Daily Word
Prepared By: Suzy Naber
18/12/2006
Ephesians 6:11-17 : 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes; 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. 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. 14 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. 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. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And 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 saints.
We come to the last two offensive spiritual weapons that we can use to inflict real damage on Satan’s kingdom.
6. Sword of the Spirit
Roman soldiers carried two types of sword; the first was a large sword, and the second was a short sword or dagger for hand-to-hand combat. The Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God, is the effective sword given to us by God in order to defend ourselves against the enemy. It is described in Hebrews 4:12-13 "For the word of God is living and active; sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." The Word of God used in spiritual warfare is described as a double-edged sharp sword that gives us the power and authority needed to win the battle. The Sword of the Spirit should always be sharp and ready for battle. Even Jesus, when tempted by the devil in the wilderness used the Word of God as his weapon, "it is written". Satan came three times to test Jesus twisting the meaning of the Scriptures for his own use but Jesus quickly came back with, “The Scriptures also say.”
However, in order to use the Word of God as a weapon, we need to know the Word of God well. Therefore, we have to constantly read and study and meditate on Scriptures. The Word of God is where we draw our authority over Satan; If not for the Word of God then we don’t have any authority at all. But because we read about that authority in the Bible, we can exercise that authority. Jesus transferred this authority to us, (Luke 10:19) “And I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy”.
7. Prayers
Prayer is our communication line with the Lord without which we can do nothing. In Zech 4:6: ’Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts.
Please refer to my previous "Daily Word" about "Prayers". One very important point that Paul is making is mentioned in verse 18 of above chapter, "pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests". The prayer of the Spirit is to pray in tongues (I Corinthians 14:14 for if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.) It is very importanttopray with our minds and in words we understand, but it is not sufficient. The plans and works of the enemy are often more than we can comprehend and understand. If we only pray with our own minds, we will not be effective enough. We must also pray in the Spirit, in tongues that we don’t understand. Since the Holy Spirit is omniscient, He knows exactly how to have us pray. Paul explains this in Romans 8:26, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express". So, we don’t have to guess or hope that we prayed the right way. When we pray in tongues, we can be sure that God will answer because we’re praying directly in accordance with His will. If we are really fighting against Satan’s kingdom, it is not sufficient to pray only in our strength and with our mind, but we must pray in the Holy Spirit, in tongues.
I will write in more details about the "speaking in tongues" or what is called "The Baptism of the Holy Spirit".
In conclusion we have to determine to remain alert. When the enemy tries to attack we are ready for him. Amen.
Scriptures to read: 1 Corinthians 14,
Scripture to study: Psalm 119:11-12 “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees.
Prayers: Thank you Lord that you are always there to help us. You know our weakness and have therefore given us your Holy Spirit to help us and intercede for us. Amen.
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