Ephesians 6:10-20
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of
His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and
blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this age, [c] against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly
places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having
put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the
preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith
with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in
the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication
for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I
may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20
for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I
ought to speak.
It is with a heavy heart I write this morning, and I must tell you to start with, this is a word the Lord gave to
comfort me this morning in my prayer time. Yesterday I learned of the death
of a man I had known and loved for years, and I am going through a deeply
personal struggle. I really needed this word, but I can’t help but feel that there
are others who need to hear it as well. So I am sharing it, believing that the
Lord will comfort you and bless you as He has me today.
In the above scripture the Apostle Paul encourages believers to
put on the armor of God. Armor that is made available to all that
believe. In fact, as far as I can tell, being a believer is the only
qualification one needs to adorn themselves with this armor. But the Lord
spoke this word to me in my prayer time this morning: a believer who
has accepted the armor of God, but does not pray, is like a man who puts on a
tuxedo on prom night, who has no date, who hasn’t purchased the ticket to get
in, and whose car sits in the driveway broken down - all dressed up with no
place to go.
Paul tells us that as we take the shield of faith and the sword of
the spirit it is to be done in the spirit of prayer. It is this spirit:
this heart, attitude, disposition, and lifestyle of prayer that qualifies us to
use the sword of the spirit. This clearly tells us that we are only
qualified to use the sword of the Spirit in and through the spirit of
prayer. No one is properly prepared to use the sword of the Spirit who
has not had their hearts and minds prepared through prayer.
The sword in the hand of a non-praying man or woman is as
dangerous as a machine gun in the hand of a 3yr old - it can be a means of mass
destruction. But the sword of the Spirit in the hands of a praying man or
woman, can break satanic bondage, open the eyes of the blind, bring healing to
sick bodies, open doors that have been closed, close demonic doors that have
been opened, shake nations and set up the kingdom of God in the earth.
The Lord showed me an important principle this morning through His
Word: men of supernatural power in the earth have always been men of
prayer. Joseph, Daniel, Elijah, Peter, John, and Paul were all men of
prayer.
We can see in God’s Word that Joseph went from the pit to the
palace, from a prisoner to a prince because he had a dream from god which was
developed through his close personal understanding of God’s plan for his life,
which can only be achieved through prayer. We see Elijah on Mt. Carmel as he
called down fire from the sky, and the heavens opened and gave rain, because he
was used to talking with God and he knew that God would answer when he called. Daniel
in a lion’s den was protected from certain death by the power of God: Daniel
knew that God was with him because prayer had taught him how to recognize God’s
presence. can read in Acts where Peter and John spoke the
name of Jesus and a lame man was healed in Jesus’ name, prayer had set the
table for the outpouring of the Holy Ghost upon them and had filled them,
baptized them in the Holy Ghost just days before. And Paul, unharmed by its
bite, shaking off a poisonous viper into the fire.
But we must never forget that Joseph in the pharaoh’s house, Elijah
on Carmel, Daniel in the lion’s den, Peter and John’s miraculous faith, and
Paul’s overcoming power were the result of these men in a closet somewhere on
their knees crying out to God.
I am facing an ocean of sorrow today that is difficult to
navigate, the death of someone very special to me, has taken the wind from my
sails. I know that God has guided me through the death of others I have
loved, I know that He will bring me through this loss too, but it is only on my
knees that I will find the direction to get through this dark hour and the
strength to push on. This new attempt of the enemy to bring me
discouragement will not prevail! My friend Lenny is with the Lord, I will
see Him again, I know I will – remembering his smile today reminds me how God
used him in my life to encourage me as a young minister over 20 years ago. His
confidence in God’s anointing on my life, helped me to gain the confidence I
needed to pursue my personal calling.
I might be knocked down, but I'm not out! The Bible says
that, "the name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous shall run
unto it and be glad!"
Today I got a name, the mighty name of Jesus. And in that name, I
will arise from this difficult hour of discouragement, like they used to say in
the opening of the old TV show The
Six-Million-Dollar Man, "better and stronger" than I was before
and with the name of Jesus on my lips, the enemy of my soul will tremble in
fear!
II Corinthians 12:9-10
“9 And he said unto me, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee: for my
strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Most gladly therefore will I rather
glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in
necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am
weak, then am I strong.”
Thank you my friend, you made a world of difference in my life with your smile and kind words - I will miss you for now, but I will see you again and we will once again worship together, and this time it will be around God's Throne!
Adiós mi amigo Leonardo García, te veré en
La Tierra de La Gloria!
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