In Ephesians 6:10-18, Paul is talking about prayer armor. In verses 10-11 he says, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Notice Paul did not say, “Be strong in your own might,” but “in the Lord.” It is His might. It is not something we have to work up to. We must simply be obedient and be clothed in His might. Put on the whole armor or, as the Greek says, the complete armor of God.
Would you know the armor of God if you saw it? It is God’s clothes, and He is clothed in righteousness. He gave you His clothes to wear. Our problem has been that when we get ready to pray, we take off our breastplate of righteousness and throw it in the corner, saying, “Lord, I am so unworthy. I am so, no good.”
I can just imagine how God feels about such statements. He probably says, “Can you believe what they are saying! I sent My Son. He suffered and died to make them righteous. I gave them My clothes to wear, but they are laying over in the corner. Then they tell Me how unworthy they are because they don’t have anything to wear.” That must grieve the heart of God after all He has done to clothe us with righteousness. Be obedient and put on His armor. You need it!
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” (Ephesians 6:12-16)
Did you ever notice it says, “All the fiery darts of the wicked?”
Someone may say, “Yes, but I just can’t do it.” I beg your pardon! The Word says you can. “Yes, but you see, I am so unworthy.” Now you have told on yourself. You do not have on the whole armor of God. You left off the breastplate of righteousness. “Yes, but I don’t feel righteous, so I must not be.” You may not feel like getting dressed in the morning before you go to work, but believe me, it is the thing to do! God has told us to put on all of His clothes. If you don’t feel righteous, it is because you don’t have on your breastplate.
The Church has been too sin conscious. We need to become righteous-conscious. There is not a Christian who doesn’t know about sin, but how many know that they are the righteousness of God? Renew your mind to the fact that you are the righteousness of God in Christ. When it becomes a revelation in your spirit, sin will cease to be a problem for you. It will be as Paul said, “Sin shall not have dominion over you.”
The Sword of the Spirit
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…” (Ephesians 6:17) The Sword of the Spirit. The spoken Word of God is the Sword of the Spirit.
We call the Bible our sword, but it is not really the sword. It may be the substance the sword is made of, but it is not the sword until it proceeds out of your mouth. There is no life in the Bible until it comes out of your mouth. You can lay the Bible on someone that is sick, and it will not heal them. There is no power in the book. The power is released when you believe it and speak it.
You breathe life into it and the Spirit of God rises up in you when you dare to say, “Father, Your Word says that my need would be supplied according to Your riches in glory. I have given, and now it is given to me good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over. In the name of Jesus, I receive it.”
In the Greek, there was little or no punctuation. The translators just simply punctuated as they believed it should be. I believe from studying verses 17 and 18 that Paul is saying, “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God praying always.”
The Word of God Praying
When you pray the Word of God, you are praying the perfect will of God. It will tear down Satan’s stronghold. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
The Word of God is alive and powerful, more powerful than any tongue that could speak against you. That is the two-edged sword he is talking about. One translation says, “The Word of God is a living thing.” Revelation 1:16 says, “…and out of his (Jesus’) mouth went a sharp two-edged sword…”
The tongue will cut or heal. “There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword but the tongue of the wise is health.” (Proverbs 12:18) The Word of God is health to all our flesh. (Proverbs 4:22) Therefore we should proclaim it.
You might pray this way: I am redeemed from the curse of the Law; and in the name of Jesus, I refuse to bow to sickness or disease. Every disease germ and every virus that touches this body dies instantly, in the name of Jesus.
Then make that your confession every day, not just when you feel like it. Your body is like a child. It will do anything you let it do, and sometimes it would rather be sick than have to go to work.
“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” (Galatians 5:17) If you give in to the flesh continually, your body will be sick. Galatians 5:19-21 lists the works of the flesh. Each one, or any combination of these, is very capable of producing sickness and disease in the body. Paul said, “If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” (Romans 8:13)
No, this is not the power of positive thinking. It is the power of God’s Word. It is creative power, the ability of God released when you pray the Word of God. Take the things God has said about your situation and put them in prayer form. Here is a simple way to pray the Word of God:
Father, in the name of Jesus, I am the body of Christ. I overcome evil with good. Satan has no power over me for the Greater One dwells in me. Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. No evil will befall me; neither shall any plague come nigh my dwelling, for He has given His angels charge over me. They keep me in all my ways and in my pathway is life.
I thank You, Father, that no weapon formed against me will prosper, but whatever I do will prosper. I am like a tree planted by the rivers of water.
My God supplies all my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. I have all sufficiency in all things. I do abound to all good works, for my God has made all grace abound toward me.
Every word is based on the Word of God. You are proclaiming the answer, not the problem.
Someone says, “You don’t understand. I don’t have abundance.” No, and you never will if you continue to disagree with God. Learn to call those things that be not as though they were. It is when you continually agree with and proclaim boldly the things God has said about you that He will perform His Word. Most Christians have tried it for a day or two, then given up. For nearly two years I prayed the Word of God before some things became a revelation in my spirit.
Just because we have said it two or three times doesn’t mean we believe it. Sometimes it is necessary to say it over and over to bring faith.
The Bible says, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” If we hear ourselves speaking what God said, it will get in our spirits more quickly than if we hear someone else say it. If we confess God’s Word audibly, faith will come more quickly.
The Helmet of Salvation
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying always...” (Ephesians 6:17-18) Praying always with all prayer. The Word of God praying. Paul is talking about prayer armor.
Part of that armor is the helmet of salvation. The word salvation means “deliverance, preservation, healing, and soundness.” All those ideas are present in the word salvation, and they all belong to us. David said, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy.” (Psalm 107:2)Many people are not walking in the full provision of salvation because they are not saying it. They remain in the hand of the enemy. (2 Timothy 2:24-26) Deliverance, healing, preservation, and soundness belong to us. Jesus paid for it! (Isaiah 53:4-5)
The Breastplate of Righteousness
Come before the Father in prayer, wearing the breastplate of righteousness. Then you can stand in the throne room and say, “Father, I stand before You because of the righteousness of Your Son Jesus. I come boldly before You without fear or condemnation or a sense of inferiority.” Someone may say, “You mean you think you are not inferior to God?” I didn’t say I wasn’t. It is His righteousness that is not inferior. I am a partaker of that righteousness. (2 Corinthians 5:21) The Word says I am a joint-heir with Jesus. Do you think Jesus is inferior? We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. God’s righteousness cannot be inferior or unworthy.
When you put all this armor on, you will have on God’s clothes. When you stand before the devil to resist him, he thinks God is inside that armor, and He really is. (John 14:23) With God’s armor on, Satan doesn’t see you; he sees God’s clothes. But the minute you raise up your helmet and say, “I prayed, but it isn’t working out,” or “I don’t feel healed,” Satan knows that it is not God because He doesn’t talk that way.
Put on the prayer armor. Gird your loins with the Truth, for this part holds all the armor in place. If you do not have the Truth, you are defeat going somewhere to happen! If you do not have the Truth, you do not know how to pray accurately. If you do not have the Truth, you will not know who you are in Christ Jesus.
You are an heir of God and joint heir with His Son Jesus and The Greater One dwells in you, so clothe yourself and be strong in the Lord and the power of His might!
Charles Capps
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