There is one thing Satan cannot stand and that is to be ignored and slighted. He lives on attention and dies of neglect.

Even the demons are encouraged when their chief is "not lost in loss itself.

When something undesirable grows in my soul, I ask God to give me the courage to mercilessly pluck it out.

True faith does not so much attempt to manipulate God to do our will as it does to position us to do his will.

The solution to sin is not to impose an ever-stricter code of behavior. It is to know God.

Be careful," warned Nietzsche, "lest in fighting the dragon you become the dragon." I

Jesus' prayer for Peter shows the same pattern in sharp relief. Satan partially got his way with Peter, sifting him like wheat. But in answer to Jesus' prayer, the sifting rid Peter of his least attractive qualities: blustery self-confidence, a chip on his shoulder, a propensity to violence.

Strategy 1—Against Your Passion He seeks to dim your whole desire for prayer, dull your interest in spiritual things, and downplay the potency of your most strategic weapons (Eph. 6:10—20). Strategy 2—Against Your Focus He disguises himself and manipulates your perspective so you end up focusing on the wrong culprit, directing your weapons at the wrong enemy (2 Cor. 11:14). Strategy 3—Against Your Identity

There's a sneaky, malicious enemy that you are always in a battle with—even now.

In order to live in victory, you must call the enemy's bluff, pull the curtain back, open up your spiritual eyes, and remain continually aware of the one who's truly behind a lot of the stuff you're always blaming on your circumstances, your upbringing, your boyfriend, or whoever. Even on yourself.

the battles your enemy wages against you—especially the most acute, consistent ones—possess a personality to them, an intimate knowledge of who you are and the precise pressure points where you can most easily be taken down.

If all we're doing is flinging words and emotions in all directions without any real consideration for the specific ways the enemy is targeting us and the promises of God that apply to us, we're mostly just wasting our time.