As a believer, you are a soldier in the army of God. Visualize yourself standing ready for battle with the armor of God protecting you—your loins girt with the truth, the breastplate of righteousness in place, your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

And above all, you are holding the shield of faith to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. The helmet of salvation is on your head and the sword of the Spirit—the Word of God—is in your hand. You are covered from head to foot with the powerful armor of God. It is strong and will withstand any onslaught of the enemy. Let me show you how it works.

When Satan tells you in your mind that you will never see the manifestation of your prayers, it is time to gird yourself with the truth. Ephesians 6:13-14 says, “…And having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth.” In John 17:17 Jesus said, “Thy word is truth.” Satan is a liar and the father of lies.

Determine in your heart that having done all to stand, you will stand firm on God’s Word. You will not be moved by what you see, hear or think. You are only moved by the Word of God. Psalm 112:6-8 says of the man who delights in God’s Word, making it final authority, “Surely he shall not be moved forever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.”

Fix your attention on God’s Word. Trust only in the Lord and not in the evil reports you hear. Establish your heart in the Word of God!

The breastplate of righteousness has a particular meaning to you as a believer. It was no accident that the Spirit of God chose the breastplate to represent righteousness. Without it, vital areas of a soldier’s body are exposed to the enemy. Without righteousness, the vital parts of your prayer life are
exposed to Satan.

Righteousness may well be the most misunderstood subject in the New Testament. To the religious mind, it is good moral conduct. However, the true meaning is very different. Righteousness is simply right-standing with God. Because of that right-standing, you have rights and privileges in God’s kingdom.

You will become more aware of those rights and privileges as you realize what happens when you make Jesus the Lord of your life. There are two spiritual families: the family of God and the family of the devil.

Colossians 1:12-13 says, “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.”

Jesus said to the Pharisees, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44).

Ephesians 2:2-3 says, “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”

Kenneth Copeland Ministries