Did You Take Off Your Armor?
“Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God…” Eph. 6:14-17
35 years ago I heard a message about this scripture and how to apply it to my Christian walk. Being fairly “young in the Lord” at the time, I followed the instructions given to me, knowing and trusting the one delivering this “word” was correct in what he said Holy Spirit showed him. It was common in my early days of ministry to “act out” physically what was happening by the Spirit, and so I did. We were told to get out of bed every morning and literally “Put on the armor of God” (standing and pantomiming getting dressed with it.) This went on for about a week, when questions started arising in my spirit about this daily ritual. So, I went to the leader and asked, “If I put on the armor EVERY morning, when do I take it off, only to put it on again the next morning?” (I really wanted to know, I was not trying to undermine his teaching in any way.) I began to realize that when the Apostle Paul wrote this, he was saying put on the armor ONCE! No need to repeat the process every day, you are covered completely because the first part of that scripture says, ”STAND therefore having fastened…”
I don’t remember getting a decent answer, but I learned a lot about control and interpretation of scripture by leadership at the time. It’s important that we, as believers don’t treat these teachings like they are insurance premiums, having missed a payment, you might get cut-off, or that you “owe” The Father repetition to get what you need. We must hear His voice and accept what He asks of us, not beg or repeat requests like filling a prescription over and over. So, put on the whole armor of God if you haven’t already and walk out this day fully confident that you have done all!