“In those days, Amalek came and waged war against Israel.” (Ex 17,8) Amalek is the devious, perennial enemy of anyone who takes up the spiritual journey. Amalek is the darkness of evil that attacks us from within. He is the shadow of doubt and the scourge of cynicism that attacks us from within when we are weak and weary and when we are struggling in our spiritual journey. Amalek comes to wage war against us when we are asking the question, “Is the Lord in our midst or not?” as Israel asked at Massah and Meribah. Amalek comes to impede our progress in the spiritual journey as he barred the progress of Israel when they set out on their desert journey after crossing the Red Sea. The Deuteronomist reminds us, “Bear in mind what Amalek did to you on the journey after you left Egypt, how without fear of any god he harassed you along the way, weak and weary as you were, and cut off at the rear all those who lagged behind. Therefore, when the Lord, your God, gives you rest from all your enemies round about in the land which he is giving you to occupy as your heritage, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under the heavens. Do not forget!” (Deut 25,17-19)

Amalek was seen by the ancient rabbis and early Christian writers as an internal enemy. The Amalek within attacks us when we have doubts and uncertainties about our faith. When we are weak and weary, when we are lagging behind, we are vulnerable to the attacks of Amalek. St. Augustine writes, “You will certainly have Amalek as an enemy barring your progress. That was when Moses prayed, when he stretched out his arms; and when he dropped his arms, Amalek grew stronger; when he stretched out his arms, Amalek fell back, let your arms too be stretched out, let the Amalek fall back who is tempting you and barring your progress on this journey; be watchful and sober in prayer, in good works; not, though, apart from Christ, because stretching out of the arms was the cross of Christ.” (Sermon 352)

Garth Brooks recorded a song called, “Wolves,” that speaks of this fear of being “pulled down” when we fall behind in our weakness: “Then I spent a long time thinkin’/ ‘Bout the ones the wolves pull down/ Lord, please shine a light of hope/ On those of us who fall behind/ And when we stumble in the snow/ Could you help us up while there’s still time?/ Well, I don’t mean to be complainin’, Lord/ You’ve always seen me through/ And I know you got your reasons/ For each and every thing you do/ But tonight outside my window/ There’s a lonesome, mournful sound/ And I just can’t keep from thinkin’/ ‘Bout the ones the wolves pull down/ Oh Lord, keep me from bein’/ The one the wolves pull down.” Our doubts, our weakness in faith, our weariness in prayer, all make us vulnerable to the attack of Amalek, of the enemy within, of the wolves that prey upon those who fall behind in their spiritual journey.

In the gospel of Luke, Jesus tells his disciples a parable “about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.” (Luke 18,1) The way to defeat the Amalek within is to pray. When we pray, we wage war with Amalek. As long as we are persistent and strong in our prayer, as long as our hands are lifted up to heaven in prayer, then Amalek can be defeated. When we grow weak and weary and we let our hands down, when we neglect our prayer, then Amalek is able to pull us down and defeat us. The prayer that defeats Amalek is a persistent prayer, a deep prayer, a prayer that sinks roots deep down into the divine nature of God and is able to draw deeply from the wellspring of God’s grace and mercy. This prayer needs to be disciplined, frequent and habitual. We have to fight the spiritual battle with Amalek and never quit until we have driven all doubt and uncertainty from our lives and we are filled with faith in the Lord’s strength. “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on Earth?” (Luke 18,8) St. Paul tells Timothy, “I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.” (2Tim 4,7) How is your battle going? Don’t forget about Amalek — pray!