Praying With Power

 

 

They sit in front of me in need of a tissue while tears pour down their faces.

They come every Sunday after the sermon. Our prayer team awaits them ready to battle in prayer. Most days the stories and needs aren’t too difficult, but sometimes, the heartbreak is great, and so is the darkness that created it.

Today was one of those days.

I came home drained. Perhaps the cloudy sky magnified the shadows that hovered over me, but today I entertained a thought that took me by surprise. Evil is overpowering our world. . . . 

But it’s not only the people coming for prayer; I’m facing the taunting of the enemy in my own life as I pray for dear friends, two young husbands, one fighting for his life after a heart attack and the other battling cancer. My heart breaks. I admit sometimes I ask, What good is prayer? These questions evoked bitter tears as I worshiped in church this morning.

But

I know better, because darkness cannot extinguish the Light. God is a good God.

A nap and a walk later in the day strengthened my resolve. The shadows lifted, and I knew which verses had to be on the Bite of Bread this week. We must visit the armor of God again. All of it.

A good friend told me the other day of something she discovered while studying these passages. She said, “All of the armor is on the front of us; that means we must face our enemy!” (Thanks Petra!)

I was blown away.

[bctt tweet=”We must face our enemy in prayer wearing the armor of God!” username=”wordsbyandylee”]

God calls us to fight, and we must face the enemy head on.

But don’t forget, we’re not alone, and our armor is God-built-strong. 

 

Sneak Peek:

Ephesians 6: 10-11: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

Ephesians 6: 12: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 6:13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Ephesians 6: 14,15: Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

Ephesians 6: 16:  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Ephesians 17:  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Ephesians 6: 18-20: And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. ¹⁹ Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

How to Use this Reading Plan

We’re going to chew on these verses, bite by bite, piece by piece, and discover what we must wear when we pray. The armor of God is all about our prayer strategy. Join our Bible study group on my Daily Broadcast via Facebook Live. I’m live every weekday morning (God willing) at 8:20 ET. :) You can also download the printable with the scriptures and extra questions and prompts to further your study of each verse.

Everyday living

As I studied the armor of God today I thought back to the time I allowed Drew (my youngest) ride a bike without his helmet. It was a spring day in Massachusetts; we were desperate to play outside and rushed out to ride bikes. I didn’t even think of helmets! I was jogging behind him as he and Stephen rode. But their casual ride soon became a race, as most brotherly bike rides do pedaling down a large hill.

It was like a scene out of a movie.

Fear raced up my chest as I watched Drew begin to lose control of his bike. As I tried to run faster, I fell farther and farther behind. Then fear became reality as I watched his bike flip and his body literally fly through the air, and he landed on his face.  A neighbor reached  him before I could get to the scene. Bloodied and bruised, he miraculously made it through the accident with no serious damage. I felt like a terrible mom.

I no longer let him ride his bike without a helmet.

If a bicycle helmet is that important, how much more our spiritual head-gear!

I think of all the pieces of the armor, the helmet may be the one we might forget to put on before the battle, but it is so very important.

We need them all, but if you had to choose just one, what would it be? What is your weakest area? leave a comment.

 

We are warriors.

Let’s fight.

 

Digging Deep in Prayer,

 

Andy