Life Plan Devotion #81 [God's Armor--Shield of Faith, Part IX]

Hi, Everyone.
We will finish looking at the Shield of Faith tomorrow. I promise!

Life Plan Devotion #81 [God's Armor--Shield of Faith, Part IX]

     We have looked at 2 of 4 practical ways to guarantee that you can extinguish every flaming weapon of Satan: 1) Think faith, and 2) Speak faith. Today, let's look at the third way to "hold up the shield of faith, to stop the fiery arrows of the devil" (Ephesians 6:16).
     To extinguish every dart, you must pray faith. Prayer is powerful, so powerful that when coupled with faith and a true relationship with Jesus, we have the promise of John 15:7, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you."
     If you want to be able to stop the enemy's fiery darts of doubt, discouragement, and depression, you must pray in faith, for strength and to call upon the power of Almighty God. The prayer of faith can heal the sick (James 5:15), raise the dead (Acts 9:40), and open prison doors (Acts 16:25-26). When you pray God's Word and pray in the Name of Jesus, there is nothing Satan can do to harm you (I Peter 3:12-13; Mark 16:17-18; Luke 10:19).
     In my quiet time, I was reading through the Book of Exodus. One day, I read Exodus chapter 20, and as I read about the 10 Commandments, I paused at verse 7, "You shall not take the Name of the LORD your God in vain." Now, I know that means we should not use God's Name in a flippant manner (i.e., say, "Oh, my God") or in a derogatory manner (i.e., say His Name as a swear word), but I just felt there was something more to taking His Name "in vain."
     I went to Him in prayer, to ask God what He meant. I prayed, "Father, what do You mean when You say we should not take Your Name in vain?" As I got quiet before Him, to listen for that "still, small voice," I "heard" Him say, "When my children pray in My Name but do not believe I will answer, they take My Name in vain."
     Whether you're praying for help in any area of life or praying for power to tackle the enemy, if you do not believe that God will come through for you, your prayer will fall on deaf ears. Oh, but when you pray in faith, God says, "When [you] call on Me, I will answer; I will be with [you] in trouble. I will rescue and honor [you]" (Psalm 91:15).

Matthew 21:22
"And all things, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive."

What this has to do with weight loss: When the enemy comes at you, throwing darts of doubt, discouragement, and depression about your ability to release excess weight and keep it off, you can pray for a different outcome. However, you must pray in faith, believing, to receive.

Prayer for Today:
"Heavenly Father, I thank You for the power of prayer. I thank You that when I call upon You in faith that You hear me and will answer me. May I never pray in Your Name but doubt that You will come through for me. May my prayers be strengthened by the power of Your Word, as I pray a promise or a precedence from Your Word, and may every dart of the devil be deflected by my prayers of faith. I pray in Jesus' Name. Amen."

Go forth today, praying powerful prayers of faith, to defeat the enemy's intentional darts of doubt, discouragement, and depression.

Blessings,
Mary

Good morning, Mary.

When looking at that 3rd commandment, I've often thought of Christ's words in the Sermon on the Mount, "but when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking" (Matthew 6:7). 

One vain and repetitious prayer that I have noticed in my quest for health is mealtime prayer that asks the Lord to bless the food, when often it's not nourishing fare.  It would be one thing if we were poor and were asking a blessing on simple bread.  But when we have an abundance and the brownies and pie at the church potluck are on the menu and on our plates, that becomes a vain prayer.  At those times I try to remember to simply give thanks for the delicious food and the good company.  Of course what I personally should be praying for at that point is strength to overcome temptation!

Thank you for another great reminder of the power of faith and prayer.

Vickie

Hi, Vickie.
Yes, we often pray a prayer that is merely repeating words. How sad that we miss an opportunity to actually be in the presence of God. So often, our prayers are merely a "Hi, Father. How are You?" Can you imagine! Words spoken in passing. I've done it, too, sad to say.
Thank you for reading and replying, giving me (and other readers) something to think about.
Blessings,
Mary