The Armor at Full Strength

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Ephesians 6:10–20 (NLT)

10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

19 And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. 20 I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.

We have learned several things over the past 6 weeks

Week one we learned

this battle is spiritual

our power comes from God

we need to be equipped with all the armor

we are fighting to stand firm and to resist the devil

Week two we talked about

putting on the shoes of the gospel of peace

we also know that will lead us to share it with others

Week three we talked about

putting on the belt of truth

how truth is found in a person

and how truth is discovered not invented

Week four we talked about

putting on the the breastplate of righteousness

how this is righteous acts not the righteousness given to us by God

Week five we talked about

taking up the shield of faith

how faith is resting your whole life in God

Week six we talked about

taking up the helmet of salvation

this is a salvation from the power of sin which brings sanctification

Last week we talked about

taking up the sword of the spirit

and how it needs to be the source of our lives not just a resource in our lives

Today we are going to talk about what some have called the seventh piece of armor, but I don’t think the text shows that.

In the first three pieces of armor the verb is to put on the certain piece of armor

In the last three pieces the verb is to take up the certain pice of armor

What Paul tells the Ephesians to do next is to pray not to take up prayer or to put on prayer but to simply pray.

Prayer isn’t a piece of armor but it is what gives our armor it’s strength.

When we pray the belt of truth is fastened tightly around our waist and doesn’t move around

Without prayer we can be moved with every new thought that comes our way.

When we pray the breastplate of righteousness protects our spiritually vital organs, our heart.

without prayer we don’t have the strength to do right things and our heart gets led astray by selfish passions

When we pray our feet are fitted with the peace that comes from the Gospel

without prayer we are not guaranteed peace that should be ours because of the gospel

When we pray our faith is a strong shield that protects us from all the flaming darts of the enemy

without prayer we are open for attack of the fiery darts of the evil one

When we pray our helmet protects our mind from the power of sin that is ever present in our lives.

Without prayer our helmet is weakened and sin’s power is able to find a vulnerable spot.

When we pray it gives us the power to wield our spiritual sword effectively

Without prayer our sword, God’s Word, can become just another resource in our lives instead of the source of our lives.

Prayer is the real world action that increases our spiritual armor to it’s full strength!

Prayer shouldn’t just be something that you do but should be part of who you are!

Do you decide the what, when, where, and why of prayer or does the what, when, where, and why, of prayer define YOU!

A denomination can run without prayer, a church can run without prayer, your independent lives can run without prayer but the important question remains…are the things being done worth doing if they can be done without prayer?

Everyone in a foxhole is a believer.

I don’t think I need to belabor the importance of prayer but Paul says a couple things about prayer I want to address.

Paul identifies how we should pray.

Paul uses the greek word “pas” four times in verse 18…

Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints NRSV

Paul is telling them to pray all the time with all kinds of prayers and to always keep alert and persevere while praying for all the saints

Paul is stressing the comprehensive aspect of prayer.

Paul doesn’t limit his consistent in prayer to Ephesians, he also says in

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 (NLT)

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6 (NLT)

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

While the need to always be in a constant mindset of prayer, we also need time of isolated prayer.

Jesus’ prayer life

Mark 1:35 “Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.”

Luke 5:16 “But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.”

Luke 6:12 “One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night.”

John 17 - we see Jesus praying for himself, his disciples, and all believers

Luke 23:34 “Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”* And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.*”

Mark 8:6 “So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to his disciples, who distributed the bread to the crowd.”

2. Paul identifies his need in prayer

i. Boldness

Consider this, if Paul the church planter needs boldness how much more do we need to pray for it!

Encourage Change

We are in a spiritual battle, fighting in enemy territory, but we do not have to be captives of the enemy, do you feel like a captive?

Do you find your walk with Jesus is not where it should be?

Is your armor failing, is it not at full strength?

Have you tried to define prayer instead of prayer defining you?