Breaking Deceit: Ep 3: Arming Yourself for Spiritual Warfare: The Full Armor of God

0:00 Hello, friends, and welcome back to the Dialogative Black Woman podcast. I'm your host, Connie Morris, and I'm glad to have you join me for episode three of our series, Breaking the Deceit, Walking in Spiritual Vigilance. Today's episode is titled, Equipped for Spiritual Battle. We'll explore how God has given us everything we need to stand strong against deception and spiritual attacks. Together, we'll dive into the armor of God and discover how to put it on daily and to stay grounded and victorious. The reality of spiritual warfare. Before we talk about armor, we need to understand why it is necessary.

0:45 So let's start with this foundational scripture. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm, Ephesians 6.12. This verse reminds us that our battles aren't just physical or emotional. They're deeply spiritual. The enemy uses deception, fear, and doubt to attack us. But here's the good news. God doesn't leave us defenseless. He provides us with spiritual armor to stand firm, the armor of God.

1:29 So let's break down the armor of God from Ephesians 6, 10 through 18 and see how each piece equips us for battle. The belt of truth. Stand firm then with the belt of truth, buckle around your waist. Ephesians 6, 14, the belt of truth holds everything together. It's our foundation reminding us to live and speak the truth in a world full of lies. It also helped us to identify a lie. So remember our belt of truth keeps us to speak, help us to speak the truth, but it also helps us to stay in truth and identify lies too.

2:13 The breastplate of righteousness. With the breastplate of righteousness in place, Ephesians 6.14, the breastplate protects your heart. Righteousness living according to God's will guides us from guilt and shame. So we're living in truth. We're protecting our heart from a lie so that righteousness is living according to God's will, guards us from guilt and shame. Shoes of peace with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. Ephesians 6.15 Peace keeps us stable and ready to move forward no matter what the enemy throws at us.

3:00 So we have shoes of peace. Shield of faith. Take up the shield of faith with which you extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Ephesians 6.16. Faith protects us from the enemy's lies, doubt, and fear. It allows us to trust God even when the battle feels overwhelming. Why? Because we know we win. The Bible tells us to stand. Because why? Because we know we win. So shield of faith. Helmet of salvation. Take the helmet of salvation, Ephesians 6.17. The helmet protects your mind. When you're confident in your salvation, you can resist thoughts of fear, doubt, and unworthiness.

3:45 And then finally, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, Ephesians 6.17. The Word of God is our offensive weapon. It cuffs through lies and reveals the truth. And so Ephesians 6.18 talks about prayer. I'll have that listed here. But prayer also acts as a shield too. So remember, always, always pray. Pray is your connection to God. It's like your anchor to God. It helps you to stay connected to him. So you have the belt of truth. You have the breastplate of righteousness. Your shoes of peace. The shield of faith.

4:25 The helmet of salvation. and then the sword of the Spirit from Ephesians 6.10 through Ephesians 6.18. And then we have the power of prayer. Each piece of armor equips us to stand firmly, but the armor is only effective when you use it. So you have to put it on daily. I remember sharing a dream in another episode that I had on all my armor, and I was in a fight and the whole goal of that fight that I don't know who I was fighting with, But they were trying to, they weren't punching me or anything.

5:06 Their whole goal was trying to strip off my breastplate of righteousness. It was just, I kept trying to pull it off. Breastplate of righteousness, breastplate of righteousness. Not even anything else that I remember just kept pulling, trying to pull it off. But just supernaturally, because I'm always wearing it, that it just went back on. It was like, I felt like I was in a superhero movie in my dream. And it just went back on. try to pull it off. So the whole time, my whole fight was about that, keeping my armor on. I remember waking up and the Lord said, keep your armor on. Always keep your armor on. So I want to share that with you today. Just always be ready.

5:49 The belt of truth. Remember, in a world full of lies, it helps you identify the lie. Breastfed a righteousness that protects your heart. Shoes of peace. It keeps you stable, able to move forward no matter what the enemy throws at you. The shield of faith. It protects you from the enemy lies, doubt, and fear. It allows you to trust God even when everything seems to be overwhelming and the helmet of salvation. It also helps you to resist fear and doubt and unworthiness. You know, those thoughts that come in your head afterwards. And then, of course, the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, it cuts through the lies and reveals the truth.

6:31 That is what protects you, right? So how do we put that armor on every day? It starts with prayer and intentional focus. So here's just a simple prayer that you can use. Lord, today I put on the belt of truth to guide me, the breastplate of righteousness to protect me, to protect my heart, the shoes of peace to keep me steady, the shield of faith to extinguish every lie, the helmet of salvation to guard my mind, the sword of the spirit to stand on your word. Equip for battle, Lord, and remind me that victory is already mine. In Jesus' name, amen.

7:11 Are there pieces of armor that you've been neglecting and how can I incorporate them into your daily walk? We just did the prayer. So never just put on. It was interesting because when we go out to work or go out of the house, we might not wear our shoes. We might put on slippers, right? We might put on our slippers. But we never go out the house naked, right? And so just as you never leave the house naked, never leave the house without your whole armor of God on. Amen. That's all you got to remember. If you put on your clothes, put on your armor. Amen. So let's decree some truth together to activate.

7:55 You put it on, now let's activate it. I decree that I'm equipped with the full armor of God to stand firm against every attack. I decree that my mind is protected by the helmet of salvation and my heart is guarded by righteousness. I decree that the word of God is my weapon, and I will use it to defeat every lie of the enemy. Take time this week to meditate on Ephesians 6, 10 through 18. Write down each piece of the armor and reflect on how you're using it in your life. If there's an area where you feel unprotected, ask God to show you how to strengthen it. Pray the armor of God every morning this week. Let it become part of your spiritual routine.

8:42 Just become actively and pray it. Not make it a ritual. Remember, it's a spiritual armor. It's God's armor. Remember, he gives it to us. He gives us all the equipment we need to be successful. And then I love to hear how that armor has protected you, how it made you aware of different lies, right? different deceptions that come at you. Be like, damn, I feel more alert in the spirit realm because I'm wearing my armor. Amen. I'm feeling like, yep, I will no longer. I'm walking in spiritual vigilance because I'm dressed for war, spiritual battles. Amen.

9:23 No longer walking out of the house naked, spiritually naked, but you're walking out fully spiritually clothed. So let's close this out in prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you for equipping us with your armor, with the armor of God. Help us to wear it daily, just like we wear our clothes, Lord God. Standing firm in your truth, righteousness, and peace. Strengthen our faith. Guard our minds and remind us to wield your sword, your word with confidence. Thank you for your victory. Thank you for victory, your God. Thank you for your victory that we have in you. In Jesus' name, amen.

10:05 Thank you for joining me on this episode of Diary of a Black Woman podcast. If today's episode has been encouraging, share with friends and subscribe so you don't miss the next episode of our Breaking the Deceit series. Until next time, remember that you are equipped for battle and victory is already yours in Christ. Be blessed.