Dr. Wesley L. Duewel- God has prepared spiritual armor for His children "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. put on the full armor of God" (Eph. 6:10-11, 13).
This armor consists of (a) the belt of truth, (b) the breastplate of righteousness, (c) the shoes of the readiness of the gospel of peace, (d) the shield of faith, (c) the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God (vv. 14-17). (Armor of God Photo by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash)
Why have we been given this armor? Because we are engaged in a battle to dislodge and defeat Satan."Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 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: (Eph. 6:11-12).
Six times Paul uses the word against. We are against Satan as much as he is against us!
With all this equipment, how do we fight? The answer is found in verse 18: "Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayer and requests. With this in mind be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."
So the great Bible passage on spiritual warfare says the most effective way to engage in war with Satan is to pray. And you can pray! You don't have to travel to the other side of the earth. The front line in this warfare is right where you are. You can win victories on the other side of the earth, but you can win them from the place where you are.
Because of the nature of prayer warfare, you never know how many people the Holy Spirit has alerted to pray at a given moment or for a specific situation. Some prayer needs are sudden emergencies for which there has been no prior warning.
You may be the only one the Sprit assigns to pray for the person or for a particular aspect of the need. Or, because of the severity of the need, you may be one of several the Spirit assigns to the battle. In some cases, however, you may be His key prayer partner because of your knowledge of or special relationship with the person needing prayer.
Other prayer needs are of long standing. Satan may be deeply entrenched, his forces amassed against a person or group of people. It may take prolonged prayer warfare on the part of many people to bring God's victory.
Whether you stand alone in the prayer battle or whether you are one of many, your prayer is always strategically important to God's plan.
(Chapter 28, p. 207-208, italics added for emphasis)
Father, may we understand that our praying for the needs of others is sometimes warfare on their part to bring You victory. We may be the only one You've called on to pray for someone we know personally, or we may be one of many to pray against deeply entrenched forces working against a person or a group of people.
Today's Bible verses-
Revelation 1:8 “'I am the Alpha and the Omega,'” says the Lord God, “'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.'”
Psalm 27:14 "Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord."
Isaiah 40:31 "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."
~ The Lord wants us to recall the blessings He has given us. Do you have a journal you’ve been keeping? Take it out and begin reading what you’d written, and notice how things have gone. Do you see the hand of the Lord in what you were concerned about? Do you see how gracious and compassionate God's been? Take some time to thank Him for His help and guidance. He loves to have you express your awareness of His involvement in your life, for it opens up your willingness to receive so much more.
You may also like to check my blog postings: #72 The Whole Armor of God) and
The North Country Christian Fellowship Center Churches,
located in the St. Lawrence county of NY,
broadcast their Sunday services at 10 or 10:15
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A Prayer of Forgiveness
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