“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 against 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. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” Ephesians 6:11-18
4. The shield of faith
In Biblical times the Roman shield was a pretty large piece of equipment. It stood about 3.5 feet tall, 16 inches across and weighted about 22 pounds. The purpose of the shield was to protect any area that was exposed after all the other armor was strapped into placed as well as pushing back the enemy in face to face combat.
The physical purpose of the shield has direct application to our spiritual lives today. Not only can our faith “extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one,” (Ephesians 6:16) but our faith can literally push our enemy out of the way. The beauty of taking up the shield of faith is just what Jesus tells us about faith… “if you have faith as small as a mustard seed you can say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:20) We do not need to have piles of faith to see satan running for his life. All we need to do is put on just the tiniest bit of faith and watch satan flee! How awesome is that!
The issue lies in this, we choose not to pick up faith, rather we choose to pick up doubt, fear and unbelief when faith should have been our shield all along! (Related post: Time to Wage War.) Trust God at His word! When He says He will do something He will do it! That’s faith. Believing that God is going to do what He said He would do. Faith is summed up by simply believing that God is going to stay true to His character not matter how bad our circumstances appear. ( Related posts: Facing Our Giants, Faith That Impresses Christ, Believe And Not Doubt). So, pick up the shield of faith and watch satan flee. James 4:7 tells us to resist the devil and he will flee, not he might flee, not maybe he will flee. No! He WILL flee! Resist with the shield of faith.
5. The helmet of salvation
The helmet is protective armor for our heads, more importantly our minds. In warfare the enemy will try to attack the opponent's head, because if they can damaged the mind they take the soldier out of the fight. Satan is no different with us. How many thoughts a day do we have that are not godly? I know for me personally, it’s more than I can count. I would say it’s because most of the time I walk around without my helmet, which gets me into trouble. (Related posts: Time to Wage War, Being on Guard Duty, 5 Words that Hijack Our Faith, Unchecked Emotions And God's Faithfulness) Do you ever walk around with your mind as an open target for the enemy?
How do we begin to take authority over our thought life? I believe the first step is recognizing weather or not a particular thought is of God or not. The best way to do this is to measure it against scripture. Do the Philippians 4:8 test. I shared this in test in a post entitled “Being On Guard Duty.” So, if you are unfrmilulare with this test, go back and read that post. Once you have established the source of the thought, then it is a matter of lining that thought up with God’s word if it’s not already. Quoting scripture and rehearsing thankfulness are great ways to redirect ungodly thoughts.
6. Sword of the spirit
Thus far, all our discussion has been on items of armor, items in which we put on for our protection. We have yet to discuss any items in which we can use to do actual damage to the enemy. The sword is a weapon that was designed to destroy and kill. Our sword of the spirit is the word of God, and Hebrews tells us just how destructive the word of God can be.
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
When we battle with the word we send satan away wounded. (Related post: My Battle Verses) The best part of battling with the word is not just the effects it has on the enemy, but it is the effect is has on our own hearts and minds. When we make a practice of hiding God’s word in our hearts it begins to change our thought life, our actions and our words. This is yet another reason why Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the word can penetrate soul, spirit, joint and marrow. It gets inside of us and transforms us. I can think of no better weapon to fight with. Not only does it send satan away like a dog with his tail between his legs, but it strengthens our souls. There is your double edge! (One that wounds, one that builds up and strengthens).
7. Prayer
The last thing that Paul presents us with in this list of spiritual armor In Ephesians 6 is prayer. Prayer is the yet another weapon God has placed in our hands to do some serious damage in the heavenly realms.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6
“Pray continually.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17
“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” Luke 18:1
We are called to be consistent in prayer. How often do we get about ten minutes into our prayer and either get distracted or frustrated that we haven’t seen God do anything amazing and earth shattering? So often we get impatient with God. We are called to pray continually, pray without ceasing, and pray and not give up. God is not raising up a bunch of spiritual sissies here. He wants people who are going to fight for the kingdom! Prayer is one of the most powerful weapons we have in spiritual warfare, and when we pray the scriptures, satan doesn’t even have a chance.
Prayer is a conversation we have with the Lord. If we keep that conversation ongoing throughout the day then satan has less of a chance to interject his two cents. Because prayer is a conversation we must give the Lord time to speak. How many of us want to be in a conversation with a friend that we never are given the chance to talk because all they want to do is tell you everything that is going on in their life and the lives of those around them? Prayer really is designed to be a two way relationship and an ongoing conversation. There is no magic words we have to say, or special way in which we should say them. God knows our hearts, but bear in mind He desires for us to know His heart as well, and the only way that is going to happen is if we give Him time to speak.
For more on prayer visit: Prayer, Challenge # 10 - Pursuing Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us the armor to use in warfare. Give us the strength we need to take up the shield of faith to protect us against the fiery darts of the enemy. Help us to remember to always wear our helmet of salvation so our minds can be protected against the schemes of the enemy. Grant us the the desire to take up the sword of the spirit and do some damage in the heavenly realms. We know that prayer is how we build our relationship with you. Help us to remember that it is not just a one way conversation, but that you desire to share your heart with us as well. Help us to make the time to stop talking and just listen. Thank you for placing weapons in our hands and not just leaving us unarmed. Give us the strength we need to actually use these weapons each and every day. We ask these things in the precious name of Jesus Christ.
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