6 Ways Satan Keeps You from Worship

1. Doubt

Satan enjoys planting seeds of doubt in our minds because it can fill us with uncertainty. It's a classic trick that he's been performing for ages. From the outset in the Garden of Eden, he cleverly used doubt to lure Eve away from the truth. He asked her, “Did God really say...?” (Gen. 3:1). He uses that same tactic today, and it still works. When we face difficult circumstances or when prayers go unanswered, Satan whispers, “Does God really care about you?” “Is He really listening?” He does this to cause us to doubt who God is.

When we question God’s character, then we can easily wonder: Is he really good? Is he really faithful? Does he truly love me? These questions fill our minds with doubts, which make it difficult to worship. Since worship is about honoring God for who he is, how can we worship and give adoration to God when we are questioning his character?

When doubt creeps in, it disrupts our faith, and without faith, it becomes almost impossible to worship God. It becomes a tug of war because doubt wants to pull us away from worship, but, as believers, we know that worship draws us close and helps to erase those doubts. That’s why when the doubts creep in, we must push through them and remind ourselves of who God is. A good way to do that is to remember his track record of faithfulness in our lives. When we do, it can lift the doubts and free us to worship.

“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” (Psalm 103:1-2)

Antidote to doubt: Keep a written record of God’s faithfulness to you, and when you begin to doubt, pull up the record and remember all that God has done. This will help you worship.

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2. Defeat

When we’ve failed—regardless of the type of failure it is—Satan loves to remind us of it. That’s why the Bible calls him the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10). He uses the defeats of our past to move us away from worship. He may whisper things like, “How can you worship God after what you’ve done?” or “You’re too messed up to be in his presence.” These things cause feelings of guilt, shame, and remorse to rise within us, and when this happens, the last thing we want is to be in God’s presence. We respond the same way Adam and Eve did after they sinned. They hid. Satan knows if he can cause us to feel guilt, we will hide from God too.

While we all have failed and fallen short of what God desires of us, worship is not about our perfection, but God’s grace. Even if we have failed, repentance and forgiveness washes those sins away, and this includes the guilt and shame attached to it, which then opens the door to worship.

Antidote to defeat: When you are filled with feelings of defeat because of sin, remember the blood of Jesus cleanses your sin and your conscience.

Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. (Hebrews 9:14 NLT)

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3. Disappointment

Disappointment is another tactic Satan uses to keep us from worshiping. We have all experienced moments when life did not turn out the way we expected. Maybe God did not answer your prayer, or you faced an unimaginable tragedy, or in some other way, your expectations went unfulfilled. In these times, Satan loves to take those moments of disappointment and twist them. He again will whisper things like:

If God really loved you, he would never have let this happen to you.

When our focus is on the disappointment, it moves our focus away from God. When this sets in, it can make God seem distant or like he is not concerned about us. These moments require us to push through in worship despite how we are feeling. We must remember that regardless of what has happened, it has not changed God’s love for us. We may weep in the night, but joy comes in the morning, and one key to that joy is worship.

Antidote to disappointment: Worship in the face of disappointment is a choice to trust in God’s larger plan, even when you can’t see it. It’s a choice to say, “God, I don’t understand why things are the way they are, but I know you are still good, and I will praise You anyway.”

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4. Distraction

In today's fast-paced world, it is easy to get distracted. While every distraction does not come from Satan, distraction is one of his most effective tactics to divert our attention away from worship. Between work, school, social media, entertainment, and endless to-do lists, it’s easy to let our time with God slip to the bottom of the priority list. Have you ever tried to worship and your mind floods with distracting thoughts like, what am I going to cook for dinner today? or Wow, that was a great game last night! The thoughts may not even be sinful, but they are disruptive and distracting. When they creep in, we can lose our focus and it can derail our worship. Sometimes, the distraction of busyness causes us to think we don’t even have time to worship.

One truth about worship is that it requires intentionality. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus says, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Worship is about making God our priority, even in the busyness of life. When we set aside time to worship, we’re declaring that God is more important than the distractions of this world. We’re choosing to focus our heart and mind on the one who deserves our attention.

Antidote to distraction: If you are too busy to spend time with God, then you are too busy. It is time to make adjustments in your schedule so you can make time to worship. Also, as best as you can, try to spend time with God away from some of the distractions of life. When you do you will be following the example of Jesus.

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (Mark 1:35)

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5. Deception

Satan is called the “father of lies” for good reason (John 8:44). Lying is his native language, and everything he tells us is rooted in deceit. Even when he mixes in a little truth, it’s still a lie at its core. His goal is to distort our view of God, ourselves, and the world around us. This is dangerous because when we buy into his lies, our understanding of truth becomes clouded, and our perception of God becomes skewed. We may begin to believe things about God that aren’t true. For example, his lies may cause us to think God doesn’t care for us or that our worship doesn’t matter. God cares and our worship matters. If we entertain these lies, they can make us feel like worship is empty, unimportant, or even pointless. Satan wants nothing more than for us to distance ourselves from God, and he uses deception to attempt to make that happen.

Antidote to deception: The only way to overcome lies is with the truth. Fill your heart with the truth of God’s word and let that be the foundation for your worship.

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6. Discouragement

When things aren’t going well and life feels heavy and overwhelming, discouragement can set in. This can make our situation feel hopeless, and often in these moments, worship is the farthest thing from our minds. When we’re weighed down by discouragement, it’s hard to lift our hearts to God. The irony is that lifting our hearts to God is what helps to overcome the discouragement. Isaiah 61:3 speaks of how God gives us a “garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” It is that garment of praise and worship that lifts that spirit of despair and discouragement because we shift our focus from our problems to God’s promises. Doing that one thing, even when our spirit is low, can give us the strength to keep going, even when life feels overwhelming.

Antidote to discouragement: In moments of discouragement, recognize that God is not farther away, but he is closer to you and ready to hold you and heal you. Don’t run from God’s presence, but fight to run into his presence.

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)

While Satan will always have his methods, thankfully we don’t have to fall victim to them. Because worship lifts us as believers in so many ways, don’t be surprised when there is a battle for you to enter into worship. There will be moments when we have to fight off Satan’s methods and our own flesh. But be encouraged not to give up because the joys of sitting in God’s presence are worth it all, and worship is the doorway that leads us into God’s presence.

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