Do you ever have thoughts that go round and round in your head, for periods non-stop — to the point of nearly making you “crazy”?
It happens to everyone. It could be a thought that provokes anxiety. It could be one causing anger. It could be a jealous thought. It could be a hurt from the past. It could be something unfair. It could be a thought that provokes fear. It could be a regret. It could be guilt. (Much of that!) It could be an e-mail or Facebook comment.
It also could be music. Do you ever suddenly hear a song and then have trouble getting it out of your head? It won’t stop — a broken record! Perhaps the lyrics of one just “popped into” your consciousness from yesteryear.
Some songs may be pleasant. Church music is great. The Ave Maria is going to lift your spirit!
But the sad truth is that due to the times in which we live, most popular music has had negative effects (and connotations). Round and round it goes, when it will stop — and where — nobody knows…
How’s that for a lyric?
If we don’t immediately halt a thought, tune, or harmony we don’t want to replay — or whatever has intruded into our consciousness — it will almost instantly root itself in such a way that makes it seem nearly impossible to stop.
The devil will turn our cerebration into a maddening roulette wheel. No matter the spin, we never win.
Or a ferris wheel: You know what some of those spinning carnival rides can do to you!
This is where discipline comes in: You must take custody of your thoughts.
Most importantly, this is where the discipline of prayer comes in.
For praying is the antidote for any unpleasant cerebration.
“Here I want to teach you a simple prayer technique that is effective in repelling the attacks of Satan and his demons,” writes Charles D. Fraune in a booklet called Swords and Shadows: Navigating Youth Amidst the Wiles of Satan.
“If you know you have a vice (and evil habit), a sin, or a dark repetitive thought like those which someone depressed or anxious might hear, think about what that is right now and give it a simple name based on what the thought or action is.
“For example, it could be one of the following: ‘lust, addiction, doubting God, selfishness, despair, fear anger, isolation, cutting myself, etcetera.’
“Now with that name in mind, pray: ‘In the Name of Jesus, I renounce [name your vice, sin, or dark thought] and all the times I have embraced it, and I choose obedience to Jesus Christ and His Gospel. In the Name of Jesus, I bind you, spirit of [that same thing] and I cast you to the foot of the Cross to be judged by Our Lord.”
Good advice. Or, compose Christian lyrics to rock songs that fly into your mind. It’s amazing how well lyrics exalting God could have been fashioned for many famous popular songs!
That will chase the wrong forces away. Exalt God! Praise Him! Thank Jesus!
This makes demons flee.
Don’t let spirits play with your mind. Don’t let them taunt. Don’t allow them to alter or insert thoughts. Don’t let them drive you to distraction.
Just pray it away. Pray it out. This is the month for cleansing!
“Saint Michael the Archangel…”
In this way do we get off the demon’s merry-go-round, which circumvolutes like a whirlpool downward.
[resources: Swords and Shadows Michael Brown online retreat]
