Prayer as a Weapon

My family receives the "Word Among Us" Daily Catholic Meditations magazine and I was recently flipping through it and found some interesting quotes regarding spiritual discernment. One that really struck me is:

However great may be the temptation, if we know how to use the weapon of prayer well we shall come off as conquerors at last, for prayer is more powerful than all the devils. He who is attacked by the spirits of darkness needs only to apply himself vigorously to prayer, and he will beat them back with great success.  ~St. Bernard of Clairvaux

We are constantly under attack, temptation, and enticement. Because this blog's theme is the Battle Against Evil, I feel that it is important to arm us all with weapons with which to fight in that battle, and which will serve us well against the forces of evil. There is no stronger weapon than prayer. We must constantly pray, and find new ways and times to do so. One way that my wife and I have added a little more prayer to our lives without "taking up too much time" is by saying the St. Michael Prayer after Mass. We wait until the final hymn is over and then we say that prayer and a few others. It takes 30 seconds to a minute, but it really places a focus for us on what we need to be mindful of as we depart. As St. Bernard says, application of ones self to prayer is a sure way to beat back the spirits of darkness.

-Posted by: Joe