The Armour of God

"Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit."   Ephesians 6: 14 - 18. NKJV

The armour is based on the first century battle dress that a Roman soldier would wear. Many Christians read this passage but don't fully understand the meaning of it. Let's take a few minutes to look:

(1) The belt of truth It refers to the truth of scripture in contrast to the lies of the devil. We live by the truth of God; He has set us free and people should be able to see in us, integrity and dedication to our faith. When we live in the truth, the devil finds it hard to hoodwink us.
(2) The Breastplate of righteousness This breastplate covers the heart and vital organs of our body. It is Jesus' righteousness  that protects us - not ours. He gives us this freely. The breastplate protects us against the accusations and charges that satan spreads about us. We are  righteousness but it's Christ's righteousness, not ours.
(3) Shoes of the Gospel of peace We are to advance in peace as we meet and speak with people. There's enough hatred and unrest in this world. We, as Soldiers of the Lord, put on the shoes of peace and we walk into every kind of situation, spreading the Peace of God, wherever we go.
(4) The shield of faith Roman soldiers used to carry a very large shield when they went into battle. It would cover the whole of the front of their body and would be covered in very thick leather, which they would saturate in water. Often the enemy they met would fire arrows at them that had been dipped in pitch and tar. They would then be lit. The arrows would sink into the shields and be extinguished because of the water. Satan attacks us with fiery darts or arrows which can come in the guise of doubt, fear, accusation, temptations and lust, to name but a few. Ensuring we hold up our spiritual shield will help us to combat these attacks.
(5) Helmet of salvation The helmet protects the head and is symbolic of making sure we use this to protect us from all the bad thoughts that may come into our minds, the one's that bring doubt and suspicion; jealousy and envy.
(6) The sword of the Spirit We need to read our bibles so that we will be equipped to combat false truth that may come our way. In the Word of God, there are promises we can stand on; there is direction that we surely need and assurance of God's love and commitment to us. As we memorise these scriptures, we are able to use them in time of need. However, if we don't read, we'll be in need when the flak comes against us and we may live to regret not studying it. It is food to Christians, if we go without food, we will soon become ill. In the same way, if we fail to eat of God's Word, we will suffer.
(7) Prayer Prayer is quite simply our conversation with God. However, it is more important. Prayer changes situations. People become healed when we pray. Amazing changes can come about by praying. We need to pray all the time. You don't need to get down on your knees each time. We can pray in the shower, the car, the supermarket in fact, wherever we choose. God speaks back to us but we need to learn to recognise His still, quiet voice.  In a nutshell, prayer changes things.

We all need to put on the armour each and everyday. We never know what we will meet as we leave home and go into this busy world. Make a practice of doing this each day. Also, find time to study this piece of scripture yourself. There is far more in it than I could cover here.