We have so much going on around us on a daily basis. We all feel the stresses of life. Without a doubt, life as we know it has changed since the pandemic of 2020. The New World Order is constantly rolling out its agenda in its various forms. And this is on top of the usual daily stresses we face in our lives. It can actually feel altogether overwhelming. So how do we deal with this? Read on as we uncover how to use your spiritual armour!
Firstly, we know from scripture that we are to expect trials and spiritual attacks. Jesus clearly states this in John 16:33. So the most important thing we can learn is how to approach them.
James 1: 2-3
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance”.
So the first thing to remember when we face a trial is to keep an attitude of joy. We can do this because we know that ultimately God will use it all for our good (Romans 8:28). This is not something we can do in and of ourselves. As a result of our human frailty, our natural tendency is to feel despair in times of trial. However, when we rely on Jesus and ask Him to help us, we can approach trials with joy.
Approaching our trials and spiritual attacks with joy is the first step. However, it is equally important to use our spiritual armour to help us stand firm and rest the devil.
Ephesians 6: 10 – 18
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armour 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.
Therefore, put on the full armour 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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 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”.
We find some important instructions in this passage.
1. WE NEED TO PUT ON OUR ARMOUR
Our spiritual armour is not something we automatically have on. This is why we are instructed in this verse to put it on. We need to actively put it on every day. You can do this through prayer. A simple prayer you can pray is as follows:
“Father, I come to you in Jesus’ name. By faith now I put on my helmet of salvation, take up the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God) and the shield of faith. I strap on my breastplate of righteousness now and the belt of truth and put on the shoes for the readiness to spread the gospel of faith now in Jesus’ name”.
This is your most critical line of defence. Make sure that you are putting on your armour every day! As you can see spending time in the Word (the sword of the Spirit) is so important. This happens when you spend time with Jesus filling yourself with His word which is truth.
Each piece of armour is critical. And all of it is firmly connected to the word of God. Remember that your salvation (helmet), faith (shield of faith), righteousness (breastplate of righteousness), truth (sword of truth) and readiness to share the gospel (shoes) are all firmly entrenched in, and built up by, and dependent on the word of God. It’s therefore critical to be spending time daily in the Word because each piece of your armour depends on it.
2. IDENTIFY YOUR ENEMY CORRECTLY
The agents who carry out persecution against us as Christians are people, however, they are NOT the enemy. This passage shows us clearly that we are not wrestling against people. We are wrestling against the devil and his demons who hold people in darkness and use them for their evil purposes. This is such an important distinction to make.
When we understand this, we are free to forgive those who try to bring harm to us and keep our hearts free of bitterness. And moreover, our hearts can be positioned to pray for them just like Jesus instructed us to pray for our enemies and ultimately to try to reach them with the gospel.
3. PRAYER IS ESSENTIAL
This is one of the most incredible privileges we have as children of God. We have 24/7 access to the Most High God who created the universe. There is no one more powerful than God, yet we are able to come into His presence without an appointment and speak to Him anytime. Think about that for a moment. It’s the most incredible realization to know that we can speak to God at all times, no matter where we are. And this incredible, awesome God we serve is more than able to help us in every way no matter what we face.
Remember, that when we pray we are inviting the power of God into the situations we are facing. There is nothing more powerful than that. Set your heart on becoming a person who prayers without ceasing.
The times we live in are perilous and we need to brace ourselves for dark days ahead. We are in the end times now and Jesus will return soon. Our hope always rests in Jesus and in spending all eternity with Him. In the meantime though, while we are here we need to stand firm in Christ during fiery trials and by putting on our armour, identifying our enemy correctly and praying without ceasing we will stand in great victory until our Jesus returns!