Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. ¹⁵ For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Ephesians 6:13-18 NLT

In Ephesians 6 starting from verse 10, Paul warns everyone to be strong in the Lord and to put on his full armor. Since we do not battle against the physical things of this world, but the things of the spiritual, or unseen, world (Ephesians 6:12). Let’s take a closer look at the armor and what exactly it’s protecting.

Starting from verse 14, the first thing we are advised to put on is the belt of truth. It’s important that we know the truth of what’s really happening around us. We must understand our surroundings and know the truth of the battlefield.

Next is the body armor of righteousness. We need to make sure our body parts are protected from any immediate physical attacks. Therefore, we must cover ourselves in the righteousness that is awarded to us when we believe in Christ. We take that and strengthen it. As we continue in righteousness, we change the armor from being made of bronze to being made of diamond and being impenetrable by any evil spirit’s attack on our bodies.

Then in verse 15 it’s the shoes, which is the peace that comes from the Gospel. With this piece, we know that we can step anywhere on the battlefield and be fine. It doesn’t matter whether we are fighting in the trenches, or in minefields, our shoes will protect and guide us. We are fully prepared.

In addition to the shoes, we hold up the shield of faith (verse 16). This shield stops the fiery arrows of the devil. This way, any long-distance attacks will not penetrate because our faith is the assurance that our victory is set. No matter what may come our way, as we build our faith, we shield ourselves from his devices. With our faith, we are not ignorant of Satan’s devices.

Following suit in verse 17, we are to put on salvation as our helmet. This way, no matter what thoughts are sent to us, we know our salvation is assured. We protect our salvation by the renewing of our mind. By turning our heads towards Christ and affirming our salvation. Then, it’s the sword of the spirit, the word of God, which with everything else, allows us to fight! On this battlefield, we are on the offense when we use the word of God. Therefore, the word of God must stay on our lips. We must always choose to speak life.

With all this armor, we must never, ever forget our strongest weapon, prayer (Verse 18)! We have the armor to defend ourselves and keep us standing. And the sword to keep the enemy at bay, but with prayer, we make the power of God available to take down all enemies. Let us never get weary of prayer brethren, but in all things, let's make our petitions known to God, so that we may be able to win all our battles.

Be sure to daily put on your armor so that you can stand strong in all your battles. Also, never cease to pray, for all things, in all things, and through all things. Both are important as we go through our daily battles. Always remember, even if you lose a battle, the war is already won. Jesus conquered all, he is Lord of lords and King of kings. He is the great I AM, the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. Glory!