When I spend my morning time, I read the 5 chapters in the Scriptures as I commented on in the eStudyblog section. I find myself praying those verses when prompted, I read the works and teachings of others I have found on line dealing with things I am dealing with or trying to improve on. I finish up with prayer requests for my life and others. I close with the end of Jude to give scriptural praise to God and I pray the armor of God. Today when I prayed through the armor of God, I felt encouraged to share it with you.
Ephesians 6:10-18 NLT A final word, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all the strategies of the devil. For we, are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
When I pray through these verses each morning, I picture in my mind's eye putting all of this on. During that time of prayer I am led to describe the thoughts about each piece as I put it on. Permit me to share.
As we all know, we often find ourselves struggling and in a battle of some sort. For centuries, armor was the thing used to be able to do battle and fend off as many blows as possible. Wearing armor gave warriors a better chance to survive. Even today our troops, police and fire persons wear protective gear. They use helmets, shields, Kevlar, oxygen gear and so on. I imagine we could compose a modern version of the above passages using todays armor if we wanted. God used the armor of the day and regardless of the era we are in, it has the same purpose and effect. Wear it so when the battle is over and the dust clears, you will be found standing and not on your back.
God tells us to put on the belt of truth. The belt in the days of armor wearers held everything together. It kept all the other parts of the armor in their proper place. It basically took all the parts of the armor and made them one. I might comment that the better we know the truth the better we can wear that part of the armor. To understand truth better, we need to study the Word. If we don't live and apply the truth we already know, the belt that ties our armor together might be a little weak jeopardizing the entire suit of armor.
Next we are told to put on the body armor of God's righteousness. Some versions use breastplate of righteousness. I imagine God's righteousness as a covering, a covering of armor. I envision it as liquid armor that I pour over me when I read that part. Once it covers me, it hardens and fits me perfectly and is uniquely mine. It protects all my vital organs and my heart. In the days of armor, the armor used did not cover the back. I believe they didn't bother with that because they kept the battle in front of them. They were warriors and never ran. If the armor covers the front and you ran from the battle, your back was open to arrows and spears and so on, making you completely vulnerable to the enemy. Earlier in this Scripture, we are told to stand firm. If we stand firm in battle, our backs will not be exposed.
For shoes put on the peace that comes from the Good News. If you are faced with problems, perhaps needing an unbelievable surgery, it is scary. Take that situation and now the best surgeon in the field comes along. He explains to you he looked things over and you really don't need that big surgery but only need to do a couple exercises daily. Can you feel the relief and peace that information brings? The world and our lives are filled with uncertainty. We know little about our future and what will become of us, our careers and our dreams. For many, this brings great unrest and stress. One thing we know as believers is that we are saved by the great sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. We know that when life has run it's course, we will live an eternal life with Him. That knowledge brings with it a peace that is amazing. Here is an additional thought, if you daily put on God's peace you will take it with you wherever you go and those who come in contact with your will be exposed to it as well.
Hold up the shield of faith. The parts of the warriors gear so far have been protective coverings, the shield is defensive. You can use it to block attacks upon you, you can swing it around to fend of arrows from any direction. The shield was thick and covered with a tar like substance that when a flaming arrow hit the shield, it would get exstinguished. When we hold up our faith in battle, the flaming arrows meant to harm us or injure us will be extinguished.
Put on the helmet of salvation. This I think of as protection for my mind. If I focus on the fact that I am saved, the lies about me being worthless, unloved by God, to bad for Him to care about, and such will not pollute my thoughts and mind. When I wear the helmet, meaning I focus on the fact that I am saved, no thoughts of being a loser or any such thing will penetrate. Sometimes when we are in the midst of a barrage of negative bombs, we might have to hold on to that helmet tightly. The Good News that Jesus died for our sins and that we are saved protects us from any blow to our head, keeping us standing firm.
Now to the place God really encouraged me to share. Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Take up His word, the Scriptures. Please notice this. The sword is the warriors ONLY offensive weapon. All the armor he has so far will permit him to stand strong and take a beating. It will help him survive in battle. God has given us an offensive weapon with which we can fight back. Think back on all the great movies of Spartans, swashbucklers, Three Musketeers, Zorro and so on. These men and women were great swordsman. You have got to love a guy who makes his opponent look like he has no idea of what a sword is, then skillfully and precisely carve a Z in his shirt. The thing about being able to use a sword with great skill is that it takes practice. You absolutely cannot pick it up here and there and expect to do much more than get it knocked out of your hand in battle. You have got to develop a powerful grip on it, you have got to know the feel of the blade. A skilled swordsman is one with his weapon.
That being said, knowing that the Scripture is talking about our only offensive weapon being God's word, how do we think we can fight back when in battle against the ways of the devil by only looking at the Scripture posted on the big screen in church once a week? If you wanted to be skilled with a sword, you would take classes, you would go to the gym and practice with your sword every day after work or on the way to work. A swordsman is an athlete just like a bodybuilder. Both must get to the gym, both must make training priority and both must be proficient with the tools of his sport. Why would any warrior, knowing that battles will come be unprepared with his only offensive weapon?
If you were the enemy would you not help the warrior to be too busy to train? Would you not keep placing obstacles in his path so he would neglect his practice? Would you not offer him fascinating glowing electronic things with hundreds of apps to lull him? Would you not do everything you could to get him to ignore his sword?
God loves us, knows we will experience hard times and has given us much to help us survive. In His love and wisdom, He has given us a powerful offensive weapon. Going back to movies, I love the big guy who has the biggest sword imaginable and when he swings it stone columns shatter and the enemy who stand s before him holding up a shield finds himself on his back.
I imagine God wanted me to share all this to simply say, study His word. Stop making excuses, make it a priority. You will be amazed at what you can do and how life will change.
My last comment is, if you were the master swordsman and I were your student who was competing and getting beat continuously, what would you think? Let me go a step further, what if I, the student, came to you and kept whining that I just did not understand why I keep losing? What if I ran around telling everyone what a bad instructor you were and how you were of no help, what would be going through your mind?
I know what would be going through my mind. Thankfully I am not God and He is way more patient than me. I am sure God's thoughts are way, way, different than what yours and mine would be in such a situation.
So with all of that in mind, we can battle, take a beating and survive or we can fight back with the power of the Word.
Perhaps it is food for thought?