Let us read then Ephesians 6:10 18. "For the rest, be strong in the Lord, and in his all-powerful strength. Put on all the weapons of God, that you may stand firm against the wiles of the devil. For we do not have to fight against flesh and blood, but against dominions, against the authorities, against the princes of this world of darkness, against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up all the arms of God, that ye may be able to resist in the evil day, and stand firm after having overcome all. Be firm therefore : have your truth for a belt; Put on the breastplate of righteousness; Put on your feet the zeal of the Gospel of peace; Take above all that the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the inflamed features of the evil one ; Take also the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Do at all times by the Spirit all kinds of prayers and supplications. Watch over this with complete perseverance, and pray for all the saints."

First, Paul says, "Take ...".

This involves an act on our part, for example by proclaiming verses specific to this or that part of the armor.

Then he goes on to say : "all the weapons of God ...".

It begins with the belt of truth, understanding who is God, what is his character and purpose with us, how to recognize his voice, recognize the lies of the Enemy, and so on. Otherwise it will be difficult for us to proclaim that we are justified, because our conscience will not be at peace. And if we are accused, we will stumble and we will have trouble standing up. If our march is perverted, the shield of faith will soon fall to the ground. It will not take longer for the thoughts to go away in all directions and we no longer want to put on our helmet of salvation. Let's not talk about the sword of the Word which, at this point, was forgotten at home before going to battle ...

Paul continues with the breastplate of justice. We must know that we are fully justified by the blood of Jesus, by His Name, and by His Spirit.

Then come the shoes of the zeal of the Gospel. Rom 12:11 says to us : "Have zeal, and not laziness. Be fervent of mind. Serve the Lord."

Paul then said : "Take above all that the shield of faith. In faith we can not be pleasing to him, and all our armor will be of no use.

The helmet of salvation is called in 1 Thes. 5: 8 "... the hope of salvation". It is the certainty of our salvation ! Let us be sure of our salvation, and let us keep that hope !

Then comes the last weapon : "Take the sword of the word of God. This is the only offensive weapon. It is by proclaiming the Word that we can effectively repel the enemy, and make him flee. Every Christian should memorize certain key biblical verses for the possession of ammunition at the time of combat.

Just as the combat is real, this armor is real, although it is spiritual. The battle in the heavenly places is in the mind. We can say that the spirit of man, clothed in spiritual armor, stands "on (or in) the breach."

"Lord, I want to take all the armor of God, and stand firm against all attacks of the Enemy. Thank you Lord for the belt, the armor, the shoes, the shield, the helmet, and the sword of your Word ! Teach me to stand firm, and make the Enemy flee! In the name of Jesus, amen !"

Here we are at the end of this course on prayer. I sincerely pray that this has helped you to pray more intelligently and more effectively, so that "his kingdom may come, and his will be done, on earth, as in heaven !"

God bless you,

René de Groot