Objective:
Through the prayer of St. Michael, the middle school youth will come to see how prayer can help them stand up against temptation.
Overview:
In order to truly be Christian, one must recognize the reality that the devil is present in the world. The temptations we face in life are a tactic used by the devil to pull us away from God. The devil desires for us to reject God and seeks to destroy our relationship with Christ. Life is a constant battle between good and evil.
[…] prayer is a battle. Against whom? Against ourselves and against the wiles of the tempter who does all he can to turn man away from prayer, away from union with God. We pray as we live, because we live as we pray. If we do not want to act habitually according to the Spirit of Christ, neither can we pray habitually in his name. The “spiritual battle” of the Christian’s new life is inseparable from the battle of prayer (CCC 2725).
A life rooted in prayer is one way to stand up to the temptations of the devil. God promises us: “No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Prayer is the way out that allows us to bear the trials of temptation. God also provides for us protection from above:
From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.” Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God (CCC 336).