I am becoming more and more aware of our need for fervent prayer and for putting on the full armor of God daily! You know, in Ephesians 6:10-17: 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God"
I believe we underestimate the power of the evil forces out there and just what the enemy is up to. There are truly warriors fighting in realms we cannot see. There are the warriors of the enemy and there are heavenly warriors.
To get back to putting on our armor...every day we need to put on the belt of Truth which is God's Word (and Jesus is Truth)...know scripture. Read scripture! We need to wear the breastplate of righteousness...doing what is right in God's eyes. The breastplate protects the vital organs...our life! Put on shoes of peace!
Shoes allow us to step freely and without fear while we turn our full attention to the battle at hand.The sandals of the Roman soldier "often were fitted with nails, or armed with spikes, to make the hold firm in the ground" (Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible). We can walk without fear of what lies ahead. We must take up the shield of faith; a shield guards, deflects and is in the first line of defense. A shield can incapacitate. The Roman armies would join their shields together and become an unstoppable force. If we, the Church, join our shields together building each other up in faith and serving the Body, we will become an unstoppable force able to take any challenge. We must also put on the helmet of salvation. The helmet protects our head. Christ gave us hope and salvation. This hope works like a helmet to protect our minds from the discouragement and despair of this world. We must take up the sword of the Spirit. The sword is the only item listed by Paul that serves in an offensive capacity. Unlike all other pieces of the armor of God, which are solely defensive, the sword is uniquely suited for both defensive and offensive roles. A solid defense is invaluable, but the sword is the only way we can complete the work we have been given to do. Whew! That all seems like a lot to focus on that we must wear daily in order to be able and ready to come up against the enemy. Once we are prepared for the day, we are able to take on the day!
Now for verse 18 of chapter 6 of Ephesians...18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints". How do we pray at all times? It simply means to keep a ready communication with God. God is our commander and chief of the army. We are equipped with our armor.
I said all about the armor of God because that is the initial importance of our daily attire. To be effective in prayer, we need that armor. The thing is, many of us can say..."Okay, I have my armor on! I am good to go!" Prayer! We need to fervently pray! In the book of Daniel chapter 10 in the Old Testament, Daniel writes of his fervent praying for an issue. He fasted for 21 days and prayed. In verse 12 an angel talks to Daniel telling him that for 21 days he battled with the kings of Persia (enemy forces) but that arch angel Michael came to help him. When the angel had given the message to Daniel, he then had to return to fighting the king of Persia and he talked more about Michael assisting. This may all seem mind boggling! Do you realize that Daniel prayed and fasted for 21 days and that all during that time there was spiritual warfare going on....such a strong battle that arch angel Michael had to come to assist so that the other angel could carry on his business with Daniel BUT he has to return to the battle. He could only carry on because Michael was there to help. What does all of that say and mean? There is SO much going on in the realms around us! There are spiritual battles! I don't like to give the enemy credit for the things he does but he and his legion are out there in the "atmosphere" fighting against anything to do with Jesus!
This tells me how much we need to be in fervent prayer. Oh sure, we can say our daily prayers...those "nice" ones for our friends and family...our thanksgiving to God (and we SHOULD) but we need also to be on our knees pleading and praying against the enemy and the things he wants to do and destroy. I can't begin to express in words the importance of this. I can't tell you how much evil there is "out there". We all go to our nice Sunday services. We sing the praise and worship songs. We listen to a pastor give the Word from God. All this is necessary! We need to realize the spiritual realm! We need to realize how important our prayers are! We need to truly be warriors for Jesus! I keep "hearing" an old song from Petra in my head this week..."get on your knees and fight like a man!" We need to truly make the time to commence fervent prayer! Seek God and ask Him what He wants you to focus on. PRAY! Pray with ALL of your might because you are a Warrior for Jesus! Put on your armor daily! Pray fervently for what God tells you to pray for! Pray and fight with the heavenly warriors! Don't give up! The warriors have to fight through beings we cannot see! Pray child of God! Pray Warrior Prince and Princess! PRAY! because THAT is our weapon! In the name of Jesus, PRAY!
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