We’ve got your daily encouragement, written by Lindsey Strickler.
Bible Reading:
“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 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. 13 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. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
“18 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. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”
Ephesians 6:10-20
Word:
How do we be strong in the Lord and in his power?
Ephesians 6:10-20 gives us a practical step by step guide. The execution can be hard, but the steps are clear:
1. Put on the FULL armor of God.
We don’t cherry pick it, we have to put on the entire thing. Why do we put on a spiritual armor and not physical armor? Because the physical fights we face are distractions from our real war- the one that spiritual. So what is that armor?
gotquestions.org has an awesome breakdown that we’re going to share. Their full article can be found here.
Belt of truth- “… Satan is said to be the “father of lies” (John 8:44). Deception is high on the list of things God considers to be an abomination. A “lying tongue” is one of the things He describes as “detestable to Him” (Proverbs 6:16-17). We are therefore exhorted to put on truth for our own sanctification and deliverance, as well as for the benefit of those to whom we witness.”
Breastplate of righteousness- “A breastplate shielded a warrior’s vital organs from blows that would otherwise be fatal. This righteousness is not works of righteousness done by men. Rather, this is the righteousness of Christ, imputed by God and received by faith, which guards our hearts against the accusations and charges of Satan and secures our innermost being from his attacks.”
Feet fitted with readiness from the Gospel of Peace- “In warfare, sometimes an enemy places dangerous obstacles in the path of advancing soldiers. The idea of the preparation of the gospel of peace as footwear suggests what we need to advance into Satan’s territory, aware that there will be traps, with the message of grace so essential to winning souls to Christ. Satan has many obstacles placed in the path to halt the propagation of the gospel.”
Shield of Faith- “…spoken of in verse 16 makes Satan’s sowing of doubt about the faithfulness of God and His Word ineffective. Our faith—of which Christ is “the author and perfecter” (Hebrews 12:2)— is like a golden shield, precious, solid, and substantial.”
Helmet of Salvation- “…protection for the head, keeping viable a critical part of the body. We could say that our way of thinking needs preservation. The head is the seat of the mind, which, when it has laid hold of the sure gospel hope of eternal life, will not receive false doctrine or give way to Satan’s temptations. The unsaved person has no hope of warding off the blows of false doctrine because he is without the helmet of salvation and his mind is incapable of discerning between spiritual truth and spiritual deception.”
Sword of the Spirit- “…it is the Word of God. While all the other pieces of spiritual armor are defensive in nature, the sword of the Spirit is the only offensive weapon in the armor of God. It speaks of the holiness and power of the Word of God. A greater spiritual weapon is not conceivable. In Jesus’ temptations in the desert, the Word of God was always His overpowering response to Satan.”
2. In addition to putting on his armor, we’re called to pray in the spirit.
3. Be alert and praying for God’s people.
4. Praying for our leaders.
Our struggle is not in flesh and blood, it’s spiritual, so we need to prepare differently- not the way others do, but the way that God has provided for us. It’s his world, so let’s do things his way. Prepare and pray.
Prayer:
God, it’s super easy for me to become distracted by the things going on around me. I want to take charge and do things my way, but too often it doesn’t work out well in the end. Help me put on your armor. Teach me how to pray. Show me the way. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Skillwork:
Spend time praying this morning for God’s people and for our local, national, and global leaders.
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