as Sathan cannot intuitively or immediately discern it, so neither can he imperiously
or efficaciously work upon it.”^87
This can be demonstrated from Ambrose’s diary. While he occasionally
experienced these torments being awake,^88 most temptations occurred during sleep.
These nocturnal encounters with Satan powerfully illustrate how he experienced God
amid these troubling attacks upon his soul. On March 6, 1647 Ambrose reports,
“[t]his night in his sleep a troubled soul was by Satan tempted to sin, but the Lord
stood by him, put prayers into him though asleep, whereby he overcame the
temptation; then awaking, he deeply apprehended Satans approach and busie
temptations: it struck him into fears, but praising God for his assistance, he received
boldness, and then slept again.”^89 It is significant that Ambrose’s sensitivity to God
that had been cultivated through his contemplative awareness was able to experience
God even during his sleep.^90 Since dreams can originate from godly sources as well
as the devil, Ambrose provides guidance in distinguishing those that come from
God’s angels.^91
Doubt was another temptation that Satan often used and twice Ambrose
wrestles with it within a day of each other. The first struggle occurred on May 20,
1651, “[i]n the Morning I fell on Reading the Word, perused the directions, and then
(^87) Ambrose, War with Devils (^) , 49. Luttmer affirms this assessment fro (^) m his broad
study of the topic, “According to Puritan divines, the devil could not directly read
minds, but his powers as a spirit, his unparalleled knowledge, and his long experience
enabled him to know the ‘very thoughts and intents of the heart’.” “Persecutors,
Tempters and the Devil,” 64n104. 88
89 Ambrose, Media (1650), 107.^
90 Ambrose, Media (1650), 108, cf. 107.^
91 For another example of Ambrose’s spiritual awareness of God during sleep see 239. Ambrose, Communion with Angels, 248.