All of us from time to time have had our faith tested. When things don’t go exactly as we wish, we wonder whether God is really watching out for us. Sometimes, His promise that He will always be with us seems questionable. When we are challenged by a serious illness, we have a temptation to ask why us, and our faith in an all-powerful God is tested. In those circumstances we must pray for understanding and comfort.

There is one, however, whose faith is so strong, it is never tested. He believes God’s promise without question, and knows that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and paid for our sins completely. He knows the power and love of God, and understands that it is God’s will that we all spend eternity with Him. He has no doubt in the power of Christian faith and the belief that Jesus' sacrifice is all that’s required for salvation. Even though his faith is rock solid, he is already condemned. Satan was in God’s presence and rebelled. For that, he was cast out forever.

Being without hope, his goal is to take advantage of the free will God gave all of us at creation, and lead us away from faith. In times of stress, he plays on our worries to make us question our God. He keeps up a constant barrage of worldly “facts” aimed at undermining our trust in God’s perfect love.

God understands what we are facing and provides the perfect defense ‘prayer.’ He offers His Holy Spirit to strengthen us through His Word and Sacraments. He promises that He will drive our doubts away if only we ask. Along with our doubts, the tempter will also be banished.

Satan’s power is useless against God and he knows it. Only we can give him any power. Our rationalizations and doubts give him the means to affect our relationship with God. Because he knows he has no power against God without our help, he strives every day to tear down our faith and trust in any way he can. Satan is a pitiful creature. He is powerless, hopeless and frustrated. He already knows his ending, and there is nothing he can do to change it. Only his evil nature lives on. That nature drives him to try to steal as many souls as possible from God’s loving arms so he will not be alone in hell.

Through earnest prayer for strength and trust, we can keep Satan’s plan from succeeding with us. By spreading God’s word of grace to everyone, we can make sure he spends eternity suffering alone.



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