created being understands human psychology better than Satan, hence the existence of magic in cultural and religious superstition.

Unfortunately, it is easier for us to think simply in terms of right and wrong, than to comprehend the deceptions of this 'Father of Lies'. But, as God's Word says, we do not need to be experts in the analysis of satanic methodology and its propaganda in order to be strong and effective in dealing with his activity and its damage effects –

Christian ministry to others, and particularly leadership of God's precious people, deserves a fuller understanding of the intellectual games that Satan plays with human beings in terms of their natural psychological vulnerability and responses.

God is consistent, and because He created humanity in His own 'image' to represent His rule, He therefore does not intervene in our world without request [prayer], except in judgment to alter the parameters of our responsibility, but our responsibility nevertheless remains.

God to intervene on request requires of us a deliberate faith/trust toward Him sufficient to move us to action.

This is the basis of Christ's command to the paralyzed – "Rise, pick up your bed and go home."

This personal action of the paralyzed man in his particular circumstance had no basis in logic other than faith beyond himself, faith in God beyond his understanding.

God have healed the man without requiring him to do anything? Yes, of course. God has infinite ability.

It is not the ability, or the willingness of God that is the issue. Our faith functions as a conduit in our relationship to God; for to not trust the Creator of all things more than we trust ourselves is to insult Him.

Faith in Him, more than in our understanding, is the minimum that we owe to Him. Faith that acts as a conduit requires faith that reaches outside of oneself.

It is the receptivity of the recipient of God's mercy that is the central issue. So, this requires a faith which is more than simply a trustful feeling.

By receptivity, I do not mean 'openness' or 'willingness to cooperate' with the Healer, such as Jesus on that occasion, as the minister of that grace of God. This receptivity means making space within oneself for God to be God in His relationship to us. This receptivity is that of a little child who is free to simply acts in terms of trust without first understanding; the trust of a child who crosses a busy highway holding Dad's hand even though it sees traffic streaming past, simply because Dad said, 'right, let's go'.

This is not trust in an expected result. This is trust toward Him in His character, in His relationship to us.

trust in Mary toward Jesus which allowed the first miracle of His ministry to demonstrate God's power to His first disciples at the wedding feast in Cana. The trigger which Jesus used was water. The lack was wine, and to pour water into the wine cups of the guests would have been an insult to them and a huge embarrassment to the families concerned. But Mary had primed the servants to act with unconditional faith in whatever Jesus said. The act of serving water opened the door, was the receptivity, for the impossible to happen.

Repeatedly throughout the descriptions of Holy Scripture, both before the coming of Jesus, in His ministry to others, and after His exaltation to the Father, there has been a triggering factor for the receptivity of the recipient to release their faith toward God. This is not because God needs the action, but because the structure of the human psyche requires this responsiveness in order to receive.

Satan has found it easy to infiltrate his influence through superstitious practices within the traditions of Christian churches; such as 'holy water', the sprinkling of salt, the sign of the cross, etc, and various animist perspectives in reaction to the demonic encounter.

methodology is replete with actions designed to associate with the problem by analogy, or with the particular purpose to be achieved.

This magical thinking generally uses association in an attempt to manipulated the supernatural, and it has thoroughly infiltrated Christianity. For instance, the practice of laying-on-of-hands in religion lay originally in the idea of substitution by association in which the hand of the worshipper was laid upon the head of a sacrifice victim (lamb/goat/bull) at the moment of its throat being cut in sacrifice by the officiating Levite (Lev.1:4; 3:2, 8, 13; 4:4, 24, 29, 33, etc.). But, the through the centuries of Christian practice this became seen, not simply as representative association, but as 'transmission'. So church ordination to a ministry is thereby transferred to the recipient through the laying-on-of-hands.

Unfortunately then, some, including academics, have concluded that the true works of God and the fraudulent are both false or both psychosomatic effects because of their underlying common methodology.

as sad as this may be, confusion on these issues is part of the fruit of disbelief in God and will lead unavoidably into deeper darkness.