In a world of so much sin and suffering, it would be foolish to ignore or deny the presence of the Evil One-- Satan. Always lurking, always scheming. Whispering lies, waving temptations…he’ll do anything to keep us from Jesus or to lead us away. He’s real and he’s smart and he’s scary.
Yet in the same way that it’s foolish to ignore him, it’s also foolish to focus too much on him. He is NOT the ‘opposite’ of God. He’s just a fallen angel—who shrinks at the very name of our powerful God.
Today I finished 31 Days of Power: Learning to Live in Spiritual Victory, by Ruth Myers with Warren Myers. I’m excited and grateful to Waterbrook / Multnomah publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book for them! And thank you to Kandace at Moments and Memories, where I heard about the Blogging for Books program. :)
The Overall: 31 Days of Power is a perfectly chosen title because the book is all about focusing on God’s power to overcome evil in our everyday lives. It’s a 158-page devotional with the first half divided into just-the-right-size daily readings written as prayers of praise to God. Based on Bible verses, each day extols and magnifies God with joy and thanksgiving—reminding us that because of Him, we can be victorious over Satan, the world, and the sin in our own hearts and lives. The second half of the book is more instructional, discussing spiritual warfare today as well as Jesus’ encounters with Satan in Scripture.
Favorite Quotes: “When we blame Satan for all (or even most) of what goes wrong in a fallen world, we may too easily overlook God’s sovereignty.”
“Satan is subtle and sly. If he can’t get us into some obvious evil or heresy, he’ll try to allure us into whatever is the next worst- or the next or the next…He tries to sidetrack us into some sort of ‘good’ primary focus other than Christ.”
“But I worship You as the strongest Strong One. You are the Lord of hosts—of vast spiritual armies, infinitely greater than Satan and his legions of evil spirits. Thank You that praising and worshiping You stimulates my faith and makes my spiritual enemies cringe in defeat.”
The Nitty-Gritty: I disagreed with some of the underlying theology in the book, especially in the second half. The teaching and personal interpretation of some of the Scripture and of spiritual warfare today did not quite fit with what I believe in the Catholic Faith.
What Sticks Out: The devotional half of the book was so unique to me. I loved the uplifting reminders of God’s power. With it being written in first person and as prayers of praise, I became the voice and these became my prayers. While I try to incorporate praise into my time with the Lord, reading this book made me realize that I often praise Him for His love, mercy, and creation but not as often for His might and power. Praising God for those latter traits more often really opened my eyes and swelled my heart with more trust, awe, and gratitude to this powerful God of strength and victory.
Something Extra: I loved the way it incorporated praying for others! Spaces are provided to write in names as you pray for Christ’s victory over any sin or captivity in their own lives. Very beautiful and powerful to lift them up by name to the Lord.
[I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. These are my original and honest comments about the book.]
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