The Armor Is For Prayer

This is Darren Kuhn with the Masculine Journey Podcast, where we search the ancient paths to find ways that God brings light into a dark world and helps set men free from the struggles that we all face on a day-to-day basis. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few seconds. Enjoy it.

Share it. But most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network. Dr. James Banks offers an open invitation for his people to talk with him at any time about anything. On Encouraging Prayer, Dr. James Banks, author of the bestselling Prayers for Prodigals and many other books on prayer, provides weekly biblical insight to help you learn to love to pray.

And now, here's James. Oh, I think we have a vital topic today on encouraging prayer. I know it's very encouraging to me as we're talking about the armor is for prayer, right, James?

That's right. We're talking about the armor of God today. And that passage in Ephesians 6 is a passage that is loved by many. But I also believe it's a misunderstood passage. And if we understand it correctly, oh man, can it help us when we pray.

Oh, I can hardly wait. Again, the passage in Ephesians 6 that talks about the armor of God really starts in verse 10. It talks about being strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

And then, of course, it tells us about these different pieces of the armor that we are to put on. But the interesting thing when you look at the passage in its entirety is that in many Bibles in English, it has a paragraph break right at verse 18. And that paragraph break begins this way, So when you look at the paragraph break, it isn't there in the original Greek. And, of course, the original Greek didn't have any paragraph breaks to speak of. And you wonder why it's there in English. The reason why is probably a translator thought that a new topic was starting, but I believe that the topic is actually continued. The purpose for the armor of God is prayer.

The reason I believe that – I'm not alone in this – is that Oswald Chambers reached the same conclusion. He explained the armor is for the battle of prayer. The armor is not to fight in, but to shield us while we pray. And then he even says, prayer is the battle. The point is that God is inviting us into a place of his strength in prayerful dependence on him. So we have to be ready to pray and be prepared with the armor of God to help us pray.

So how does that look practically with each piece, so to speak, James? Well, first of all, look at the belt of truth that buckles around your waist. Basically what that is about – Jesus is – well, Paul describes the truth that is in Christ Jesus as that which has absolutely changed us.

I mean, he talks about that in Ephesians chapter 4. And what you can see when you look at that as you pray is that the core of your being is different because of Jesus. And you have to put that on. You have to realize that. And in understanding that, it will help you as you pray. Isn't that cool?

Yeah, it really is. The second part of the armor is the breastplate of righteousness. But it isn't our own righteousness that we put on, right? Scripture talks about how he saved us, not because of anything we've done, but through his mercy, through the washing, through the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. That's in Titus chapter 3, verse 5. So when we put on the breastplate of righteousness, we're protecting ourselves with Christ's righteousness. Our lives are now hidden with him, and because of that, we can come to God, we can come boldly before the throne of grace. Yeah, from the heart, because obviously that's right there under the breastplate, which prayer is so much of the heart, right? Yeah, and that's exactly right. Protecting our hearts is so important.

So the next part of the armor could be easily overlooked, but it's vital. And that is the shoes that come from the gospel of peace. And, you know, keep in mind that Paul has talked about standing your ground, basically three different times in this. And the gospel of peace... I love the way the New Living Translation puts this. It says, for shoes, put on the peace that comes from the good news, so that you will be fully prepared.

Well, what does it mean to be fully prepared? It means that you and I know what Jesus has done for us, and we're ready to share it with others. We're also ready—the forgiveness he's offered us—we're ready to offer to others.

These boots are made for walking. Yeah, yeah. So then, of course, you look at the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And that shield is, again, our faith in Christ. All of this takes us back to Christ. It's in his strength that we're protected. There's a great quote from Charles Spurgeon about this.

I mean, who else, right? He said, when you cannot use your sword, you may take to the weapon of all prayer. Your powder may be damp, your bowstring may be relaxed, but the weapon of all prayer need never be out of order. And he goes on to say, devils may surround you on all sides, but the way upward is always open.

And as long as that road is unobstructed, you will not fall into the enemy. So through Christ, we're protected when we pray. And when we realize that he is interceding for us, we can pray that much more fervently. Yeah, and even James pointed out right when he said, you know, you've got to pray in faith, right? And so it's cool that he says, above all, take up the shield of faith, right?

Yeah, yeah. And then, of course, the helmet of salvation, again, recognizing what Christ has done for us. The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. It's all about God. It's all his armor, not our own. And all of this leads us to the place of praying in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. So again, the armor is for prayer.

Well, it seems like a perfect time for you to armor up, because we're almost out of time. Well, let's go. Let's pray. Father, help us. Help us to pray knowing who we are in you. Lord, thank you for the truth of what you've done for us. Thank you for the way we are shielded by our Savior's power. Help us, Lord, to just move in this and run to you our strength and our shield and our deliverer in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. You can hear more from Pastor James by visiting his website, jamesbanks.org, or by visiting Peace Church in Durham, North Carolina. May God bless you and encourage you as you pray. This is the Truth Network.