The good armor (8)

In this last post about the armor of God, I would like to take a look at all scripture verses we discussed and well in full context, that is as in Ephesians 6:10-18.

I will do so step by step for clarity sake (the words in italics are Bible verses):

• Finally, build up your strength in union with the Lord and by means of his mighty power. 👉The power is the Lord's, we should not event try to rely on our own strength!
• Put on all the armor that God gives you, so that you will be able to stand up against the Devil's evil tricks. 👉What is the purpose of this armor? It will enable us to stand up gainst evil, even if all others and everything else is falling down.
• For we are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age. 👉Never forget this, the fight is NEVER aginst people, it is against the powers of darkness.
• So put on God's armor now! Then when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist the enemy's attacks; and after fighting to the end, you will still hold your ground. 👉Again: let's make sure we keep standing. Do not bow down to Satan.
• So stand ready, with truth as a belt tight around your waist, with righteousness as your breastplate, and as your shoes the readiness to announce the Good News of peace. 👉Stand ready, be alert, don't be sidetracked, keep attention!
• At all times carry faith as a shield; for with it you will be able to put out all the burning arrows shot by the Evil One. And accept salvation as a helmet, and the word of God as the sword which the Spirit gives you. 👉At all times, don't wait for better times, stand ready now!

And so we have come to verse 18. It looks like a new sentence, even a new paragraph, but we should not seperate it from the prevous verses, If we do so, it will lose value and we will miss a very essential part of the armor.

Do all this in prayer, asking for God's help. Pray on every occasion, as the Spirit leads. For this reason keep alert and never give up; pray always for all God's people.

We can arm ourselves from head to toe ... but if we don't do so in prayer, we can't take the fight. Always pray, pray persistently. Is that possible? Yes, otherwise it wouldn't say so. Praying is talking with God, which is possible anytime, anywhere ... we don't necessarily have to sit at the table with our hands folded. Be alert. Is that possible? Yes, I believe so. It does mean that we have to put aside all things that distract us.

With good armor, we fight a good fight (2 Timothy 4: 7).