August 8, 2026, the 220th day of 2026
Don't Let Distractions Waylay You
In spiritual warfare one of the enemy's greatest weapons is distraction.... View MoreAugust 8, 2026, the 220th day of 2026
Don't Let Distractions Waylay You
In spiritual warfare one of the enemy's greatest weapons is distraction.
It is simple, easy, anyone can be used, it is not obvuous or threatening. Distractions can have a good purpose behind them, and that still works. Distractions especially work when they are something we must deal wiith and cannot ignore. It is all in the timing of them.
The more distractions work on us, the more they will be used. Simple is always better when it comes to warfare. If a distraction works, why bring out the big guns?
Big guns give away that it is an attack. Attacks that slip under the radar are more effective.
When the big guns are used, we put up our defenses. We plan a counter strike. We are alert, even to sneak attacks. We make allies and our false friends are easier to spot.
So the subtle works so much better. And quite often the distraction may seen an answer to prayer, something or someone we have been longing for. It is not hard for the enemy to intervene. We speak our desires out loud and to one another often enough that the Devil and his minions do not need to be mind readers to be aware of them.
When we speak our frustration in waiting without God answering us, when He already gave us a "no" or "wait" answer to our request, we are a prime target to the false answered prayer distraction.
What seens like an answer to prayer is a distraction from the enemy when it interferes with our walk with God, pulls us away from the good we were doing and gets us to make excuses for attitudes that would bother us in another person.
There are many other warning signs, but those are some major ones.
Being such a good weapon, of course the world, following the Devil's lead, will try to distract us from the important things, to the sensational things, or the emotional feelings. And in a moment we lose focus and don't even realize we lost a battle.
This is where awareness and self-control really come into play. Because without both, we may lose track of what was important and why.
This is a spiritual war. And often we lose before any battle takes place. We pick up the distraction and walk away from what we should be focused on.
And we don't even feel defeated. We say things like, "I meant to do something about it, but this came up that I had to deal with."
And many Christians go a step farther and claim it was God's will, or God's doing that stopped them.
And though God can do that, if it was something important we needed to do, a step we needed to take, that involved our free will, that we did not do or did not take, we know that the interruption was not from God. The distraction was an enemy attack.
Of course there will be times that another acts on an impulse and becomes that distraction. When that happens we need to pray to God to use it for His glory, and deal with it while not giving up on what we must do.
Being aware, praying and being focused on God defeats the purpose of the distraction.
Other signs to tell us the answer to who is behind the distractions are found in asking a few key questions.
What am I being distracted away from? Is it something God is trying to teach me? Is it something good that I need to do? Is it some task that I have been putting off that needs to be accomplished?
Notice where your mind and actions were before the distraction occurred.
Have distractions occured other times you were thinking or doing this? Do you have to cancel and reschedule and cancel again things that you planned on doing because something always comes up? Did you give up on trying after multiple failed attempts. Did you seek God's input on this.
Dig deeper into that. Was there an action that would have glorified God? Uplifted another? Completed a hanging project? Is it something Jesus would be pleased to see happen in your life?
It is so easy to be distracted nowadays that we don't even see the danger in it. We justify it as modern life. Or maybe we give it a medical term to justify our lack of attention to what we should be doing? What we should be focused on?
Control the impulse to go after the distraction. Don't ignore what you must deal with, but put a bookmark in your thoughts, prayers or in a notepad to get back to it.
Spiritual warfare does not stop even when we are unaware of it. We need to equip our spiritual armor and pray for God to help us with whatever the day brings and the distractions that may arise.
Stay strong! Realizing that there may be more to distractions than it seems will help you see that they could be used as a weapon against you.
NAN
