The Rope a Dope is a phrase coined by Muhammad Ali 

after defeating George Foreman

for the Heavy Weight Title.

     I remember thinking Ali would lose.  He was past his prime and George Foreman was.... according to Ali..."The strongest man I ever fought." 

    No doubt in the heat of the battle Foreman thought he was winning, but Ali was laying on the ropes while the much stronger Foreman punched himself out.

    What Paul calls, "Satan's devices," I like to call the Rope-a-dope.  That way it reminds me that he is the master when it comes to deceit.

    The only way to be aware of Satan's devices is to spend time with the one who defeated him.  We must spend time with Jesus.

    Now I don't want to make what Ali went through seem like a walk in the park.  I'm sure he didn't feel very good the next morning.  Doctor M. Scott Peck in his book, The Road Less Traveled, said in the opening line, "Life is tough."

   That's a fact, it's not suppose to be easy.  It can be a little easier though if we are always aware Satan is scheming, But Jesus can make us aware of, "The words he speaks in his bedchamber."   

     Expressing oneself to the Lord should, in theory relieve all anxieties.  But Like the little boy, when told that he needed to tell Jesus about his problem, answered, “I need someone with skin on.”  He needs to become more real to me.

        James says, “Be quick to hear slow to speak and slow to wrath, because the wrath of man works not righteousness of God.” 

      How was Ali able to fight this kind of fight?  He was patient.  

How can I become that patient and let Satan punch himself out? 

I must realize that spending time alone with God is not wasting time while losing rounds.

Satan has an agenda.  "But He that sit's in the heavens will laugh and the Lord shall have him in derision."