satan is Jesus, thus our prayers are to him. For just as Peter depended upon the prayers of Jesus, “I have prayed for you, Simon (Peter) that your faith may not fail.” He tells us “I have prayed for you _____________(insert name) that your faith may not fail” (Luke 22:32).

Christian Nursing 101: Stand Firm with Prayer

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In the previous article “Chaos at Work” I touched on the importance of Christians including the role of Satan and evil spirit when our workplace is filled with incivility, bullying, and other disruptive or disrespectful behaviors.  Once we begin to see the whirling havoc through our Christian eyes, we can plan our prayerful response. My discussion is two-fold:

–Check out the  article Stand Firm with Prayer where we look at the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) with a new focus–prayer. “Prayer is the stitching that connects each piece of the armor. Prayer solidifies our righteousness found in truth, secures our salvation that rests in faith and equips us with peace and strength through the Holy Spirit.”

–A supplement to the article is a simple, fun acrostic entitled PRAYER WORKS! Each letter guides us in living out an “unceasing” plan of prayer for nursing.

I would love to hear from you…How have you responded to chaotic work environments? Also, how do implement prayer with nursing?

 

p.s. This rolled through my social media…and felt like it needed to be added to our topic! A link is provided to preserve the copyright!

God vs Satan

Christian Nursing 101: Chaos at Work?

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The topic of spiritual warfare had been stirring around in my mind and spirit for quite awhile, for I was unsure how to approach such an important Christian teaching.  Then when nursing and healthcare headlines filled with bullying, violence, and incivility, the perfect backdrop to discuss Spiritual Warfare in Christian nursing presented itself (thank you Lord).

The article “Chaos at Work?” in January/March 2015 issue of JCN gives a brief snapshot of Satan’s plan in our work eStrategy of Satan pixenvironment. My hope was to bring the topic to the forefront of our mind and spirit, so that as Christian nurses we can explore this additional perspective of the health care environment.

Resources/Citations used for the article

The Strategy of Satan: How to Detect and Defeat Him by Warren W. Wiersbe–classic book with biblical approach to Satan.

 

Satanology/Demonology–an in-depth discussion with relevant doctrine into Satan/Demons.

Stay tune for April, 2015….Standing Firm with Prayer! Where I discuss how to respond to the swirling work chaos!

As always I would love to hear from you. Either share your story in the comments or send me an email carrie@carriedameron.com.