SATAN HATES CHILDREN
(6 of 15 blogs about spiritual warfare and marriage/family, taken from material I presented at a marriage retreat, Winning the Battle For Your Family, in 2019)
Not only does Satan hate marriage, he hates children as well. He wants to devour them (1 Peter 5:8). He knows they are a bright reflection of God’s glory and enjoy an intimacy with God that he lost. He fears them because they have the potential to trust God and defeat him. They represent the future of the church. Jesus loves the little children, but Satan hates them!
He attacked the baby boys in Moses’ day and in Bethlehem when Jesus was born. He incited the Jews to offer their children as sacrifices to Baal (Jeremiah 19:5). Today 60 million babies have been aborted in the USA. Worldwide 50 million are killed each year – 125,000 a day. When a baby or child is destroyed, a picture of Jesus Himself is destroyed for children are made in the image of Jesus (Matthew 25:40, 45).
If Satan can’t kill children, he will do all he can to bring anxiety, frustration and fear into the home. Through an unhealthy home life, children grow up wounded and often rebellious. When a marriage is weakened, so are the children and thus the church and nation.
In Jesus’ day demons afflicted children with physical illness (Matthew 17:15; Mark 9:18, 25). They prevent children from being able to control their own emotions (Mark 9:17, 22). They physically tried to harm children (Mark 9:20-22, 26-27). Satan instills hatred between siblings: Cain and Able, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers, Isaac and Ishmael, etc.
Dedicate your children to God – publically and in your own hearts. Ask Him to be their guide and protector. Teach them about spiritual warfare. Show them how to live for Jesus, by your own life and actions as well as your words. Help them learn to see and overcome their weaknesses as well as develop their strengths. Assure them they are not alone. Share your own battles with them. Encourage them to have godly friends and love Jesus. Satan hates children, but God loves them and has a wonderful plan for them, and for you as well!
Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
Pray for the protection of the children in your family and church. Pray one by one, by name, for each child you know. Be sensitive to the ones God puts on your heart for more regular prayer. Write their names down and pray for them. If God points them out it is for a good reason!
Jerry Schmoyer
Christian Training Organization