Ephesians 6:12 “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.
We are not contending with human beings alone. The Book of Ephesians in today’s Bible is telling us, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might,” not only in our own thoughts, words and actions. We are to, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Ephesians 6:11
This armor is spiritual armor, nothing physical about it. How are we to contend with the spirit of evil obviously present in the world? If enough good people do nothing, that also is evil. But the action we are being called to here is prayer. Prayer is not nothing. Prayer is a powerful force against the powers of darkness.
Jesus used prayer, as a shining example of how to not go out and do anything without first praying to God, praising him and seeking his wisdom and strength to give us the words to say and the most loving response to take as the solution. Jesus, our example, simply did not go out and take charge of life of his own accord.
There are forces out there that are motivating those minds who do not pray, and/or do not pray to the God of heaven, Father of Jesus Christ his Son. Why am I being so explicit on which “God” to pray to? As Ephesians 6:12 tells us, there are other forces out there, beyond our control, that are not of God, Father of Jesus Christ. These other forces are “God” to malicious groups and ideologies. These dark forces are indeed praying to their “God.”
So, if we are to “put on the whole armor of God” as Ephesians 6:11 says, what exactly are we to do?
“Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; above all taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one.” Ephesians 6:13-16
These are indeed evil days with mass shootings, guns allowed to be sold to mentally ill people, and greed at the helm while too many people die in the streets. The USA is upset now because it is happening here. But across the globe, atrocities occur on a daily basis in places we do not want to think about, so as not to ruin our happy vibe.
“Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit, with aLL prayer and supplication.” Ephesians6:17-18
We are told to mentally be conscious of putting on and using the following spiritual tools:
- Prayer
- Stand in faith
- Truth
- Righteousness
- Gospel of Peace
- Carry faith as a shield
Pray. Pray as never before. As we can see, these are not weak forces that give up when they fail in some way or another. They are consistent. We need to be consistent. We have God, the Almighty Creator on our side. The other dark side does not win in the end. It is good for us to remember that.
Stand in faith. Stand firm in the faith. There is one God for all of us in reality. Every single one of God’s promises has come true in the prophesies, except for the last one. We need to stand firm in the faith in these last days. These are not the days to be willfully ignorant or suddenly stupid to go along with some other popular tide.
Truth. Stand in truth. John 17:17 says, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” Jesus is praying out loud for all of us in this Bible passage, as he prays directly to God, his Father for us. Remain in God’s word, the word that Jesus shared with us.
Righteousness. Righteousness is one of the chief attributes of God, Father of Jesus Christ.
Righteousness is chiefly concerned with ethical behavior, moral uprightness, honesty, integrity, purity and living the way Jesus promoted. Righteousness is the basis of the Golden Rule promoted by Jesus.
Gospel of Peace. Gospel of Peace is a spiritual tool that wins in the end. It is not the person with the biggest gun, assault weapon, nor countries with the most hideous, dastardly tool of death that wins. No, the Gospel of Peace wins in the end. The Gospel of Peace is a firm foundation to stand on. No amount of retaliatory killing as manmade wars promote will ever even the score. Realize the dark forces are duped. Stand firm in the Gospel of Peace.
Carry the shield of faith. Carrying the shield of faith is the protection we need so that you and I “can quench the flaming darts of the evil one,” as Ephesians 6:16 says. Those flaming darts of the evil one cannot penetrate our shield of faith. How do we carry the shield of faith under the weigh of tragedy and oppression? Carry the shield of faith with the support of the Holy Spirit of God, as Jesus his Son instructed us to do. This is not done by our own spirit which can crumble under the weight of so much injustice. Rather, we need to bolster our minds and hearts, even if our bodies are weak and frail, in prayer. Pray at every moment, upon waking, getting dressed, before eating meals, while driving the car, before work and enjoyments, and at all times. Prayer does not need to be done in churches, before altars, icons (idols which Jesus warned us about), nor in supposedly sacred spaces. Carry the shield of faith in every phase of life. We are not promised no pain, fame and fortune, nor to be popular. As a matter of fact, we are promised to be ridiculed by a world, through created by God, renounces God. Carrying the shield of faith is a spiritual tool we cannot go without.
* I continue to extend a warm invitation to the worldwide meditation and prayer effort currently underway through July and August 2019. This is an international, concerted effort specifically addressing the inhumane conditions at the southern border of the United States of America and Mexico, as well as inhumane conditions globally. I extend this prayer to include all the mass shooting victims and their families affected in the Gilroy, CA; El Paso, TX; and Dayton, Ohio mass shootings. I also extend this prayer, asking the Good God above, Father of Jesus Christ, to send his Holy Spirit to be with the countries of Mexico and the United States as the necessary steps of healing and peaceful resolution can begin to take place. I also pray for sensible gun regulations in the United States of America so the country can move past willful ignorance and financial greed that has resulted in so many needless deaths. I am inviting all churches in all denominations in the world to invite all their parishioners to take part; and include all people without any church affiliation to participate. Scroll down to see how meditation and prayer reduced crime in Washington, D.C. by 48 percent.
God Bless