Women’s Ministry kicked off a few weeks ago...this fall we are studying The Armor of God with Priscilla Shirer. I say, ‘with Priscilla Shirer’ because the format of this study is video-based. We spend every other week of our sessions together watching a video which sets us up wonderfully to examine each of the pieces of the armor of God as listed and taught about in the book of Ephesians, particularly chapter 6:10-19.
Our group this year consists of about 20 ladies. We enjoy a time of fellowship when we arrive at church. Of course, we partake of coffee, tea, and snacks :) before we settle into our groups and spend time discussing our lesson for the week or watching the video, and spending time in prayer.
The Armor of God study is all about how crucial it is to put on God’s armor because we are engaged in an invisible battle. Our enemy is Satan. His chief weapon is deception. Spiritual warfare is all around us...and it’s not people we are battling, but against rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (v. 12). Everything that happens in our daily lives is related to the ‘evil one’ striving ultimately for our souls. Thankfully, we are not left on our own in this spiritual warfare. The armor given to us for our protection and success against the schemes of the devil are literally pieces of God’s personal armor. To confirm for yourself, look up Isaiah 59:15-19. Our armor isn’t hand-me-downs or something from the second hand store, nope! It’s our heavenly Father’s personal attire.
Although the battle is unavoidable, and the enemy is invisible, our victory is irrevocable! In the end the victory is ours! As we proceed through this Bible study we will examine each of the pieces of armor at our disposal:
The Belt of Truth
The Breastplate of Righteousness
The Shoes of Peace
The Shield of Faith
The Helmet of Salvation
The Sword of the Spirit
Each of these is available to us...but action is required on our part. The way to activate these pieces of armor and be victorious over the schemes of the devil is to PRAY. Prayer shuts down the enemy in the power of Jesus’ name. Prayer also activates the armor! Ephesians 6:18 says: “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.”
An easy way to remember this is: Prayer
Releases
All
Your
Eternal
Resources
At the conclusion of each lesson we have a spot to summarize our Actionable Intel...a place to note our most important insights from the study for the week. Just as Satan schemes against us, we need to be proactive and devise a divine strategy to take into battle. We do so by seeking the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. This Bible study encourages us to take action by gathering our insights from the Word for the week and taking the time to write out a prayer. Prayer cards have been included in our workbooks. Priscilla encourages us to use these prayers and even post them for repeated use as preparation to secure victory in future battles.
Over the next several weeks we will explore how important each of these pieces of armor are.
An additional note...if you haven’t seen the movie: War Room, it is definitely worth a watch. This movie models the prayer piece of the armor so powerfully! Also, Priscilla Shirer, the author of our Bible study, is cast in this movie! If you get the chance, check it out!