“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” - 1Peter 5:8 (NIV). 

Thieves like to prey on their victims unseen. They can’t wait once they see an opening. In particularly crowded cities, if someone leaves an item unattended a pickpocket thief does not hesitate to take advantage and disappear off fast. Any novice who is just making his way to town is warned to be ever on alert, particularly with his wallet and crucial documents held tight, for a thief can easily take advantage of the slightest gap, and before one has noticed is off fast with the loot.

The Apostle Peter describes the devil as ever looking out for his prey, just as a lion searches for a meal throughout its habitat. It’s a common trait of most predators to conceal themselves well, underneath some shrub, and once the targets guard is down, then almost from nowhere leaps the devourer.

This said, is why it matters in the Christian life to be on guard, at all times. Believers are constantly targets and their nemesis the devil, like a pocket thief, is ever on the lookout. He is quite skilled at luring his victims in those territories where he distracts them. We should always be on the lookout of our whereabouts for some places and scenes are best kept out, as they hold a potential for negative distraction. Likewise also, what we entertain ourselves with!

There are a number of ways we can guard ourselves, and one, is the power of the word of God. For the psalmist says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11).

Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, today I clothe myself in your word to protect me from falling astray, and bring me victory through this life, this I pray in Jesus’s name.