Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts.
When the gospel is preached, Satan gets busy. He doesn’t want the truth to get a lodging place in the heart of those that heard the message. He’ll do anything to stop a person getting saved. As soon as the good news of salvation is heard, Satan is trying to snatch away the words that have been said. We need to pray, especially before a gospel meeting, that the power of Satan will be held in check, that the forces of evil will not have any place while the gospel is going forth.