Ephesians 6:10-18 (KJV)
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
There is a battle that we encounter on a day-to-day basis. It is not a battle in the physical but in the spiritual. It is a battle for our souls. It is a battle against the work and will of God.
1 Peter 5:8 (NLT) – “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”
This is why The Lord gave us tools and weapons to help us overcome the enemy. Verse 12 of Ephesians 6 explains that this is not a battle between one another. However, the devil uses division to get access to our souls. The devil will cause us to fight against one another to detour us from the real battle that we must fight against together. There is a war out there, but we are busy fighting on the inside. The real battle is against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
The armor that we put on will allow us to resist the enemy in times of evil and come out victorious in the end. We cannot fight the enemy with our own strength but only through the power and protection of God. The power and authority that we possess come from The Lord (Luke 10:19).
To be fully prepared for battle, we must put on the belt of truth (By staying true to God’s word, we can navigate the world with clarity and avoid deception), the breastplate of righteousness (We face constant attacks of temptation, but by choosing righteousness, we can keep our hearts protected), the shoes of the Gospel of peace (The enemy’s greatest weapon is worry, for it loosens our grip on faith. Anxiety steals our peace, but the good news of Jesus Christ keeps us grounded and unwavering), the shield of faith (Just as Roman soldiers soaked their shields before battle to extinguish fiery darts, we must immerse ourselves in God’s word to strengthen our faith), the helmet of salvation (As we walk with the Lord, we surrender our thoughts to Him, allowing Him to transform our minds. Our minds are the primary battleground in the spiritual war. While the enemy seeks to create fortresses of doubt and negativity, God works tirelessly to replace them with His liberating truth), and the sword of the Spirit (Just as Jesus silenced temptation with scripture, so can we. The word of God is our sword against Satan’s deceptions).
Now that we have this armor, we must activate it. We can activate the armor of God to fight against the enemy through PRAYER. We must always be alert and persistent in our prayer life so there will be no room for the devil.
Ephesians 6:10 (NLT) – “A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”
Raphael R. Roker 