The Armor Of God 8 Of 8

WHY IS THAT A MISTAKE? Because when you talk about putting on the whole armor of God, you need to include the weapon of PRAYER in verse 18.

In our study of the armor of God we have seen that we must ...

• TAKE THE GIRDLE OF TRUTH

• TAKE THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

• PUT ON THE SHOES OF THE GOSPEL

• TAKE UP THE SHIELD OF FAITH

• TAKE THE HELMET OF SALVATION

• TAKE THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT

As Paul closes this section on the armor of God, he talks to us about all the weapons God has given us to DEFEND OURSELVES, but also he mentions two weapons that God has given us to DEFEAT THE DEVIL WITH.

• THE WEAPON OF GOD’S WORD

• THE WEAPON OF PRAYER

Prayer is that glue which binds all the armor together. Without PRAYER, we will be too weak spiritually to use the armor.

We must PRAY ALL KINDS OF PRAYERS:

• SECRET AND OPEN PRAYERS - There are prayers we share with others, and prayers we keep in our hearts alone

• SOCIAL AND SOLITARY PRAYERS - We pray in public gatherings and we pray alone in our private places

• SOLEMN AND SUDDEN PRAYERS - There are prayers that are very deep and thoughtful, and there are prayers that are uttered in a moment of need.

If we are going to be victorious over the devil we must pray ALL KINDS OF PRAYERS.

We must PRAY AT ALL TIMES:

• WHEN THINGS ARE GOING WELL

• WHEN THINGS ARE NOT GOING WELL

• WHEN WE ARE ENCOURAGED

• WHEN WE ARE DISCOURAGED

Illus: Sportscaster John Madden tells a humorous story. He was in Denver to cover a football game, and down by the Bronco's bench he saw a telephone and he asked the head coach what it was for, and the coach said, "That's a hotline to God." Madden said, "Can I use it?" and the coach said, "It'll cost you $100." Madden scratched his head and said, “Ok,” and he paid the $100 and used it.

Next weekend Madden was in Green Bay, and there was another phone just like the one he'd seen in Denver, down by the Packers bench. And he asked the head coach what that phone was for, and once again he was told that that was a hotline to God, but if he wanted to use it would cost him $100. This time Madden gladly forked over the $100 and again his picks that week were perfect.

The next weekend he was in Dallas at Texas Stadium to cover a Cowboys game, and noticed another one of those phones right by the Cowboys bench. And so Madden went up to the head coach, Chan Gaily and said, "Is that one of those hotlines to God?" Gaily said, "It sure is; but if you want to use it, it'll cost you 35 cents." Madden was stunned, and he said to Gaily, "I had to pay $100 in Denver and Green Bay to use that phone." And Gaily rather matter a factly said, "Well of course. We're in Texas. That's a local call."

But the fact is, every child of God has a direct line to heaven if they will use it.

As we consider prayer today, this weapon that God has given us to defeat the devil with, I want us to look at two things about our prayers. We need to -

I. PRAY FOR OURSELVES

The thought that we pray for ourselves first may sound selfish to some people. BUT IT IS NOT!

WHY IS IT NOT SELFISH? Because we cannot pray effective prayers for others until we PRAY FOR OURSELVES and make sure our heart and our life is where it ought to be with the Lord. If my heart is not right with the Lord, there is no need for me to pray for others.

Illus: That is, if I cannot swim, I certainly cannot help someone else who cannot swim.

We have to get our heart right with the Lord before we can help someone else. This is why in James 5:16, we read, “The effectual fervent prayer of a RIGHTEOUS man availeth much.”

But as we pray for ourselves, we need to pray in a certain manner, such as, we need to -

A. PRAY FOR A TENDER HEART

2 Kings 22:19, “Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the LORD.”

Notice, because the king’s heart was tender, God heard his prayer. It is a wonderful thing when a person has a tender heart.