Isaiah - Verse By Verse

Thought:  To me, the need for prayer to speak out gospel truth is huge!

Question:  Do I know of others praying for me?

Scripture:  Ephesians 6:20 (NIV):  "for which I am an ambassador in chains.  Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."

Paul knows well his status in life:  the gospel has forced him into prison!  He is incarcerated because of Christ!  Yet he recognizes fully that his purposefulness is not diminished in this location:  God can use him just as effectively from a jail as anywhere else.  Thus the self-given title:  "ambassador in chains."  Aren't we all to some degree?  Chained by circumstance or by the prejudice against us by non-believers, we are all "in jail" while on this planet if we have pledged our hearts to the Kingdom of Heaven.  And yet, amazingly, we have the awesome responsibility of telling the good news while we are "jailed."  That is not always easy.  Paul knew he was but weak flesh and in need of others' prayers.  He wanted to always be "fearless" and never afraid to speak God's truth.  He even points out that this is how he "should" be, no doubt given the value of God, heaven, eternity and the pricelessness of the gospel.  Yet we often lose sight of this when faced with earthy circumstances and the continual press against our faith from the vast unseen of the evil spiritual realm.  But it is prayer that reconnects us to God's wondrous kingdom!  Prayer enlivens our faith in His unseen benefits!  Prayer calls down the host of heaven, too many in number to be counted, who can stand with us like a mighty army!  Prayer helps us immeasurably as we envision the support of all who pray for us!

Prayer:  Father of Grace, we pray You will ever encourage us to pray!  And may our goal in prayer be to see the good news shared more and more.  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, we ought to continually pray for our Pastors and Evangelists--they need words from God.

Question:  Do I pray before I open my mouth to speak of Christ?

Scripture:  Ephesians 6:19 (NIV):  "Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,"

There is a kind of special category of prayer for preachers and ministers of God's Word.  Thus the exhortation, "pray also for me."  Paul gives us a lot of insight into how to pray for pastors when he says "whenever I open my mouth."  More than anyone, I suppose, pastors and full-time Christian workers are expected to speak with much more responsibility than the rest of us "commoners."  Not only that, but Paul is also speaking of the burden upon him to spread the gospel.  Paul was one of our first "missionaries", a real pioneer to evangelism and the grounding of the church age.  Everything he did was centered on this work.  Even so, he knew that his mere desire to preach the gospel was not enough to guarantee success.  The power of success in spiritual matters must come from a Spiritual Source--from God Himself.  Prayer draws God down into the situation and at the same time opposes the fear we naturally have so that we may face humanity with the truth of God's hell and heaven.

We can be "given" words to speak even in the midst of a fearful situation.  This was promised by Christ to His disciples in Matthew 10:19 and 20 where it is said that the "Spirit of your Father" will speak "through you."

What is "the mystery of the gospel"?  To me, the mystery will remain a mystery that God holds within His own knowledge.  But what He has made known through Christ is what we need to know and all we need to know to successfully re-connect to God.

Prayer:  Father, You know what needs to be said to people.  Please give Your words in each appropriate moment, to any who would speak Your gospel today.  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, our culture would do well to understand that only prayer made to God, The Father of Jesus Christ, is true "in the Spirit" praying.

Question:  Do I pray "in the Spirit"?

Scripture:  Ephesians 6:18 (NIV):  "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

Prayer is for people.  It is for their success in the ways of God and in His Kingdom, which is "not of this world."  Thus we are commanded to pray "in the Spirit" and "for all the saints."  As a conclusion to being a well-protected, well-armored Christian, Paul exhorts us to be prayer warriors.  Prayer, as it were, bathes each piece of armor, or empowers each piece, drawing God's Spirit down into our lives as we ask Him to enter and take over each and every aspect.  Thus Paul says, "all occasions", and "all kinds of prayers and requests."  No activity or corner of our lives is left out of God's touch.

