January 08, 2015
Weapon of Choice
I have a friend who is a strong
person of faith, but in the work environment she doesn’t want others to know
she is praying about difficult situations. It’s as though prayer is her weapon
of choice and she wants to keep it concealed. At first I thought her stance
strange. I suppose it’s because I’m just the opposite — I want others to know that
prayer is in my arsenal. Paul tell us to put on the “full armor of God” because
our struggle is against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Interestingly
prayer is not listed as part of the armor. “And 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” (Eph 6:17 NIV).
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Gail;
-----If I holstered a pistol and walked into City Market I would be thrown out, even though a pistol is one of the best ways of immediately warding off evil. If I took advantage of a concealed carry permit and carried one in my pocket, I could shop freely. In our current public mindset, the sight of pistols make very ambiguous statements. One hundred fifty years ago, when a man’s right to defend himself was not scorned as vigilantism, holstered pistols in the general merchandise store were not problems.
-----Our culture French kissing Darwin overwhelmed its respect for religion. So the public display of prayer is honestly as threatening to some now, in a less immediate way, as are pistols. And there are even more nuances to it than that. Jesus intimated that the closet was the better place for prayer than the street corner. Even many who know the Lord very well are going to think suspiciously about someone, hands folded, eyes closed, head bowed, praying in the veggie aisle (unless it’s Tim Tebow.) Most of us don’t want to be viewed with suspicion. So we stick prayer in our pocket with our pistols. This way we can protect ourselves and our neighbors both immediately and in prayer. And considering the closet thing, I think the Lord is fine with prayer iin the pocket.
-----Although prayer is not a given item of armor, notice that once Paul has fully defined the armor, he instructs the armored one to pray always in the Spirit. Now this is only a possibility, but I think it is worth thinking about. Girding the loins was done before getting down and dirty in hard work. Girding them with truth is to effect truth in your work. The very first Psalm greatly values the desire for righteousness as a fundamental element of our consciousness. So righteousness covers the desires of the heart with a breastplate. Feet are a common metaphor for the carrying of messages. Note Mercury’s wings are on his feet, not on his shoulders. So too the gospel is on our feet. A breastplate is as much a shield as is the shield. But the shield of faith is highly mobile so it can be placed between whatever attacks and the target of its arrows. If the attack is upon your spreading of the gospel, the shield can be dropped low to cover the feet. If the attack is upon the loins, it can be raised to there, or to the head, or anywhere else arrows are targeting. Salvation is a completely new frame of mind. Do you see yourself as mortal? I don’t. Salvation means I am immortal. Certainly my body is going to eventually slough away from me, temporarily. But even more, this entire fractured, physical existence is going to flee from the face of Our God. And that permanently! And after my body’s been raised immortal! These are realities. They are now the framework of my perceptions, my worldview, my philosophy, how I think. Salvation covers my thoughts. Isn’t it interesting that the only offensive item of armor is the Word of God. The best weapons my own mind can formulate are mud-balls even though it is under the salvation helmet. But the Word of God cuts sharply, deeply, and surgically to the point (Heb 4:12.) This is because it was not only delivered by the Spirit, but it is wielded by Him too. It is the purest, most reliable form of God’s communication to not only us, but also to our attackers. All of these items are for transacting with the enemy, even the shoes (delivering the gospel.)
-----But prayer is not a transaction with the enemy. It often is very well about the enemy, but it is yet a transaction just with God. The only reason we might need to go before the Lord in prayer fully armed is in the midst of battle. We do not need armor to pray to our Commander. We just do it right there in the one place we are fully alive and have been truly perfected - our spirits enjoined by the Spirit, in Whom we pray, by Whom the Sword is swung.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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