Turn away from evil and do what is good; seek peace and pursue it.  The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry for help. The face of the LORD is set against those who do what is evil, to erase all memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry out and the LORD hears and delivers them from all their troubles.   Psalm 34:15-17 HCSB

The last couple of days we have been speaking of the Lord’s great power. We spoke of the power in Jesus’ name. Yesterday, we spoke about letting go of our worries and trusting in God. Today, I want to talk about being a warrior, a prayer warrior. Ephesians 6:10-18 instructs us on how to handle Christian warfare. Verse 18 tells us to pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert in this all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. Prayer is the most important part of Christian warfare, but we must remember that we need all of God’s armor to keep us safe from evil. If we are going to turn from being worriers into warriors, you will need to keep a few things in mind.

First of all, you must not underestimate your enemy. This is a huge tactical mistake. In law enforcement we always said never bring a knife to a gunfight. When you are doing what God has called you to do and a human comes against you, know that this is the devil working through them. It doesn’t mean that they are the devil it just means that they are vulnerable to being used by him (Ephesians 6:12). I hope that it goes without saying that the only force that can conquer the devil is God, so please don’t try this on your own. Trust in God to handle this one, but suit up and stand firm so that you can watch Him work. It makes for a great testimony.

Ephesians 6:14 instructs us to wear truth like a belt around our waist. In all things, be truthful. We violate one of the ten commandments when we lie. Don’t expect God to rally to your defense when you go against His commandments. That should be a no brainer, just sayin’. Truth holds everything together and holds it all up and in place. That same verse tells us to wear righteousness like a bullet proof vest on our chest. This goes along with keeping God’s commandments. We should do what is right. We are told that evil can only be conquered with good in Romans 12:21.

Verse 15 says that we should always have our feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. The sandals thing kind of threw me off when I first read that because who goes to war in sandals, right? But the Roman soldiers’ sandals were actually protective gear for their feet that helped support their feet and keep their stance steady. The gospel gives our feet and our lives support and stability.

The shield of faith in verse 16 should be taken with us in every situation to extinguish the flaming arrows  of the evil one. These flaming arrows are mentioned again in Psalm 91:4-5 which tells us that His faithfulness will be a shield so that we do not fear the terror of the night or the arrows that fly by day. Sometimes when people come against us, it is easy to see how that whole analogy of flaming arrows comes about.

The helmet of salvation, in verse 17, guards our minds and our thoughts. Psalm 19:14 says may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, LORD, my rock and my redeemer. Our salvation helps us to guard our hearts, our minds and our mouths.

Verse 17 also tells us to take the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word. No matter what comes against us, there is scripture that we can use to combat it. There is scripture for each and every situation that we will face. When Jesus was tempted in the desert, He always answered with, “It is written,”. He used God’s word against the devil. The sword of the Spirit is the only offensive weapon mentioned. I have used this one personally and let me tell you, it totally disarms the enemy. Don’t take my word on this one, try it for yourself. Of course remember you must first study God’s word to use God’s word.

This brings us back to prayer. Verse 18 as we mentioned earlier, instructs us to pray at all times.

There are plenty of scripture passages that tell us not to worry. There are 365 passages that tell us not to fear. There are many, many passages that tell us how important it is for us to pray. If you are facing a problem today that just seems too big for you, have no fear. Don’t worry, declare war against it. Know that the battle is the Lord’s (2 Chronicles 20:15). Suit up in God’s armor, pray. Get down on your knees and pray and trust in Him to fight this battle. We are more than conquerors through Him (Romans 8:37).

Have a great day!