Matthew 26:43 And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.

I can so relate to this. It seems like every time I open the Bible to read or I try to study or to have devotional time, or some private worship time, I grow sleepy, something comes up, something happens or my mind wants to drift to other things. I mean, I can sit down and look at about anything else, the television, computer, … the wall … and not feel like everything around me is crying out for my attention. Yep, I can stare at an empty wall and feel less distracted than when I simply open the Bible. Everything seems to want my attention as soon as I begin to study.

Why is that? I think it’s because Satan knows that there is power in worship, prayer and Bible study. Do you realize that? So, what do you do when the road is mined with temptations, distractions or enemies? Do pick up the guitar or pop in a worship CD? Do you pray or fast? Do you open your Bible and ask God to speak to you? Many Christians today neglect fundamental aspects of following Jesus and they walk around weak and ineffective because of it. Daniel, if you will remember, preferred to spend a night with the lions rather than miss a day in prayer.

Let me ask you … if someone handed you a live hand-grenade would you pull the pin and hold onto the grenade? I doubt it, yet how many times does Satan place distractions along our path and we are happy not only to look, but to take it home. Satan has a lot of tools in his arsenal, but sometimes all he has to do is hand us a hand-grenade and he knows we’ll pull the pin ourselves.

Let me pose this question … what would make you skip church? A football game? Basketball? Hockey? A movie, a television show, not sleeping well, frustrations, shame, guilt, selfishness, self-pity or maybe just an everyday ordinary bad attitude? The more we are distracted the better as far as Satan is concerned. If it will keep you from being in church, he’ll put it in your way. Don’t fall for it. When armies take a city by siege, they cut off access to supplies like food and water. Satan is even more devious and deceptive. He doesn’t have to forcefully cut off the supply line because he can often convince us to do it ourselves.