The Armour of God
Over the last few days we have seen that we have an enemy and the Christian life is a battle against a foe who is losing ground, but fighting hard.
Sometimes all we have to do is keep standing (v10 and 14) rather than sitting still, running away or fighting ourselves. The Lord gives us armour to protect us against Satan and his demons. The apostle Paul uses the imagery of a Roman soldier’s armour. They always fought in groups and are famous for using their shields for mutual protection as a tortoise shell. It is vital to be part of a church and small group – the devil as we have seen is like a lion prowling for someone isolated to devour.
The armour of God starts with the belt of truth. The truth we learn from the Bible holds everything up and together. Next we have gospel shoes. This is a readiness to share the gospel of peace at any time.
Then the shield of faith is something that we hold up to stop doubt penetrating. 2 Cor 10:5 reminds us that the battle is mainly in our mind, so we take every thought captive – when a doubt comes, we choose not to believe. This is the same as the helmet of salvation that protects our mind.
The sword is our prayer life in the Spirit – Paul prays with his mind – in other words with words he understands. He also prays with his spirit – using the gift of tongues. If you have not yet received that spiritual gift, talk to your discipler and get them to pray for you. Are you praying in tongues regularly?
Recommended extra reading
A resilient life (Gordon MacDonald)
