11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And 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.

Our enemy is not flesh and blood.

 We wrestle not against flesh and blood.

Wrestling is a contact sport.

 We are in hand to hand combat for our families, our world and our nation. We have a real enemy and he doesn't rest. He is on the attack. We are his target as the Children of God.He doesn't fight fair.He will use all manner of things and PEOPLE to take us out.

(Kind of like Al Quida and suicide bombers.Who else incites this destruction of human life?)

We need to recognize his devices.His wiles. His scheming and tactics.

Since we have such a formidable enemy the Lord has PROVIDED us with  spiritual armor to withstand the attacks that come our way.

Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,Eph 6:14

We need to know the Truth and wrap ourselves in it.That way we can perceive the deception.And our enemy is the master of deception being the father of lies.

The truth will set us free from the lies of the enemy.

If we know the truth we can combat the lies.

REPLACE THE LIES WITH THE TRUTH.

 SPEAK IT OUT LOUD.

 Speak and Pray truth over your family.To be girded means to be ready.To gird your loins meant in Roman times to draw up your lower garment to increase your mobility and agility.So in the Spirit we should be alert and ready to respond.We must secure anything that will cause us to stumble and fall when in battle.We must be wrapped in the truth and be renewed everyday in our minds.

The battleground is often in our mind.

1 Peter 1:13

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

Gird up our minds how?? By knowing the truth.What does the Lord say? What does the Word say?

The enemy will use the word against us by twisting it or distortion. Did God REALLY say? Doubt and confusion are his tactics.

 KNOW WHAT GOD SAYS

 MEDITATE ON IT.

Jesus also spoke the Word back to the enemy when the enemy confronted him to tempt him. Jesus combatted the enemy with the truth. He spoke it.

As the battle heats up in the natural so it is in the Spiritual. This is the time to be prepared for battle.

Don't grow weary and sit back, even tho it sounds good.It is deception and a false sense of security.

Fight apathy and complacency.

Discipline yourself like a soldier or an athelete.

Be VIGILENT.

PRESS ON.

Get your battle gear on. Watch and pray.

The LORD is on our side.

Pray always.

With all perseverance.

For all the saints.

Lord, give us knees like praying Hyde.

And the perseverance too!

Amen.

John Hyde 1865-1912 John Hyde, better known as "The Praying Hyde," was born in Carrollton, Illinois. His father was a Presbyterian minister who faithfully proclaimed the Gospel message and called for the Lord to thrust out laborers into His harvest. He prayed this prayer not only in the pulpit but also in the home, around the family altar. This made an indelible impression on the life of young John, as he grew up in that atmosphere. John was graduated from Cathage College with such high honors that he was elected to a position on the faculty. However, he had heard the divine call to the regions beyond, and was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. So he resigned his posi- tion and entered the Presbyterian seminary. In Chicago, he was graduated in the spring of 1892 and sailed for India the following October.         His ministry of prayer in India during the next 20 years was such that the natives referred to him as "the man who never sleeps." Some termed him "the apostle of prayer." But more familiarly he was known as "the praying Hyde." He was all these and more, for deep in India's Punjab, he envi- sioned his Master, and face to face with the eternal, he learned lessons of prayer which were amazing.         Often he spent 30 days and nights in prayer, and many times was on his knees in deep intercession for 36 hours at a time.         His work among the villages was very successful, in that for many years he won four to ten people a day to the Lord Jesus Christ. Hyde was instrumental in establishing the annual Sialkote Conferences, from which thousands of mission- aries and native workers returned to the stations, empowered anew and afresh for the work of reaching India with the Gospel.         Hyde's life of sacrifice, humility, love for souls and deep spirituality, as well as his example in the ministry of intercession, inspired many others to effect these graces in their own lives and ministries. He died February 17, 1912. His last words were, "Shout the victory of Jesus Christ!"