Take... the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit... Ephesians 6:17b-18 The Holy Spirit often reveals Himself to me through the Bible verses He puts on my heart and in my life from Bible study and conversation... Sometimes He uses verses that seem to jump off the page and into my heart when I read my Bible. If the Holy Spirit isn't directing me I have trouble knowing the will of God for my life personally.
How can I hear the Holy Spirit? Ephesians 6: 17b-18 gives us a clue. It says the word of God is the Holy Spirit. Another name for the Bible is God's Word and it is there that we can meet God through the power of the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 6:18 Paul instructs us to pray. He encourages us as followers of Jesus to make ready our sword, the Holy Spirit, and challenges us as followers of Jesus to pray. The sword is a special instrument of ancient warfare. It has offensive and defensive capabilities, an invaluable dual purpose. If I neglect to read my Bible or pray, ways the Spirit speaks to me, then I am left completely unprepared to defend against the devil, much less gain ground for the kingdom of God. All pieces of the armor of God work together to protect us from the devil, but the sword is the only piece of armor that can help us move forward. Child of God, there is a spiritual war waging around us. As believers in the only Living God we must 1) recognize the spiritual component of our daily lives, 2) suit up in our armor (remembering our sword), and 3) remember the battle and the war is the Lord's! God fights for us. The Lord fights with us. He lives in us. It may look pretty dark in the deepest fighting but we cannot falter. We must never take our eyes off Jesus. We must expect the fight and stay always on our guard. The Lord is faithful to his promises, but if we aren't praying to Him and reading our Bibles we run the risk of forgetting what his promises are! Be encouraged, Child of God. Stay in the Spirit through personal Bible study and prayer. Listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to you. Remember your sword for the battle right now and the battle ahead. To God be the glory, Sarah Would you pray with me? Jesus, help me recognize the fight I'm in so that I may arm myself in you. Jesus, you fight for me. May my eyes of faith never leave you. In Jesus name I pray, amen. Reflection: Do you feel like you're fighting the spiritual attacks against you with your sword ready? Or do you feel more like you're not sure where your sword is? How would it look in your life to be well armed in the Spirit? Faith-In-Action: Pick two of the following sets of verses to read through for the next 3 days and see if they don't come in handy when you feel the spiritual battle pressing in on you. Here are a few of my favorite Bible verses. I use them as my spiritual road map to bring me back to Jesus when I feel lost. Proverbs 3: 5-6, Psalm 23, Psalm 139, Psalm 16, Psalm 20, Romans 5: 1-11, Romans 8: 26-27 & Romans 8: 31-39, Ephesians 1: 3-14, Ephesians 6: 10-18, Jeremiah 29: 11-13, Matthew 6: 25-33, Philippians 4: 4-13
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