Our praying should be "in the Spirit", that is, not a running off at the mouth of our own thoughts and ideas, or long, articulate, religious, formal prayers offered basically to impress listeners with our knowledge, but rather, a reflection of total dependence on God.  Spiritual prayer is swathed in humility:  "I am nothing, but You, Lord, are Everything!"  It is God's Spirit overcoming us, filling us, influencing our words so that they are fitting to bring the total support of all God's ways, all God's purposes--not our own.  We pray "in the Spirit" both for ourselves and others when we focus on what God wants for us, subjecting even our own requests, what we think we need and want, to His Will.  Yet we voice our requests, oh yes!  And we bring EVERYTHING to God, even the nagging immaturities we may be embarrassed to admit having.  Passed through God's Spirit they are properly subjected to His gaze and we learn and grow.  And most importantly, praying "in the Spirit" is praying in the name of Jesus Christ, that is, in agreement with all that Christ would approve.

True spiritual prayer is an activity that requires alertness, that is, constant vigilance, and persistence, perseverance--the attitude that says "don't quit."  When we are ever observant and watchful, no crack is left for satan to wedge his toe into.  Prayer becomes the invisible protectorate between the pieces of armor, the insurance to cover all the chinks and openings.  Thus Paul, after the long list of armor, says, "And pray..."

Prayer:  Father, thank You for the avenue of prayer--a direct line to You.  Help me to bring EVERYTHING to you and EVERYONE to You, too, in prayer at ALL TIMES.  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, our minds are only whole and reliable if protected by God, and our lives are only useful and meaningful if full of His Word.

Question:  Have I taken God's offer of salvation?  Have I wielded His Word in my defense?

Scripture:  Ephesians 6:17 (NIV):  "Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

The word "take" makes clear our responsibility.  Something is available.  God has made it available to us for the taking, but we must do the taking.  Each piece of armor must be taken by us and added by us to ourself.

The helmet of salvation is that aspect of God that is redemptive toward our society.  It is within His heart to love and even to have created objects to love to display and enrich His quality of love.  Salvation is that display of His love to us as individuals.  The helmet covers the brain of a person.  The brain is central to making decisions involving the will, such as when we chose Christ in salvation.  The helmet protects the most important part of the human body.  Salvation is probably the most important doctrine of our faith because it begins our being united to God, and enables us to continue to learn more.  First we are born, then we grow.  We must take salvation first.

Thus the helmet armor empowers us to be able to wear all the rest, and it, again, is God Himself with us.  We cannot save ourselves.  Only through Christ are we saved.

The sword of the Spirit, we are plainly told here, is "the word of God."  Again I ask, "what attribute of God is seen?"  God is a "revealer of mysteries".  We find this out in the Book of Daniel.  God's Word reveals Himself to us.  Without His Word, The Bible, we would know nothing of Him.  Thus the revelation quality of God, His openness and disclosiveness, is very evident here.  And because Goed chose, lovingly, to be open with us about Himself through Scripture, we now have available a piece of armor unique to the others:  it is the only offensive weapon in the list of gear!  His Spirit, God is Spirit, has the most power of all the tools of armor.  What God has spoken, through Scripture, is cutting--a separator.  It is truth in action, shedding away lies and anything that falsely competes with the realism of God and Truth.  It is the weapon Christ used against satan in the wilderness temptation.  It drove satan away when it was truthfully applied; it did not help satan when it was misquoted and falsely applied against The Son of God.

To summarize the armor I feel like listing them here with the Godly attributes alongside, and what part they protect:

1.  Belt of Truth                                  1.  Protects "bowels" , seat of emotion    1.  God, Christ, is Truth

2.  Breastplate of Righteousness      2.  Protects vital organs                            2.  Holiness of God

3.  Shoes of the Gospel                      3.  Protects our goings/witness                3.  God's "Gospel Heart":  freely offering salvation to all 

4.  Shield of Faith                               4.  Protects from satanic accusations       4.  God Himself is our shield

5.  Helmet of Salvation                      5.  Protects "brain"/center of the will      5.  God is our only Savior, through Christ

6.  Sword of Spirit                             6.  Protects by offensive attack                6.  God is the "Revealer", the "Living Word" 

We learn a very great deal about God from the armor He provides us to use.  When we "take the full armor", let us remember we are taking God, literally, to our being, as our one and only aid.

