Prey Drive versus Pray Drive

Prey Drive vs Pray Drive

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”

‭‭James‬ ‭4:7-8‬

Prey is something that is a victim of an enemy or predator as defined by Webster’s dictionary. 

A wolf has what’s called prey drive. This inherited and genetic drive enables a wolf to not only hunt but to chase, capture and eat its prey. It’s the desire to go after the weaker animal. Prey drive enables a wolf to chase after its prey for long distances and through harsh conditions, nearly never giving up. Wolves are great hunters and trackers with immense prey drive. 

The prey of the wolf is usually a smaller or weaker animal such as rabbit, sheep or even an injured larger animal, like a deer.  The more desire the wolf has to eat, the stronger the hunt and prey drive is. When a wolf is full the prey drive may be less. 

Prey drive is an instinct. It’s what the wolf is born with and is used for survival. Some wolves have a high prey drive and some have very little. It can be nurtured and enhanced through training and experience or it can be diminished with the lack thereof. The wolf needs to eat to survive, it needs to hunt and chase after its prey to eat. 

Have you ever seen a wolf chase a bear? I’m sure there have been cases of an injured bear or small bear being eaten by wolves, but only under extraordinary circumstances. The bear is just too powerful to be the prey of the wolf. 

The stronger the prey, the less likely it will be the victim to the predator. 

The devil is a predator and will prey on us and attack our weaknesses. This can be done through addictions, afflictions and desires. The devil will use emotion in our lives to draw us near to him. Emotions such as pain, anger, lust, pride, vanity and selfishness. Once he begins to drive a wedge between you and your closeness with God, he will pull harder.  The weaker our relationship with God, the less the devil has to work and the easier we have made it for him to pull us away. 

Many of us have abandoned our walk with God because of things that the devil has placed in our way. For me it was alcohol and alcohol led to other horrible decisions in my life. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t blame the devil. I blame myself for being weak in Christ. If my walk with God was strong, the devil wouldn’t have stood a chance. 

The devil is real. It’s not a mythical creature made up in movies and stories. Although I’ve never seen the devil first hand, I’ve seen him work and I’ve seen the results of his work. The devil is relentless in his desire for our souls. His prey drive is overwhelming, and his appetite voracious. He will never give up. 

And neither should we. There are ways to make it harder for the devil and the most successful of these is through prayer. Our drive to pray must be high, unending and relentless. Through prayer we build a relationship with God. This relationship grows over time and gets stronger and stronger. But if we let up, we allow the devil to have a weakness to be used against us. 

Pray drive is our desire to pray to God. Our prey drive should display our strength in our relationship with God. It should make us a hard target for the devil. The devil should be able to look at us and say, “no, not this one”. 

Imagine the strength of your walk with God where the devil gives up trying before he even starts. That’s incredible strength. 

Unfortunately there are weaknesses in our walk. These weaknesses make us an easy prey. And there will be times when the devil uses these weaknesses to attack. 

We must pray to God daily for our strength against the devil. And if you think you don’t need prayer in your life, you’re foolish. Rabbits don’t sleep next to a den of hungry wolves for a reason. 

“For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭20:29‬