There is no denying that we live in evil times. All you have to do is open your news feed and more terrible things appear before your eyes. We can’t escape it. But I don’t want that to cause you to fear. Why?
Because we have divine protection.
In other posts, I have mentioned the Armor of God found in Ephesians 6. For the last week, I felt an invitation to talk more about that and share how I pray myself into my armor. Let’s start with what scripture has to say:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.
Ephesians 6:10-18a
We are called to be strong and to stand. Those are not passive words, but they imply choice and action. We have a choice.
The apostle Paul wrote the book of Ephesians from prison, so he was in close proximity to the Roman guards and was familiar with their armor. And Paul knew well what many people try to deny: we are in a battle. Though we cannot see the spiritual realm, we are still in the midst of a battle every moment. Our prayers can turn the tide and unleash the power of God. But as Christians, we also have targets painted on us. This is not meant to scare you, but rather is a reality check. The enemy does not want you to thrive. But God does not leave us stranded as helpless orphans. He gives us the power to stand tall and defend ourselves: He gives us His armor.
We should pray on the armor daily. I have the above graphic hanging on my bathroom wall over the light switch, so that as I get ready in the morning, I see it and pray as I get ready. As I pray on the armor, I start at the top and work my way down, starting with the helmet.
A prayer for putting on the helmet: “Lord, I take the helmet of salvation and place it on my head. Please protect my head, my mind and thoughts, with Your salvation. Help me to process my thoughts and words through a filter of salvation, allowing me to operate and respond appropriately as a saved and anointed child of God. Help me to take thoughts captive and make them obedient to You (2 Corinthians 10:5). Help me to build others up, according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (Ephesians 4:29). May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:14).”
A prayer for putting on the breastplate: “Lord, I put on the breastplate of righteousness. Please surround my heart, the driving force that sustains my life, with Your righteousness. “Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34b), so please allow me to overflow with goodness, integrity, uprightness, and decency. My righteousness comes from You, not from myself (Philippians 3:9), so please protect my spiritual life that is found in You.”
A prayer for putting on the belt of truth: “Lord, please encircle me with Your truth. The world is full of gray areas and shadows where lies dwell. Surround me with Your truth; may it act as a filter allowing me to discern the proper way to walk and to handle situations where the truth is not easily recognized. Just as a belt is the foundation of the armor, holding everything together and the breastplate in place, let Your truth surround and hold my spiritual life together, supporting it. Jesus, You are truth (John 14:6), so let your truth protect me from the lies of the enemy, who is the father of lies (John 8:44).”
A prayer for putting on the gospel shoes of peace: “Lord, allow me to walk in peace today with everyone I encounter. I don’t want to be a peace-keeper; I desire to be a peace-maker. May my steps through this day bring unity, not division; peace, not strife. Let also Your peace that passes understanding guard my mind (Philippians 4:7) and place my feet firmly on the path You have laid out for me. May I stand firm in the face of Satan’s accusations and remain strong though he lies to me and tries to wear me down.
A prayer for taking up the shield of faith: “Lord, I take up my faith today as a shield to protect me. The enemy desires to harm me by sending countless flaming arrows in my direction, to wear me down and break through my defenses. Faith is being sure of what I hope for, and certain of what I do not see (Hebrews 11:1) and though I cannot see You, I reaffirm my faith in You once again. Continue to move mightily on my behalf, that I may see evidence of You and continue to grow in my faith, which will shield me from harm.”
A prayer for taking up the sword of the Spirit: “Lord, I take up the sword of the Spirit. Though I may feel weak, this sword is not burdensome. Rather, I delight in Your word, and meditate on it day and night. Never take Your word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in your laws (Psalm 119:43). Like Joshua, I will meditate on this book and keep it always on my lips (Joshua 1:8. Because of the gift of the word, I can be strong and courageous and face the enemy like Jesus did, by speaking the words of God and driving evil back. Strengthen my arms and my mind. Help me to hide Your word in my heart. Holy Spirit, guide me and bring to mind the verses I have hidden away at just the right time. I declare that I am never defenseless because I have Your word in my heart and on my lips.”
Amen and Amen!
I do want to make a note about the sword. In the entire armor, the sword is the only offensive weapon we have. The sword of the Spirit is the word of God. There are two Greek words commonly translated for “word”, one is logos and the other is rhema. Rhema is used in this passage, which means a particular saying of God that is specifically applied to a situation. This means that scripture, the sayings of God that we have, are to be used for our defense. The NIV Jeremiah Study Bible comments, “The Bible as a whole is an armory from which to select swords for specific battles.” Different battles require different weapons. And there is no shortage in the armory of the Bible.
Friends, we are not defenseless! We have truth and righteousness and peace and faith to surround us and the word of God to defend us. Open your Bible. Come before the Lord in prayer and ask for protection for yourself so that you can stand firm.
Only when you are standing firm can you be an effective force for ministry in the kingdom. Plant your feet, friends. Take up your shield and your sword and become an active part of the kingdom work.
Blessings,
~Lynne
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