"but deliver us from evil." (Matt. 6:13b)
Last week, we learned about how the three sources of evil and the benefit of praying for God to show you where evil in your life is coming from. This week, I want to especially show you how you can use God's armor to defeat attacks by the Devil. For past articles in the Lord's Prayer series, click HERE.
There are various ways that God can shield us from evil. If the evil is sourced in the Devil, then we need to look at the Armor of God passage and have a discussion with God about these vital protection pieces. First look up this powerful passage on the Armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-18.
There is great value in going over the pieces of the Armor with God and how they need to be applied in your life at a particular time. I encourage people to realize that the Armor of God is not belts, buckles, and swords, but instead Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Faith, Salvation, the Word of God, Prayer, and Alertness. This is a list of very powerful spiritual weapons that can keep you from being damaged or destroyed by the evil one. Discuss with God each of these pieces and let Him bring to mind things that you have not been paying attention to. The Devil comes at us with fear, doubt, bitterness, hatred, shame, and many other vicious emotional weapons. We need to calmly go over with the Lord Jesus His list of protection.
Start by praying something like this:
Dear Lord, I am in a spiritual battle to establish your principles, your values in my life. Show me the pieces of the Armor I have been neglecting or misunderstanding.
Then, go through each piece of armor and ask these types of questions, listening to the still, small voice of God and His instructions.
Truth
What truths do you need to be aware of, learn, or be reminded of in order to be protected against the fear, doubt, anger, bitterness, shame, and hatred that will come at you?
Righteousness
What righteousness of Christ do you need to understand and claim for yourself, and what righteous deeds do you need to personally perform so that you will be protected from the schemes of Satan?
Peace
What elements of peace that Christ has won for believers must you understand in order to let go of fear, doubt, anger, shame, and bitterness? What techniques of peace must you practice to close the doorways of attack from your family, friends, work place, and church?
Faith
What, how, or where is God asking you to trust Him, to have faith that He will keep the enemy from barging into your life and destroying a big part of it?
Salvation
How will God save you in this situation? What ways of escape is God offering? We need to recognize that God sends us convenient and very practical ways of escape.
Word of God
What verses of Scripture keep being brought to mind in the situation you are in? These are often the guidance of the Holy Spirit giving you a sword to plunge into the middle of the Devil’s plans for you. Have the discussion with God about the verses you are remembering, being guided toward, or noticing when you read.
Prayer
Pray and seek God’s help in the midst of the crisis or difficulty. So often we pray much more fervently when we are in desperate need. Pay attention to what you pray and the thoughts that rush into your mind after you pray. Do new ideas come to you? Do you think of people you could talk to after you pray? Are you aware of new combinations of ideas or new pathways that could be a way out of this dilemma?
Alertness
Finally, discuss with God if this type of crisis has happened in the past. Are you facing a temptation, failing, or weakness that you have faced before? If the answer is yes, ask yourself and other wise people what you need to put in place so that this issue would be eliminated from your life.
Allow yourself to consider solutions and preventative measures that you would not have been willing to consider when you were not in crisis. We often tell ourselves that we can handle a particular temptation that has defeated us before, so we do not put up adequate barriers or warning systems to keep us from falling the next time. Have this discussion with God and put new measures in place.
For a fuller discussion of the Armor of God, see my book Secrets of the Armor of God, available online.
Next week, I will help us understand Satan's schemes and how you can identify his playbook. Feel free to reach out to me at info@ptlb.com. Remember, your greatest life is just ahead.
In His service,
Gil Stieglitz
P.S. Get Breakfast with Solomon, a daily wisdom journey through the Proverbs, by signing up HERE!
The Fruit of the Spirit explained simply and with relevance for today.
Find out what God is asking from you when He tells you to "be loving" or "practice joy" or "be peaceful," and so on to the people in your life. Get ready to experience life change, deeper relationships, greater success, and more joy. You won't want to miss this one! This book comes with video commentaries from Dr. Gil that accompany each chapter, easily accessible from your smart phone or electronic device.