THE DEVIL GOES TO CHURCH
PRAYER AS SPIRITUAL WARFARELesson 4: Put on Your Armor
One of the most neglected but simplest commands in Scripture is to prayerfully put on God’s armor. This lesson talks about why we need to do it regularly, and gives simple ways to obey the command.
In this lesson you will:
• examine the command to put on the armor of God.
• learn how to physically and spiritually put on your armor daily.
• see how putting on the armor corresponds to clothing yourself with Christ.
Reading:
• Review Ephesians 6:10-18
• The Devil Goes to Church – Chapter 3 pgs. 38 (begin with the section titled Put on the Armor) – 40 (end before the heading Get Ready)
• The Devil Goes to Church – Chapter 6, pgs. 71-72
Video 4: Put on Your Armor
Discussion Questions:
1. Do you regularly put on your armor in prayer? Why or why not?
2. Why do you think God made putting on armor a command?
3. What are the two reasons Dave Butts gives for putting on the armor daily?
4. How did learning how the armor of God corresponds to being clothed with Christ affect you? Will this change the way you think about spiritual warfare? How?
5. Most of the armor is for defense…protection. Which part of the armor is your offensive weapon? Why?
Watch Dave’s Summary Video (2-3 minutes)
Spending Time in Prayer
Practice prayerfully putting on the armor of God as Dave described during the video. Use this process:
1. Have the group put on each piece together – one at a time.
2. Have different individuals make a declaration about each piece of armor.
3. After each piece of armor is put on, have the group make a proclamation about putting on Christ:
• Individual declares: Father God, we put on the Helmet of Salvation!
• Group proclaims: Jesus is our salvation!
• Individual declares: Father God, we put on the Breastplate of Righteousness!
• Group proclaims: Jesus is our righteousness!
• Individual declares: Father God, we put on the Belt of Truth!
• Group proclaims: Jesus is the Way, the TRUTH and the Life!
• Individual declares: Father God, we put on the Shoes of the Gospel of Peace!
• Group proclaims: We have peace with God through Jesus Christ!
• Individual declares: Father God, we take up the Shield of Faith!
• Group proclaims: Through faith in Jesus we are sons and daughters of God!
• Individual declares: Father God, we take the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God!
• Group proclaims: Jesus is the Word of God!
Spend time together in prayer letting the armor and the clothing of Christ inform your prayers.
Next Steps:
Practice putting on the armor of God in prayer every day this week…consider doing so until this becomes a daily habit. Dave has trained himself to put on his armor daily in the shower. What “prayer trigger” can you use to remind yourself to put on the armor daily? Consider including prayer about being clothed with Christ. There are no rules for putting on the armor! Don’t make this a ritualistic act but a prayerful awareness of the battle you are in each day and God’s provision for your protection.
Talk to at least one other family member, friend or co-worker about making this a regular practice of prayer. You may never know what an encouragement this will be to others.
Supplemental Material for Lesson 4:
• Read Chapter 4 of The Devil Goes to Church: Three Areas of Conflict – this content helps to equip you and help you to be aware of specific ways the devil will try to attack you, or use you to attack or harm others. The three areas discussed are your thoughts, your emotions and your words. You will also learn how to overcome these battles! Putting on the armor and clothing yourself with Christ is a natural way to combat what Satan may try to do to you and how he may try to use you to do damage.
• Read Chapter 3 of the The Devil Goes to Church pgs. 40 (beginning with Get Ready) – 42
Optional Consultation/Question-Answer Session
With every PrayerU course, there is an option to have a one-hour Zoom session with your instructor(s). This is your opportunity to engage your instructor(s) on a personal level with either a question-answer session, a deeper level conversation about the course content, or both.
There is an additional cost for the consultation session and scheduling is subject to availability.