Praying or Preying?
Praying or Preying?
2 Peter 1:3 (NASB)
3 “Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”
I remember sometime back hearing in the news about this woman in Virginia received an unwelcome gift when her Christmas tree began sprouting with praying mantises. The insect eggs were hidden among the branches, and in the warmth of her house they began hatching—more than one hundred of them, which were soon on the walls, ceilings, and windows. Next year, she said, she plans to buy an artificial tree.
The Bible compares God’s people to trees planted by the river (Psalm 1), but sometimes our thoughts and lives are filled with preying temptations. It’s strange how sinful thoughts hatch in the branches of our minds.
The psalmist tells us what to do. We should let the Word of God dwell in our minds and meditate on it day and night. In the Scriptures, God provides us with everything we need to resist temptation. When we read a helpful passage of Scripture—like Psalm 1—over and over, it has a way of seeping into our thoughts until we are transformed by the renewing of our mind (Romans 12:2). His Word is the sword of the Spirit by which we can defeat our preying enemy and become praying victors through Christ.
Johann Bengel, in 1742 said, “Apply yourself wholly to the Scriptures, and apply the Scriptures wholly to yourself.”