Blog post October 1, 2026

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. Ephesians 6:18

As I was thinking about "staying alert" this morning, I was reminded of a prank that was pulled on my wife and I. It was impossible to detect until it was blatantly obvious.

We were taken out to eat at a certain restaurant in Branson Missouri. This restaurant had one table known as "the rising table". As you are eating your meal, ever so slowly the table begins to rise. At first you don't notice anything, and then little by little something doesn't seem right but you can't put your finger on what it is. Pretty soon the table is up to your chin and you know something is happening but you still don't know what. You begin to look at your chair thinking maybe your chair was somehow sinking. Not once do you consider that maybe the table is actually rising for never have you heard of such a thing. Finally at our bewilderment the other people sitting at the table could not hold in their laughter any longer. It became the talk of our trip and is a fond memory.

As I think of the warning of Paul to "stay alert and be persistent in prayer", I am reminded of how subtly things can creep up on you, and without the discernment of the Holy Spirit, without God bringing it to our attention, we may not realize it until it's too late.

Paul understood that our battle is against unseen forces. So we cannot rely only on the five senses that God has given us, we must rely on prayer. We must be in a constant state of spiritual awareness. Being alert means not letting your prayer life fall asleep or get lazy.

Heavenly Father thank you for the reminder today of the world we live in. With AI today deception has become even greater. Without the discernment of the Holy Spirit it simply will not be possible for us to detect deception. Thank You for the Helper which You give to Your children. May we be in constant communication with Him. I pray in Jesus name. AMEN AMEN