(Last in
series)
“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 saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth,
words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the
gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it
fearlessly, as I should.”-Ephesians 6:18-20.
The key to
taking a stand against evil is to understand how we must be equipped to enter
the fight and then showing up where the battle will be won.
Ephesians 6
tells us that the battle against wickedness does not begin in the classroom,
the boardroom, or in the legislature. The battle is fought in prayer. In order
to stand against evil, without attacking people, we must take the fight where
the actual battle can be won. Rather than belittling one another, attacking
each other personally, and allowing our differences to devolve into shouting
matches; we must take our struggle to the rulers, authorities, and spiritual
forces of evil in heavenly realms.
Ephesians
6:11-12 declares: “Put on the full armor
of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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.”
However,
before blazing into prayer; we must be equipped with the full armor of God: the
belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes fitted with the gospel of
peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit.
Our enemy
knows the power and effectiveness of a praying man or woman of God. In fact, he
will do all that he can to distract and dissuade us from praying. If he cannot
busy us or devalue the importance of prayer in our lives; then he will attack
us personally.
That is
precisely why we must be fully equipped before stepping into prayer. Each piece
of armor provides an important layer of protection; additionally each piece of
armor that we put in place enhances our ability to pray effectually.
Effectual
and effective prayer is rooted in truth, righteousness, peace, salvation, and
faith. It is deployed from our mouths like a mighty sword to accomplish the
will of God.
However, the
battle will never be won if we do not show up where the battle is being waged.
We must show up in prayer if we are going to take our stand on the piece of
ground we have been assigned to defend.
Pastor
Scott Burr
Lead
Pastor
Dayspring
Community Church
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