Why Prayer is Important

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak."
Ephesians 6:10-20
In Ephesians 6:14-17, God lays out His armor.
  • Belt of Truth
  • Breastplate of Righteousness
  • Shoes of the Gospel of Peace
  • Shield of Faith
  • Helmet of Salvation
  • Sword of the Spirit
We are given only one offensive weapon; the Sword of the Spirit.  I find it interesting that the first of the items of the armor that God provides is Truth and the primary weapon of our enemy is lies.  And the armor we are give is reflective of the divine armor mentioned in Isaiah 11:5 and Isaiah 59:17.  Given this we are provided with all the equipment we need to resist the enemy.  The real question is do we wear the armor and weapon?

We are told repeatedly to stand/withstand or resist/oppose the enemy.  We may think stand means just stand there, but this is an active command—full fledged resistance, not giving an inch.  In the Lord of the Rings, Aragorn with the army of middle earth stands at the gates of Mordor and he yells, “May the dark lord come forth!”  This is the picture I see of full fledged resistance.

Jeff said that he always had a desire to be part of something bigger than himself, something that would outlive him. (Ecclesiastes 3:11 says God has put eternity into man’s heart, which explains the desire to be about something bigger than ourselves.)  The scope of the battlefield is bigger than what we can see. When we fail to take this seriously, when we fail to participate in this kind of active resistance, when we allow ourselves to look more like a lost and hurting world who does not know where to turn or who to follow, then we effectively lay aside the divine armor and become a spectator.


We should remember that there is no sideline from which to watch. If we become spectators, we become obstacles. The spiritual battlefield is littered with scattered armor and unresolved Christians who trip those who would obey the order to stand. We can choose to take up the standard or become a hindrance.  There are no other choices.  Spiritual battles are fought on our knees.

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