Armor of God

Introduction

I have heard the phrase many times in church and different ministry settings where people say you must put on the armor of God. We have heard that said many times but often I wonder, what do we really see this putting on of armor activity? Do we look at it as a type of prayer? Do we look at it as a type of ritual? Do we see it as supernatural event? Many ways in which we can see this in our minds playing out. Today we are looking at this phrase as found in scripture. We spoke out these verses in the service a little while ago and maybe you have been wondering ever since we read those, what does that look like in my life? Today I want to look at putting on the armor of God as described here in Ephesians as all the above. (1) It is a prayer. (2) It is a ritual. (3) It is a supernatural event. Lets break down these three things to talk through what that looks like for us.

(1) It is a prayer

The first one we are talking through is looking at this as a specific prayer. It is a prayer of protection. Paul starts us off first by sharing that we put on the armor of God to stand against the wiles of the devil. We pray this prayer of protection so that we may withstand the temptations and lures of the devil. This prayer of protection is meant to help us seek protection on those days when the devil is knocking on our door. The prayer of protection is meant to help us seek protection when the world around us seems so evil and menacing and hopeless.

So what are the parts of this prayer that the armor of God consists of?

(a) belt of truth

We ask God’s truth to hold everything securely in place. When lies start infiltrating our minds and hearts and stripping away our peace, our world starts to crumble and doubts overrun us. We pray for God’s protection so we can ignore or refute the lies of others, including the devil. God’s truth sustains us in all things, all seasons, all mountain tops and all valleys. God’s truth is and must be held at our center. God’s truth holds the rest of body together. God’s truth keeps us focused on the right things.

(b) breastplate of righteousness

We ask God’s righteousness to cover our hearts. We are weak and when lies creep in that we are nothing but sinners who don’t deserve anything but death and destruction. We don’t rely on our righteousness but are solely dependent on Christ to redeem us. We put on the goodness of Christ to guard our hearts and to keep them pure. God sees us through the righteousness of Christ, not our own righteousness. This truth guards our hearts from lies that tell us otherwise.

(c) shoes - whatever helps you proclaim the gospel of peace

Gospel of peace - what helps us proclaim this? Some translations call it the shoes of peace. Most translations say it is putting on shoes that allow you spread the Gospel or peace that comes from the Gospel News. Put on the gospel news that brings peace to you and others. You are loved by God. Christ has redeemed you from all sin. The Holy Spirit lives in you. There is peace that comes from knowing and believing this. Another way to look at what putting on the shoes that help you proclaim the gospel of peace is perhaps filling your heart and mind with God’s word which brings peace to you. Perhaps this is spending time in prayer calming you until you have peace. Perhaps this is being surrounded by others who together have a sense of purpose and peace. At any rate, find in prayer what brings you peace and share that gospel of peace with others.

(d) shield of faith

We use our faith to assure ourselves that God’s word is true and God is faithful to the word spoken to the world. This means our faith in God is stronger than any lies or any misrepresentations of God. Faith is believing and hoping, even when you cannot see or prove it. In other words, the devil may use cleverness and appeals to what motivates you, but faith overrules anything that seeks to dislodge you from God. Faith guards our hearts and minds from lies, deceptions, and tricks of the enemies of God.

(e) Sword of the Lord which is the word of God

Lastly, the word of God is what we defeat our enemy by. It is God’s truths that overrule the lies of the enemies. It is God’s goodness that redeems us. It is God’s peace placed in our hearts and minds that surpasses understanding. It is our faith in God that defeats the enemies attacks. It is the word of God which cuts through lies and deceptions and keeps the truth close to our hearts.

(2) It is a ritual

In circling around to what putting on the armor of God is, we should look to this putting on the armor of God not just as a prayer but as a ritual, a habit for asking for God’s protection. Each day we are given, we seek God’s protection against the things of this world, the devil, the lures and temptation of others. Each day we make a habit of seeking God’s protection and not relying on our own luck or our own abilities.

Making daily prayers a habit reinforces the idea that God is our protection against anything in this world, spiritual or not. Rituals formalize that prayer so as to reinforce the principal behind the prayer. Ritual expands it to where it is not limited to just your own personal prayer but as a body of believers, we seek protection together in our common prayer of asking for protection.

Daily, we need to pray for protection as the enemy does not take a break. Neglecting this routine, we leave ourselves open to attacks and lies.

(3) It is a supernatural event.

Lastly, and not least of all, it is important to see this ritualistic prayer as a supernatural event. You might think it sounds strange to say that but what is the result of prayer but the supernatural, that is God personally intervening in our lives. This is the faith of prayer. We ask the prayer and then we expect God to respond faithfully. This means that we are not just saying the prayer because hope God might step in. No, we pray this prayer because we believe God does and will step into our lives.

Our faith is that God hears this prayer and responds. God instills the truth in our center. God assures us of our salvation and gives us the ability to share the gospel news. God gives us peace by sustaining us in all things and this is what we share. God helps us in our faith to cling to God’s truths and resist the attacks of the enemy. God has given us the written word to share about the Living Word. God empowers us through word of God to defend the gospel truth. These are supernatural, not natural at all. We are not capable on our own but God works in us daily this way.

Make this prayer of protection and daily habit made in faith, knowing God will work in you.