By Danelle Carvell
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| We protect our bodies from the sun, yet fail to put on our spiritual armor. |
Last year, I experienced the most real, intense spiritual battle of my life. Maybe some day I can share the whole story, but for now I can only say that I was laying sideways on the floor, unable to move, and I knew that I was under a demonic attack. My only option was to pray. The prayer started as a whisper, because I was exhausted from not sleeping for three days straight.
As I kept praying, I felt something come over me that gave me strength. I knew it was the Holy Spirit. As I pushed myself up off the floor, my prayer became progressively louder and more forceful until it exploded into what felt like a victorious battle cry. And I knew that I had won. Through that battle, I learned the authority that I have and I learned how to use it.
The believer who puts on spiritual armor and engages in spiritual warfare is marked. The devil will do all he can to prevent you from knowing your authority and using it against him. But you must learn that do have authority over Satan's attacks as you go about your daily life.
Many Christians do not realize the authority they have. To learn more about your spiritual authority, I recommend The Believer's Authority by Kenneth Hagin. I wrote about spiritual authority in a July 7 post. You can scroll down the home page of my blog to find it. The post is titled "What do you Want That is Different?"
We must recognize that we have an enemy, the devil, who is battling to pull us away from God and destroy our lives in any way he can. The spiritual realm is very real and it is operating in high gear right now. You have probably been feeling the heaviness of the battle we are in for the freedom and soul of our nation. We must learn how to fight this battle not only for ourselves and our families, but also for our nation and the people who are working to save it.
"So often people struggle to recognize that the battles they face every day are not against other people but against spiritual forces. Human nature leads us to believe the conflicts we face in life are because people have wronged us. While sometimes that is true, there is also a bigger spiritual enemy whom God wants us to focus on defeating. So Paul urges you to put on your spiritual armor," says Chelsea Kight in her article What is the Armor of God @ cru.org
"God offers you the same armor that He protects himself with. Recognizing and making use of the armor God gives you is part of becoming more like Him. So it is important to understand the different roles of each piece of armor God tells you to put on," Kight explains.
Spiritual armor is outlined in Ephesians 6: 10-17. You should read that scripture so you can see how God made full provision for your safety. The different parts of this armor symbolize spiritual truths that belong to the believer.
By wearing this armor, your authority over the devil is protected. But you must keep your armor well-secured around you. And you can't do that simply by "praying on" your armor every day. You have to live out each part of your armor and "work it" in order for it to work.
The Belt of Truth
This represents a clear understanding of God's word. You need to know what the scriptures say about every problem you encounter because the devil will tell you lies about yourself and other people. He will accuse you to make you feel guilty, uncertain or unworthy. He will tell you lies about God and about the situations you encounter. You can't just "pray on" your belt of truth; you need to put the time in and study God's word. This is the only way you can stand strong and defeat the lies of the enemy.
The Breastplate of Righteousness
"To protect yourself with the breastplate of righteousness, means to claim for yourself the righteousness before God that only comes from Christ and then grow in obedience to Christ with His help," says Kight. In other words, love and accept Christ and then be obedient to God's word. You can't just "pray on" your protective breastplate and then not bother being obedient.
"When we focus on right living, honoring and obeying God's will, and saying no to sin, we are actively living out and experiencing the righteousness we have as followers of Jesus," Kight says.
Shoes for your feet
Your feet must be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. This is a faithful ministry proclaiming the word of God. What are you doing every day to bring peace to others? Are you sharing your faith with others? Are you living as God intends you to live?
The Shield of Faith
This represents our complete safety under the blood of Christ. You must remember that your faith in God will keep Satan's arrows from wounding you. Kight suggests that you begin each day by reminding yourself what is true about God and what is true about you. Find verses that you can meditate on throughout the day. Keep speaking God's promises until trust in God becomes your natural response to every situation. Again, you can't just "pray on" the shield of faith. Faith is something you live out every day. It takes effort.
The Helmet of Salvation
We are living in dark days when many people are turning away from the truth of God's word. You must protect your mind from this darkness. Your salvation is your greatest gift. By meditating on your salvation (which you cannot lose) you will overcome the fear that something you said or did will separate you from God.
The Sword of the Spirit
This represents God's word, your offensive weapon for spiritual warfare. God's word is an active weapon that cuts like a sword when you feel attacked. During His 40 days in the wilderness, Jesus used scripture to combat Satan's attacks. You can withstand every attack of the enemy by speaking the appropriate scripture for that situation. But you have to know the word of God. You can't just "pray on" your sword.
The spirit world is real. Even though you can't see evil spirits, you can certainly feel the effects of their attacks. Do you deny wind because you can't see it? No. You can see and feel the effects of wind, so you know that it's there. Why is it so hard to believe that you might be dealing with a spiritual problem?
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