PRAYING FOR YOUR FAMILY - PART THREE

God has given me a strategy that enables me to pray powerfully and effectively for my family and my children. In my previous posts, I shared the opening prayer of thanksgiving and the prayer concerning the belt of truth.  I’m including that part of the prayer in this post to help orient our thoughts before I continue with the next section of the prayer: the breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation.

Father, I thank You for (and I speak the name of every member of my family including my husband, children, children’s spouses, and grandchildren).  I thank You that all in my family are covered by the blood of Jesus, and that our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Luke 10:20).  I thank You that all in my family are engraved on the palm of Your hand (Isaiah 49:16), and therefore, no one can snatch us out of Your hand. (John 10:29). I thank You that You surround me and all in my family with Your glory like a shield, blinding the eyes of our enemy so he cannot see to hit his mark.

I thank you for the full armor of God, and on behalf of myself and all in my family, I buckle about my waist the belt of truth (Ephesians 6:14), for you desire truth in the inmost parts (Psalm 51:6). You have promised that we will know the truth and the truth will set us free (John 8:32).

The Breastplate of Righteousness and the Helmet of Salvation
I put on the breastplate of righteousness (Ephesians 6:14) and the helmet of salvation (Ephesians 6:17) which guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7), for we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).  Therefore, we set our hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  We set our minds on things above, not on earthly things (Colossians 3:1-2).

The order in which I put on the armor is a little different than the order found in Ephesians.  God had a purpose for the order He chose when He wrote the book, but to me these three pieces of our armor  –  the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and the helmet of salvation – are the pieces that cover the three elements of the soul – the mind (helmet of salvation), the emotions/heart (breastplate of righteousness), and the will (waist or loins).  Since the soul is that part of us that is our identity, and since the soul is that part of us that is eternal, the soul is the primary target of the enemy. 

Satan stole our identity in the Garden.  When Adam sinned, all of mankind became sinful.  But that was our old identity.  When Jesus gave Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, He gave us His identity. When God looks at us, He doesn’t see what we were - sinners; He sees who we have become – the righteousness of His Son. That’s why our true identity is found only in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  
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After praying for the protection of my families’ identity (their souls), I continue with the portion of the prayer that covers their destiny.

Feet Fitted With the Readiness of the Gospel of Peace
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Father, I thank you that our feet are fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:15), that our feet are anointed, and that you have promised you will give us every part of the land whereupon we put our foot as our inheritance (Joshua 1:3).  I thank you that our feet are empowered by your Holy Spirit and thus enabled to climb on the heights (Habbakkuk 3:19), take our stand against the devil’s schemes (Ephesians 6:11), and resist him until he flees from us (James 4:7).  I thank you for the assignment you have given our feet – to carry the good news of the gospel of peace (Isaiah 52:7) on all the mountains of society – government, business, religion, education, family, arts and entertainment, and the media.

As we look at this section of the prayer, it is easy to see that we are dealing with destiny – the purpose for which we were created. Our loving and creative Heavenly Father has woven into the fabric of our beings all the talents and abilities we will need to accomplish that goal. It matters to Him that we become fully equipped, trained, and made ready for the things we are called to do.  That readiness comes through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, allowing Him to transform us by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2), and spending time growing in our relationship with Him through reading His Word.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5) That verse tells me that God has already planned, provided, and procured the destiny of each child before they were conceived.  That tells me that every child has a calling!  Every child was created with and for a purpose.  That is why I thank Him that our feet are anointed.  To be anointed means to consecrate, to set apart for a specific purpose.

The land of our inheritance is a phrase that speaks not only of physical health, wealth and possessions, but also spiritual health, peace and dominion (ruling over/possessing territory).  It speaks of the satisfaction we enjoy when we bring eternal gifts to the Father that honor Him and give Him glory.

In order for any child to achieve the destiny for which he/she was created, they will need the power of the Holy Spirit at work in them.  “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit” (Zechariah 4:6) is what the Lord told the prophet , Zerubbabel when he faced the overwhelming task of rebuilding the temple after the Jews returned from 70 years of captivity in Babylon. Your children will need that same power so that they are able to overcome every obstacle they will face in life (both the physical obstacles and the spiritual challenges).  It is the Holy Spirit who enables.  Climbing on the heights means being able to finish the race and achieve their God-given goals.   It means overcoming the enemy of their souls.

We are to take our stand against the devil’s schemes, resisting him until he flees from us.  We can look around today and see all the wickedness that Satan has stirred up against the family.  That is his scheme – to destroy the family.  The destruction of the family breaks down the society and then whole nations are overwhelmed with lawlessness.  Does that sound like the headlines on the five o’clock news? Our prayers matter!

The greatest assignment we have been given is to share the gospel – the good news of salvation to everyone, everywhere – on all the mountains of society.  That assignment is not just for the pastor or the Bible study teacher; that assignment has been given to each one of us.  Everywhere we go, we have the privilege of demonstrating what it means to be so loved by God that our lives overflow with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galations 5:22-23).  That is our identity in Christ.  That is the destiny we were designed to achieve.  We are Christ’s ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20) on the earth. We carry the Light of His Presence everywhere we go. 

Next time: Having put on the full armor of God, we will learn about the weapons He has provided.

Blessings,
Linda