Ephesians 6:10-17 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. 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. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
To those of us who serve God right, He will be very pleased with us. On the other hand, Satan who is the adversary will not sit still, he seeks to interrupt. We battle not against physical things, often it’s more spiritual, for example against sickness, the pandemic, political powers, even the devil himself. This is known as spiritual warfare.
Ephesians 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
The biggest and strongest single armor that we can put on is the armor of prayer. Ephesians mentioned that we put on the whole armor of God, that one part that we may neglect or forget to equip is our knees. Get down on our knees and pray! Do it without ceasing, and with utmost sincerity.
Credit God at All Times
Life constantly presents us with one problem and obstacle after another. At times, we may feel so weak and hopeless but this is when we need to credit God for His strength and power that are manifested in us through our Lord Jesus Christ. No one or nothing in this world can truly help us to triumph over these trials, but God can.
Kneeling down and praying to God is not a sign of weakness, but of strength and power. This is because placing our faith in God, trusting Him to solve our problems, and to walk by faith, not by sight requires a lot of confidence, patience, and persistence. This is contrary to people who resolve their problems only through worldly and secular means.
Happiness is a Choice, Choose God and we have Happiness
2 Corinthians 12:9 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.
Regardless of how much suffering we have to go through in life, always remember that we can still choose to be happy.
How? Simply by rejoicing in the hope and glory of our Heavenly Father. That is a choice or an action based upon our free will given to us by Him.
Although the devil is in control of the negative and wicked events going on around us, but he is not in control of our choices, in particular, our choice to be happy.
Unlike Calvinists, who believe that everything is predetermined, we believe that we are blessed with the gift to choose. We just need to choose wisely given that we are blessed by the Spirit of God’s wisdom. God wants us to be happy, to feel like we are safe and secure being held in His arms.
Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
God gives us a promise, that in His Kingdom there will no longer be suffering and pain, for eternity! So whatever pain and sorrow that we go through now, we might as well just embrace that while it lasts, because it’s temporal and only for as long as we are here on earth.
Ephesians 6 cf Galatians 6:2, just as much as we pray for ourselves, we too need to pray for others with sincerity, and sometimes ask for them to pray for us in return. This act of reciprocation can somehow encourage one another, and make our prayers and spiritual walk stronger. That’s the beauty of the Christian church and fellowship.
Let this message remind all of us to live a strong and faithful prayer life, go for the extra mile and get down on our knees to pray. Let God know how much we need Him, and his almighty power to heal us, and guide us, and to allow us to constantly have joy and peace through our Lord Jesus Christ.