Prayer:  God of Salvation, thank You for preserving my soul by Your power, and thank You for the great defensive strength of Your Word.  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, our faith is vital.  Without it, God is not able to act or even protect us.

Question:  Have I shielded my life, my self, with God?

Scripture:  Ephesians 6:16 (NIV):  "In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."

How can faith be called an attribute of God's nature?  "Faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love."  We know that God is love; we know He is the basis and reason for our hope through redemption.  How is God the embodiment of faith, of our faith in His goodness?  We have faith in God, does God have faith in us?  Interesting thought, isn't it?

To me, faith is very near the heart and attributes of God.  Faith perhaps could be said to be our "end" of God's power at work.  We believe God is able--able to do most anything.  That is why, to me, the shield of faith is so useful, so universally valuable, to us as believers.  It is our way to tap into God's limitless power resources!  Our faith activates God as our shield.  Our faith brings God to accomplish victory on our behalf.  We can "extinguish all" that the enemy can hurl against us.  How much?  "ALL"!

We are told in Old Testament scripture that God Himself is our shield.  Since we are weak and powerless, the shield, God, can be lifted and moved to any position of protection and be made to block satan's attack.  He, literally His life and Who He is, becomes our protection.

God, our shield, "extinguishes flaming arows" of satan.  Why are the attacks of our spiritual enemy called "flaming arrows", or in the King James Version, "fiery darts"?  Well, like arrows, the assault is "airborne".  Satan is the Prince of The Power of the Air.  He comes at us through the realm of the earth's atmosphere, that is, right where we live.  His attacks, therefore, seem to be nearer to us than God is near.  They come along avenues that form the works of our every day lives:  parts of our circumstances, parts of our weaknesses, parts of our prejudices, etc.  He has good inroads.

Also like arrows, the assault is well-aimed.  Again satan knows our weak spots, the chinks in our armor.  What fells one christian may not be used on another.  The weapons are individually aimed.

The fire, to me, represents, as always, the biblical aspect of judgment.  Satan is The Accuser and he comes attacking with his lawyer-like condemnation, the exactness of the still-valid strength of the law, his leverage.  His arrow of condemnation hits us and we are tempted to cave in with guilt and disbelieve God, believe satan's lie and, in so doing, fall wounded.  When faith is shattered by unbelief, we are spiritually "dead."  We would do well to analyze, in every one of satan's attacks, just what judgment, condemning opinion, he is bringing to us.  Perhaps the attack is temptation.  How is temptation a use of judgment?  Easy.  Every time we're tempted we are asked to push God aside and select a lie of satan's instead.  Temptation succombed to is a "condemnation" of God in my mind and life.  What will be judged, we might ask:  myself or God?

The shield of faith prevents the fire from touching us because God, in Christ, intervenes, preventing condemnation, both of me and of Who God is.  Notice that the shield not only provides a layer of protection, but it also "extinguishes" the fire of the arrow.  I't like to think that as soon as the accusation satan brings touches the concept of God, Who is all Truth and Righteousness, the fire immediately goes out!  Praise the Lord for Christ Who is our living Truth and Righteousness!  Because of Christ, neither I nor God's nature must "burn" in condemnation.  Rather, satan will!!

Prayer:  Father, enlarge my faith in Your faithfulness to me!  Help me to believe You will be my shield against the attacks of satan.  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, the good news of salvation in Christ is a real protection against the godless, empty directions satan offers.

Question:  Am I ready to share the good news of Christ?

Scripture:  Ephesians 6:15 (NIV):  "and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace."

God's nature contains the gospel:  good news to mankind.  It is part of the nature of love--God is love--to reach out and give to the object loved that which is needed.  Otherwise there is no love.  Feet cause us to go forward.  God "went forward", condescended, to us, to love us, to know us, to touch us and rescue us.  And His rescue is characterized by peace.  God didn't send Jesus to condemn or make war against us, though we fully deserved to be annihilated in our sin.  No.  God came in peace, bringing peace.  This is the beauty of the good news of salvation.

