PRAYER ROOMS
- 9am – Tuesday, online only
PRAYER GUIDE
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 salvationand 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
Ephesians 6:10-20
Thus far, to equip us for spiritual warfare, the Apostle Paul has given us a mental map and a battle plan. Our task is to stand against the devil and his schemes, against the rulers, authorities, and powers of this dark world, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. The image is of a battalion in a defensive posture.
But in order to stand, we must clothe ourselves in the full armor of God. The word “full armor” (panoplian in Greek) refers to all of the armor. Paul, likely writing while chained to a Roman guard, was well acquainted with all the elements that made the Roman soldier so fearsome in battle. The belt, the tunic, the sandals, the breastplate, the helmet, the shield, the sword. He tells his audience to put on truth like a belt, righteousness like a breastplate, assurance of salvation like a helmet, faith like a shield, the gospel like sandals.
While each of these pieces of armor are important, what is most important is to have all of them. Any missing piece in the armor will expose us to the enemy. If we are missing a single piece of armor, we will be hindered in our capacity to stand. If we are missing the helmet of salvation, if we have doubts about God’s love or saving work in our life, we are vulnerable. If we are missing the belt of truth, if we are believing lies about ourselves or about God, we are vulnerable. If we are lacking faith, we are vulnerable. If we have areas of sin or disobedience in our lives, we are missing our breastplate, we are vulnerable. Our job, therefore, is to make sure that all the armor, the full armor, the panoplia of God is covering us.
The beautiful thing about the armor of God is that it is not something we need to create on our own. It is God’s armor, and he offers it to us. All we have to do is put it on. Have we been caught in an area of sin? All we must do is turn to the Lord and confess it. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The moment that happens, on goes the breastplate of God’s own righteousness over our vital organs, over our heart. Do we doubt God’s goodness, or power, or concern for us, are we vulnerable to the flaming darts of the enemy? All we must do is turn to the Lord and confess our unbelief. Up goes the shield of faith. Etc.
One other element of the armor is the community of the Body of Christ. All of Paul’s commands in this passage are plural in Greek. They are written to the entire community. You all take up the full armor of God. A Roman soldier was fearsome. But a Roman legion in battle formation was virtually invincible. Every man’s shield covered the next man. When the entire Body of Christ stands in formation, covered in the full armor of God, the enemy cannot take any ground from us.
For Reflection/Prayer:
What pieces of armor are you missing? Where do you need to appropriate, to put on the armor of God?
Ask the Spirit to show you how to pray for the Body of Christ? Where is the church missing elements of the full armor of God? Are we in need of righteousness, of assurance of salvation, of truth, of the knowledge of the word of God, of faith, of the readiness to share the gospel of peace? Pray for these areas of weakness and vulnerability?
Pray for the unity and teamwork of the Body of Christ in spiritual warfare. Pray that God will activate the church in united prayer for renewal and awakening in our city and metro area. That the church will in the words of Philippians, “content together as one for the faith of the gospel.”
Pray that the church would be covered and protected by the full armor of God from the devil’s schemes. Ask for insight to see and understand what these schemes are in 2023/2024 and how to pray against them.
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