Pray The Armour of God Often

Ephesians 6:10-20 (the armour of God) is one of my go-to passages in the Bible. This is because we need all the pieces of the armour to protect us; we are in a spiritual battle as verse 12 makes clear:

‘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.’

At a recent meeting the leaders brought props for all the sections of the armour, each person went forward and put on/held any pieces of armour they felt they needed and then we prayed. It was amazing to see God blessing people in different ways. So my first challenge to you and me is to read Ephesians 6:10-20 and pray it through, which of the following pieces of armour are you lacking in today?  

• The belt of truth (v14);
• The breastplate of righteousness (v15);
• Feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace (v15);
• The shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one (v16);
• The helmet of salvation (v17);
• The sword of the spirit, which is the word of God (v18).

What is important however is not just that all the armour is worn but that it fits you properly! Someone at my church recently used the analogy of a wardrobe full of sets of armour of all shapes and sizes. Someone in armour too big cannot move because it weighs them down and someone in armour too small has areas exposed. In other words, as we grow spiritually or face different situations we need different armour, what worked for problems in the past may not work now. An example of this is that my husband moved from studying at home to working in a big firm, he was suddenly surrounded by a lot of non-Christians asking difficult questions and living their lives differently to him. He said to me I think my armour is there it is just a while since I used it, so it doesn’t feel like it fits right. He then asked for prayer that he would have wisdom as he interacted with his colleagues at work.  So my second challenge to you and to me is does your armour fit you well today? If not ask God for wisdom about changes you need to make.