Now, God wants us to be similarly protected and equipped by His very gospel nature:  clothed in this armor of good, peaceful news to all mankind.  We fight evil when we go with the gospel of peace and deliver to unsaved people an opportunity of salvation.

Like shoes needing to be the right size, so our application of God's gospel to our lives needs to be "fitted" rightly to our individual "feet."  The gospel can be delivered in many ways.  My feet are a different size than yours, though many of us have identical sizes; thus, to me, there are various ways to lead people to the kingdom, and my "way", or, the way God uses me, may differ from you, but yet be a way God has worked to reach many other people in the past.

Our "feet", or method of influencing people for the kingdom, need to be in "readiness."  Scripturally we know we are told to be ever ready to explain the hope people may see in us.  We keep the gospel on the tip of our tongues; handy for any situation.  Paul says here that this readiness "comes from" the gospel itself.  By nature, God's nature, there is eagerness to save people.  We can be eager because the message is so very good:  salvation is to whoever will have it, it is free, it is everlasting, it is able to completely save, to the "uttermost", any sinner of any extent, you can take it immediately, or even later, though procrastination is dangerous!, and you can receive it anywhere--on a cross, outside of church, on your knees or off, etc.

Being armored with the gospel of peace is a strong protection because our feet, or "goings", are for good, not evil, when we go with the gospel.  Our reason for living is pure and right and completely in line with God's will.

Prayer:  Dear God, thank You for the good news of the gospel.  Strengthen me to protect my own life by bringing the gospel to others.  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, truth and righteousness are fundamental qualities that our society have compromised and rejected over and over.

Question:  What is truth?  Have I learned that Christ stated he was the embodiment of truth?

Scripture:  Ephesians 6:14 (NIV):  "Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,"

God enjoys teaching us about His nature.  And we have it here, part by part, as compared to pieces of armor.  God will protect us with Who He is!  God is "Truth."  Christ said, "I am (the way), the truth (and the life)."  Only God is "righteous", that is, perfect, always right and never wrong--never capable of making a mistake.  Thus we cover our mid-section, chest, waist area and "loins", where the "bowels" are located, and, as I stated previously, representative, to me, of covering our emotional self--our sense of well-being and personal integrity.  All our most vital organs are protected with these pieces of armor.  With the "belt of truth buckled around your waist", you are completely encircled on all sides by truth.  Truth and righteousness do keep us emotionally stable.  It's when lies and errors, dishonesty and wickedness abound in a person's life that the resulting confusion begins to tear them apart and make them emotionally unstable, even mentally ill.

Prayer:  God of Truth and Righteousness, help me encircle myself with Who You are, believing You utterly, accepting You completely, that I may stand against evil.  Help me be armed with Your truth and Your right-doing.  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, there is no standing against evil in our own strength.

Question:  Do I see my need for the "putting on" of "God's armor"--God's power?

Scripture:  Ephesians 6:13 (NIV):  "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."

As stated, it's God's armor, God's strength.  Notice too, it is His full armor.  No piece must come up missing.  No chink in the covering must exist.  Once we have Him protecting us thoroughly and directly, we will "be able to stand", even in "the day of evil."

What is "the day of evil"?  Rather than interpret this as a singular, future day, such as the most totally evil day of AntiChrist's reign, shall we say, or the day Jesus was crucified, or whatever, we should, I think, interpret it, rather, as any day that presents itself to us as evil.  It will vary from individual to individual.  What is your day of evil?  Perhaps it is when your weakest points were under attack.  Thus we can stand even in our weakest condition.  What would our weakest condition consist of?  How about total failure?  Can we stand in the midst of utter failure, of overriding sin?  Yes!  If this is not true none of us could ever stand.  As the psalmist teaches, if God counts iniquities, who could stand?  We only stand in Christ--our iniquities not counted because of Christ's blood.  That's the whole point.  If we could realize this deeply enough we would easily pick up God's armor without having to be encouraged, because we would well be familiar with how much we need it.  We would "stand in Christ", apart from self-effort and legalistic endeavors.  We would wear the armor every moment.

