Ephesians 6:10-17
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 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. 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. 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.
Lord,
I get up this morning knowing full well that you have called me to tasks and encounters that the enemy would like to shut down. Because of that I put on the full armor that you have given me in order to accomplish your will this morning.
I buckle around me the belt of truth, because without truth there is no discernment of right and wrong. Only truth will make everything else hang together. Bless you Jesus that you are Truth. And that with you surrounding me today everything will be connected and in the right place for every step I take, every conversation that I participate in, every group I am around and every task you will give me to perform today.
I take up the breastplate of righteousness. Not my own righteousness, because all my acts and intentions are like “filthy rags”. Thank you Jesus that you are my righteousness. You are perfect and no weapon can penetrate you. Thank you that you protect my heart and my soul and all my emotions with your perfection.
Make my feet ready to go where ever you send me with the good news. Allow the joy of the news of your love be ever on my lips, and as the constant motivator for all I do.
Give me the shield of faith because the enemy will shoot arrows at me on my way. Help my faith to grow stronger, because you are it’s author and perfecter. I long to have perfect faith.
Finally keep me steady and certain as the helmet of salvation rests on my head. Protect my mind from the evil one and all his schemes to attack me in my thoughts.
Allow me to become the expert swordsman you created me to be. Help me to imitate Jesus as I wield your word to resist the devil that he may flee from me.
Bless you Jesus that you are able to keep me from falling, and that you go with me throughout my day.
2 responses so far ↓
Pat // September 27, 2008 at 7:26 am |
For years I would do this little “putting on the armor” exercise each morning. And one morning, I believe I heard the “Spirit” ask, “did you take it off when you went to bed”? To which I replied, “NO”! And He said, “then you don’t need to put it back on.
From what I see, it was all given to me and put on me when I received Christ. I think Paul is really saying “put on Christ”. He is your helmet, your breastplate, your belt, your sword and you shoes.
So for me, I’m trusting that His armor is eternal, never wearing out, never growing frail or inadequate. And I’ll sing the well known chorus, “He will keep me in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee”!
Ryan Krafft // July 5, 2009 at 2:29 pm |
Pat, you are partially correct in that the first 3 pieces of armor (the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness and the shoes of the gospel of peace), refer to our position in Christ. This is denoted by the word ‘with,’ in this position we are encouraged to stand. Although stand is an active word, not passive.
But concerning the last 3 (shield of faith, helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit), these have even more definite active words associated with them; ‘take up, take.’ These are important to help us continue winning the battle.
There are many other active words in this passage; (e.g. put on, struggle). As finite beings we need to remind ourselves periodically who we are in Christ and appropriate His provisions, including the armor of God so that we are able to stand and fight. Otherwise we become sitting ducks, whom the Enemy can easily confuse and render ineffective.