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10Finally, be strong in
the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of
God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For
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. 13Therefore
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. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around
your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and
with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of
peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith,
with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is
the word of God. 18And 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.
Paul uses vivid military imagery in this
passage to encourage his readers in their daily Christian walk. Reading
through this passage, one can almost envision a warrior putting on his
armor piece by piece. But don’t miss the main point of this passage: The
focus must be on personal preparation, not on the enemy.
How does the godly man prepare to live each day as a
follower of Jesus Christ? By paying careful attention to keeping his sword
sharp (V. 17) and by praying “on all occasions with all kinds of prayers
and requests” (v. 18). God’s Word and prayer are the Christians two
greatest weapons against evil. Against these, the enemy’s “flaming arrows”
- temptation, lust, greed, rebellion and the like - are completely
useless.
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