"After you have done everything, stand..."  We still like to try things in our own strength.  I feel this is what Paul addresses here.  Stress the first word, (after), and you begin to get Paul's drift here.  We'll always try in human strength to live righteously, etc., to some degree, but that's often the part of the warfare we lose dreadfully.  Then when God comes to our rescue, He becomes the true energy of His own power, and the way, the true way, the only true way, of standing.

Prayer:  Lord of Victory, thank You for Your "armor"!  Help me put it on in its completeness so that I may stand against evil.  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, we all need to be much more aware of the spiritual warfare going on continually in this world.

Question:  Have I perceived the struggle against evil around me--in me?

Scripture:  Ephesians 6:12 (NIV):  "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 humans are "flesh and blood".  We can fight only on that plane, that level.  Satan is a spiritual being.  He is joined by fallen angels of various "ranks" who are also spiritual beings.  Because they are spiritual, we cannot fight them at all.  In addition, God has given satan authority.  He has allowed him to rule the earth and to dwell in its atmosphere with his demonic armies.  This has plunged the world into darkness.  Putting aside the logical and burning question for now, 'Why did God allow this?', we must simply accept this fact.  But God doesn't abandon us to this dilemma.  He has all the equipment necessary, ready and available to anyone and everyone who will receive it:  His "armor".  So the dilemma of a world ruled by satan is dissolved!  God overcomes!  When satan and his hordes are allowed to do their worst, God still wins.  Thus, if "our struggle" is against an enemy too large and powerful for us, all we need do is get equipped by God to win.

It is clear to me that Paul paints the awfulness of the opposition here for one purpose only:  to remind us how much we need God.  We must not think we can function independently.  We cannot at all.  We are totally ill-equipped to oppose "rulers", "authorities", "powers" and "spiritual forces."  What's more, we are either "used" by God or satan.  Christ put it this way, "you are of your father, the devil, and his deeds you are doing."  The implication was that they could have done the deeds of God their Heavenly Father.  Either we do one or the other--we never do "our own thing."  Many people are quite unaware of the fact that they are really serving satan when they think, via self-deception and/or satan's deception, that they are calling the shots themselves.  Man elevates himself way too much!  We are "children."  We are "sheep."  We need to remember that!  And if we are God's children, we need to clothe ourselves in His strong armor.  We'll never overcome the enemy unless we wear God's armor. 

Prayer:  Lord of Hosts, help me ever to place myself in Your side of the struggle that goes on in this world.  Equip me, Father, to utilize Your power for this battle.  Amen. 

Thought:  To me, without God's "armor" we are sitting ducks for satan!

Question:  Have I availed myself of the full spiritual protection God offers me?

Scripture:  Ephesians 6:11 (NIV):  "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes."

Here is the "how to" of being strong in the Lord, verse 10, and the "why", too.  How?  Envision your whole self armored on every side; covered over for full protection.  Your head in what it thinks and chooses; your hands and arms for what deeds you move them to perform; your vulnerable internal organs, heart and inner emotions, etc., for personal well-being; your feet and legs for wherever you may go--all are covered.  Why?  So that we can stand against Satan.  All failures in the Christian life become in-roads of the enemy.  How far "in" he can proceed is determined by whether or not I have armor, and how much. 

The "devil's schemes" are many and varied.  There are probably as many different schemes of the devil as there are different individual people!  We cannot fathom these schemes or, in our human ability, defeat satan.  Satan is a much more powerful being than we are!  We cannot begin to oppose him--only God, satan's Creator, can overpower him.  Thus we must put on God's armor.  We must "be strong" in His mighty power.  God and satan fight each other.  The Christian becomes the battleground.  Let's get this straight once and for all:  we cannot help God win!  God, however, can help us win!  We must relinquish ourselves into God's ability, receive the "armor", and stand and watch God win, in and through us, against satan.  It is our responsibility to "put" the armor on.

Prayer:  Great Saving Father, cause me to see my need for protection ane help me "put on" the different coverages You provide.  Amen. 

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