The Power Of A Teenage Prayer

Chapter 5: Lord Help Me Stand Strong Against Bad Influence

There isn't A place on Earth where you can be absolutely sure there are no bad influences. Thats because evil can be everywhere.Sometimes it seems like it's everywhere. So you're going to be faced with bad influences at some point in your life. You probably already have,to some extent,and the earlier you can learn to recognize them the better.

The thing you need to know is that anyone who has given their life to God is a target for evil influences. That's because you have an enemy. Anyone who loves God and stands for the things God stands for has an enemy. That enemy opposes all that God is,everything He does,and anyone who believes in Him. The enemy will try to ruin your life. You have to be ready for him.

Your enemy is the devil. He was created by God for good,but he became prideful and chose ro rebel against God. He wanted to be God and have all created being worship him. Because of that he fell from God's presence in heaven on the earth,where he never gets tired of looking for someone to destroy.

The good news is that we know the Lord have Power over him. Our enemy is not all knowing,and he is not always present. He is not able to be everywhere and he cannot know our every thought. But if we dont fully realize that he is already a defeated enemy,then we can be harrased by him continually. He can use other people who don't know God to try and influence us away from the life God has for us.

One of the things Jesus accomplised when he died on the cross and rose again was to break the power of the enemy over our lives. He gave believers authority over him ,saying "I give you the authority over all the power of the enemy,and nothing shall by any means hurt you." (Luke 10:19)

We are involved in an outgoing spiritual battle with an enemy who will never let up. The bible tells us that "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,but against principalities,against power ,against the rulers of the darkness of this age,against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places"(Ephesians 6:12). Even when we are being treated badly or influenced to do wrong by particular person,we still have to recognize who our real enemy is. This will be our first step in standing strong against him and the people he influences who will try to influence you.

Most of the time you can recognize an obvious attack of the enemy against you. For example,if someone offers you alcohol or an illegal drug,you know it's wrong. You have to say No immediately and get away from that person. Drugz and alcohol destroy the mind and soul as well as the body. Ask anyone who is dying from a disease caused by drugs and alcohol if they regret having gotten hooked. They will tell you that they deeply regret falling for the deception of thinking. It wont hurt if I just have a little. This is a lie of the enemy designed for our destruction,because addictions happen one step at a time until the person is addicted and can't stop. Getting you hooked on drugs and alcohol is part of the enemy's plan for your destruction.

Pornography is another bad influence that is obvious. Most people know pornography is wrong the moment they accidentally see it, and they immediately turn their eyes away from it. But some people think that it doesn't hurt anyone to look at it. The truth is it hurts the person who sees it more than they realize. It plants a hook on the inside of them that will draw them to it more and more. It's addictive and will eventually destroy that person's life. Pornography is another part of the enemy's plan to destroy you.

Driving Under His Wing
There are many bad influences around,some blalant and others not so obvious. The subtle ones can seduce you into receiving something bad into your life without you even realizing it. Something that will ultimately get you off the path God has for you and destroy your life. An example of that is sexual promiscuity. So much of it is portrayed on television and in the movies that it's easy to get used to the idea of it to the point that it doesn't seem like a big deal anymore. It appears that "everybody is doing it". But that is not true. It is a big deal. And not everyone is doing it.