Often in the spiritual life we are bombarded with thoughts, feelings, and desires.  We could be thinking: I want to pray more often, I want to grow closer to God, I want to stop this particular sin, etc.  We could be feeling: loneliness, pain, joy, humility, anger, etc.  We could be desiring: inner peace, clarity on a decision, reconciliation with God or another person, etc.  All of these thoughts, feelings, and desires are good to notice and to name and claim; however, we need to also be constantly asking ourselves: where or from whom is this coming from?

    The evil one will tempt us to certain thoughts, feelings, and desires and they won’t always be “bad” in an of themselves.  For example: we had a very long and rough day, we worked hard and maybe got frustrated with someone and when we come home all we want to do is veg in front of our tv.  Then comes the thought to pray.  Its human nature to rest and relax after a long day of work.  There is nothing wrong with a little R & R.  So the evil one is going to use that to then make you feel bad about yourself.  It’s the evil one who put the though in your head: “I should really be praying right now.”  He [the evil one] does this knowing you won’t pray and then using that rejection to pray against you later to make you feel unworthy of God’s love. 

    How do we know that invitation to prayer if from the evil one and not Jesus?  Jesus wants us to pray!  Jesus asks us constantly to commune with Him and our Father.  This is why it’s important to know the difference between the actions of Jesus and the actions of the evil one.  We only grow to know their actions by reading the scriptures and receiving the Sacraments.  Jesus never puts demands on people.  Jesus only desires to enter into relationship.  Jesus would never tell us, “you should be praying right now.”  Rather, Jesus says, “I desire to be with you.”  There is a huge difference between those two statements.  

    Read the scriptures, receive the Sacraments, and enter into relationship with the Blessed Trinity.  This is how we come to know and discern the difference between the actions of God and those of the evil one.  Once we are able to discern the difference, then we can accept the good from God and reject was is not from God.  Always remember that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  The evil one is the price of darkness and father of lies.  God desires you and the evil one desires power.  Lets put all our trust in the Lord and know that at the end of the day Jesus won the battle and the devil has no power.  Trust in Jesus.  Learn who Jesus is.  Enter into relationship with Jesus.