Praying On the Armor of God

Ephesians 6:13-18

Prepare yourself for each day’s spiritual challenges by making the following prayer part of your morning routine:

“Dear Lord, as I get out of bed today, I know I’m stepping onto a battlefield. But I also know You’ve given me everything I need to stand firm. So in the power of Your Holy Spirit, I put on the armor of God:

“First, I place the helmet of salvation on my head. Protect my mind and imagination. Guard my eyes, allowing no sin to creep in. Focus my thoughts on the things of God. Let the breastplate of righteousness keep my heart and emotions safe. I pray that I won’t be governed by my feelings, but by truth. Wrap Your Word around me like a belt. And safeguard me from error. I put on the sandals of peace to guide my steps. Plant my feet in Your truth. Empower me to stand firm against attack.

“Next, I take up the shield of faith. Protect me from Satan’s fiery arrows. Place me shoulder to shoulder with Your army to oppose the Devil’s schemes. Finally, I take up the sword of the Spirit, Your Word. Help me to read the Bible in a fresh, exciting way so I will always be ready to deflect attacks and pierce hearts with Your truth.

“I know I’ll face assaults today, Lord. But You’ve empowered me to stand firm. Give me strength for the battle today.”

Without God’s armor, you’re as vulnerable as a soldier who goes into battle wearing only a bathing suit. Get dressed for success!

From In Touch with Charles Stanley.

Mirror mirror.

Close your eyes for a minute. Picture your own face. Imagine the slope of your cheek and the color of your eyes. Do you notice any freckles, dimples, or blemishes? Big nose or button nose? Thinning hair or a full mane? Crooked teeth or pearly whites?

You know exactly what you look like. Why? Because we all spend time in front of a mirror, studying our faces and getting to know ourselves. We’re not born knowing what we look like. And if we didn’t catch our own reflection from time to time, we’d honestly have no idea!

Now think of this in terms of faith. We’re not born with knowledge of the saving truth of Jesus Christ. We don’t inherently know the Bible. So, we must read, study, and carefully analyze Scripture for the Holy Spirit to communicate His message of salvation on our hearts and minds.

But how many people read the Bible and then walk away, seemingly unaffected? It’s as though they forget the power of the Word as soon as they close the Good Book. These are the people who praise Jesus on Sunday, but forget about Him the rest of the week. These are the ones who, as the apostle James describes, forget what they look like.

James 1:22 says, “Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” The world is dying to know what genuine faith looks like. If you know Jesus as Lord, then you carry a sacred responsibility to show others the true face of faith. Let them see Christ reflected in you.

From: In Touch with Charles Stanley