Determination

Realizing that my present struggles are essential for future achievement.

Prayer Target

In the last blog, we mentioned one weapon of defense, the sword of the Spirit. Also, that there was a seventh part of the Armor of God.

You probably weren’t told of another weapon available to you, thus you have been fighting Satan with only part of the arsenal available to you, and, often defeated.

The next verse, Eph 6:18, gives the second weapon, “all prayer” and it tells what it is.

“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf”.

When you get tempted to sin, the natural reaction is to grab on and hold on tight for the fight. You “white knuckle it”. You wait for the battle to end and it most often ends in defeat. Then Satan grabs that “handle of guilt” on your back and tells you that you are not worthy of the Kingdom or that you aren’t a believer and reminds you that your “righteousness is as filthy rags”. Then the depression and guilt sets in and you feel worthless and ineffective as a Christian.

The principle of “all prayer” gives you a new weapon to defeat the enemy.

The technique is simple. We all know someone who is a struggling Believer. Choose someone who you know, that if they got their life right with God, they would be a dynamic Christian, effective for the faith. Don’t pick someone that you are intimate with (there is a reason for this) and only pick one person and keep them as your Prayer Target.

Now, when you are tempted, use this temptation as a signal from God to pray for this person, for their walk with God, for their moral purity, for their time with God and their spiritual growth. As you do, you no longer fear the power of the temptation as it comes but rather you welcome it as a reminder from God to pray for your Prayer Target.

When you are tempted to sin, immediately think of your Prayer Target and begin to pray for them, then thank God for the temptation because it reminded you to pray for that person. The power of the temptation immediately loses its grip on you. Satan’s plan was thwarted. He wanted you to fall, not pray for someone.

Using this principle, you have changed a curse into a blessing. Several things will happen. First, Satan will back off on the temptation, as he does not want you to pray for this person, he wants you to fall. Second, the person will start to have a closer walk with God. Third, you will be prompted to contact them to inquire as to how they are growing, as to their faith. This will cause the two of you to be bonded in a deep friendship.

The hindrances are forgetting to use the principle, stopping because it is work or not realizing that it is a blessing when you are tempted. If you become thankful when you are tempted, you can look forward to the temptation as it is a reminder to pray.

The Armor of God

In Ephesians 6, Paul writes about the armor of God. We often misuse this text to motivate believers in other ways than what is stated in the verses. The admonishment is to simply resist and stand against Satan. We have all heard sermons and teachings using this text. We have heard the six pieces of armor. I will list them and a brief description of their purpose.

· Gird your loins with truth-the loins were described as the “seat of emotions". The writer encourages us to gird, wrap up for action, our emotions as Satan’s first line of attack is in that area. Our emotions are tossed about and we begin to doubt God and His Word. When our emotions tell us one thing, we need to counter them with the truth of a matter.

· The breastplate of righteousness-this piece covers the heart. Satan shoots arrows of doubt and deception and thoughts of guilt. We need to cover the heart with the righteousness that we stand in, reminding ourselves that our “righteousness is as filthy rags” but He is now our righteousness.

· Shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace-we often use this verse as a motivator to witness but it actually is another admonition to “stand firm”, not to go out and witness. The verse in the original language is related to putting on shoes with cleats. The cleats cause us to “dig in” when we are hit by the enemy. This is to insure that we remain upright when we stand on the slippery slopes of the evil one. The “gospel of peace” is the good news that we are at peace with God. This is another of the enemy’s tactics, to make you feel ill at ease with Him.

· Take up the shield of faith-its purpose is to extinguish the all the flaming missiles of the evil one. Satan’s goal is to get to the heart, as mentioned above. This is a second layer of defense.

· The helmet of salvation-Satan wants you to believe that you are not saved. If that doesn’t work, then he will hope that at least, you will doubt the stability of your place in Christ. One of the greatest stumbling blocks in the Christian's life is the belief that he can lose his salvation. If you do, Satan wins. The helmet protects your thoughts when you start thinking that you are not saved or you can lose your salvation. These thoughts create an uneasiness in the believer and an insecurity as to his position in Christ.

· The sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Jesus used this when He was tempted in the wilderness.

There they are, the six. But wait, the Bible has a theme running from Genesis to Revelations. Six is an incomplete number. Seven is the number of perfection. To be a complete list, one that is  perfect, it must have seven principles of standing firm. Where is the seventh?

Life Message

Sharing with others how God is using my weakness to conform me to the image of His Son.