Silas
Beloved
Your heart is heavy, and I can feel the desperation in your words. To feel surrounded by someone you believe to be consumed by evil, and to feel that your prayers are not breaking through, is a deep and lonely trial. Let me speak plainly to that pain, using the truth God has given us.
The fundamental posture God calls us to is a hatred of evil itself. The fear of the Lord, which is the very beginning of all true wisdom, is defined not as a mild dislike but as a profound, settled hatred of evil. This is where clarity begins. If we learn to tolerate evil, to make excuses for it, or to treat it as a minor flaw, we blur the lines that God Himself has drawn. Evil is always seeking to be tolerated and accommodated, but you must not give it that ground. Your soul’s compass must be set to love what God loves, which is goodness, and to hate what God hates.
Yet, hating evil does not mean the battle is yours to wage in the flesh, nor should you fear that this person has some mystical power over you. The idea of an "evil eye," as if someone can place a spiritual curse on you through a glance or a hex, is an ancient superstition. The real "evil eye" in Scripture refers to a person whose inner mind and gaze are fixed on evil. Their harm is real, but it is not a magical spell you are helpless against. It is the corrupt influence of a heart that studies destruction. The command is simple and protective: do not be entangled with such a person. Do not eat their bread. Do not desire their company. You are known by the company you keep, and exposing your soul to one whose heart studies mischief is deeply unwise. The instruction is to separate yourself.
You feel that your prayers are not protecting you, and that this person seems to get away with their evil. Scripture warns us of this exact feeling. Because God, in His mercy and long-suffering, does not immediately execute judgment on all evil deeds, the hearts of people are often fully set to do evil. Do not mistake God’s patience for either His powerless absence or His approval. It is not that He cannot see or does not care. It is that He is giving space for repentance, even as the evil person's heart hardens further. The evil they commit carries its own destruction within itself. Evil always destroys the wicked in the end. It destroys their body, their mind, and their ability to see truth. The candle of the wicked will be put out. There will be no true reward for their ways. Their memory will be cut off, while the Lord redeems the soul of His servants.
Do not return evil for evil. The strongest, most practical counsel I can give you is this: commit the matter entirely to God. If you try to defend yourself, you will have a poor defense. But if you lay the whole situation before the Lord and leave it with him, He is the one who establishes judgment. Do not let your heart be consumed with envy of their seeming freedom or frustrated by God’s timing. Instead, make your prayer one of personal deliverance: "Keep me, Lord, from evil. Keep me from the evil of rebellion and the evil of disobedience in my own heart as I react to this."
Pray for the removal of the torment, yes, but also pray for the strength to depart from it in your spirit while God works. Focus not on the destruction they seem to plan, but on the health and marrow that come to your own soul when you wholeheartedly depart from evil and honor the Lord. God is with you, and those who trust in Him will not ultimately be desolate.
The fundamental posture God calls us to is a hatred of evil itself. The fear of the Lord, which is the very beginning of all true wisdom, is defined not as a mild dislike but as a profound, settled hatred of evil. This is where clarity begins. If we learn to tolerate evil, to make excuses for it, or to treat it as a minor flaw, we blur the lines that God Himself has drawn. Evil is always seeking to be tolerated and accommodated, but you must not give it that ground. Your soul’s compass must be set to love what God loves, which is goodness, and to hate what God hates.
Yet, hating evil does not mean the battle is yours to wage in the flesh, nor should you fear that this person has some mystical power over you. The idea of an "evil eye," as if someone can place a spiritual curse on you through a glance or a hex, is an ancient superstition. The real "evil eye" in Scripture refers to a person whose inner mind and gaze are fixed on evil. Their harm is real, but it is not a magical spell you are helpless against. It is the corrupt influence of a heart that studies destruction. The command is simple and protective: do not be entangled with such a person. Do not eat their bread. Do not desire their company. You are known by the company you keep, and exposing your soul to one whose heart studies mischief is deeply unwise. The instruction is to separate yourself.
You feel that your prayers are not protecting you, and that this person seems to get away with their evil. Scripture warns us of this exact feeling. Because God, in His mercy and long-suffering, does not immediately execute judgment on all evil deeds, the hearts of people are often fully set to do evil. Do not mistake God’s patience for either His powerless absence or His approval. It is not that He cannot see or does not care. It is that He is giving space for repentance, even as the evil person's heart hardens further. The evil they commit carries its own destruction within itself. Evil always destroys the wicked in the end. It destroys their body, their mind, and their ability to see truth. The candle of the wicked will be put out. There will be no true reward for their ways. Their memory will be cut off, while the Lord redeems the soul of His servants.
Do not return evil for evil. The strongest, most practical counsel I can give you is this: commit the matter entirely to God. If you try to defend yourself, you will have a poor defense. But if you lay the whole situation before the Lord and leave it with him, He is the one who establishes judgment. Do not let your heart be consumed with envy of their seeming freedom or frustrated by God’s timing. Instead, make your prayer one of personal deliverance: "Keep me, Lord, from evil. Keep me from the evil of rebellion and the evil of disobedience in my own heart as I react to this."
Pray for the removal of the torment, yes, but also pray for the strength to depart from it in your spirit while God works. Focus not on the destruction they seem to plan, but on the health and marrow that come to your own soul when you wholeheartedly depart from evil and honor the Lord. God is with you, and those who trust in Him will not ultimately be desolate.
