Why do I need the whole armor of God when I love a prodigal?

September 16, 2013: Why do I need the whole armor of God when I love a prodigal? Please “Share” this new Blog Post for Precious Prodigal http://tinyurl.com/k5o5nlm

Eph 6:11 “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

 

I don’t have to tell you that Satan is alive and well and very, very active, not to mention effective, in the lives of the people we love. That is never more true than in the lives of our prodigals. We’ve watched them get caught up with the wrong people, choose to do the wrong things, and then be taken captive by the world and the “far country.” While drugs and alcohol don’t have to be involved, they usually are.

 

If you’re like me, you probably need to be reminded often that our prodigals are not the enemy. They have fallen into a trap laid by Satan, who hates us and our families and our prodigals. He is the real enemy. (Ephesians 6:12) If those prodigals are ever going to be free, they’re certainly going to need all the help and protection they can get. I’m not telling you something you don’t already know when I tell you that Satan hates the Christian with a passion we can’t even understand. So it isn’t hard to see why our prodigals need to get right with God and then put on the whole armor of God.

 

But what about you, what about me? We also need that whole armor so we can “stand against the wiles of the devil.” A “wile” is a devious strategy used to manipulate us into doing or thinking or feeling something, usually something that isn’t in our best interest. Keeping in mind that we too are targets, what are some of those “wiles” that Satan uses to deceive us and to what end? And how can we protect ourselves from them?

 

The first thing that comes to mind is that Satan would have us to doubt the goodness of God. That’s how he deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden, and that’s often how he deceives you and me today. We see our kids in the midst of chaos they themselves have caused, we see them trapped in addiction, or we see their lives devastated in some other way. We’ve cried until we think we can’t cry anymore, and we’ve prayed for months and sometimes for years without seeing any change. For some of us, the thing we feared above everything else has happened, and we’ve buried someone we love. Our hope is gone, and we begin to ask ourselves if God even sees or cares.

 

The truth is, of course, that God does see and He does care. But it’s easy to believe Satan’s lie and to become discouraged when we can’t see any hope. And discouragement is another of the “wiles of the devil” that can trip us up. Not only are discouraged Christians unusable themselves, but they are also stumbling blocks to others. If you love a prodigal, you are going to face times like that. And those are the times we’re going to need to have that “whole armor of God” because we for sure won’t have the strength to stand without it.

 

Challenge for Today:  Can you, just for today, choose to believe that God is good regardless of what may be happening in your life? Can you get ready to put on the “whole armor of God?”

Author's Note

September 16, 2013:
Why do I need the whole armor of God when I love a prodigal?
Please “Share” this new Blog Post for Precious Prodigal
http://tinyurl.com/k5o5nlm