40 Days of Prayer Devotional (2022 05 19)

I wrote the following devotional for the C&MA 40 Days of Prayer Devotional to be published in January 2023. My passage was Ephesians 6. It asked for a short biography, a devotional thought, and a prayer.

BIO: Lead Pastor, Alliance Bible Church (Baytown, TX). CH (MAJ) in the USAR serving as chaplain for the 7th Psychological Operations Group (POG). Husband to Alanna since 2005. Father to 5 beautiful kids. Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership. Passionate about equipping God's people to mobilize and training present and future Kingdom leaders.

DEVOTIONAL: You must remember that each day God permits you life on this planet, you are engaged in spiritual warfare. This is not simply a descriptive statement (acknowledging a truth). For the Christian, this is a prescriptive statement (a truth you must act on).

When Paul talks about putting on the armor of God to the Ephesian Christians (Ephesians 6:10-18), he makes it clear that it is a necessary first step for every Christian. It is the armor of God that gives you the strength to stand firm (v. 11), fight against the mighty powers of darkness who rule this world (v. 12), and be fully prepared for what He is calling you to (v. 15).

Are you feeling spiritually exhausted? Defeated? Overwhelmed? Unprepared? Are you ready to retreat? Circle the wagons? Wave the white flag of surrender to the world around you? Is the enemy too great and your own strength too small?

Your Father promises you His strength and victory when you lay down your armor and weapons and take up His. Don't be fooled into thinking that acknowledging this truth is the same as acting on it. Paul's final encouragement in this passage is to "pray at all times and on every occasion".

Make it a point today to spend time with Him in prayer. Confess your dependence on Him. Don't stop praying until you are encircled with His peace. Meditate on Scripture. Consider His truth and righteousness. His armor brings the victory today. Put it on, Christian!

PRAYER: Father, you have called me to spiritual warfare today. Without You, I cannot win. If I fight this battle on my own, defeat is certain.

Fill me with Your peace today. Remind me of who You are. You are the God of truth. You are the God of righteousness. You are the God of salvation.

I confess my dependence on Your Holy Spirit. Replace my exhaustion with Your joy and my fear with Your boldness. Fill me with Your strength that I may stand firm and fight faithfully today.