Hosanna Restoration Church

As I read this scripture in the New Living Translation, I had this sense of how Jesus would have told this to His disciples and of course to us personally. It was like He was standing by me and telling me to be sure and use everything that He has given in order to resist evil. There was such an assurance that victory was guaranteed. Almost a sense that the battle was over as soon as I determined that I would in fact use every piece of God’s armor.

In order to resist, we have to recognize that we are a target. We need to discern when evil is poking around. We all know that there is evil out there, but are we willing to admit that some of it appeals to the flesh we still carry around. Are we aware of our own weak spots and do we fight for what is right or we do rationalize what is not right. If we fight we win. If we don’t, we open a door for the enemy to gain ground in our lives.

The victory is guaranteed if only we will use the weapons that God has put at our disposal. But only we can decide if we want to stand firm or not. We can know all the right words and all the right things to do, but the victory is in the doing not just in the knowing.

It boils down to what we most desire. If our greatest desire is to please God, then we will choose His way and reap the rewards of a life of faith and trust. If we prefer our own way we will have quite a struggle. The Bible warns us that we can not serve two masters. There are many people who truly do believe in God and love Him in their own way. We always get in trouble when we want our way, and God’s benefits. It just won’t work that way. This again creates that struggle that Paul talked about when he was doing what he did not want to do, and not doing what he wanted to do. The only way to get the victory is through Christ who always causes us to triumph. The advice that the Holy Spirit gives us is to use every piece of the armor that God has provided.

That armor is activate by prayer. We are to pray at all times and about all things. It does not take hours of prayer, it requires instant prayer. Some may take a moment, and yes others may take hours, but most important is readiness to pray. Knowing that prayer is always the answer. We are to stay alert. We are to pray for one another. And, we are to be persistent in our prayer.

All our prayer is to be done in the power of the Holy Spirit. I must say here, that I also felt like the Lord said, “and in the language of the Holy Spirit.” We are to pray in the spirit and pray with understanding. God has given tools for power prayer. Power prayer activates our armor because in builds us up. It increases our faith. It increases our awareness of the gifts that God has given us to assure our victory. So lets use every thing that God has provided, and seek Him for more.