If you’ve ever felt like you were under attack by an evil force bigger than yourself, it is likely the enemy doing everything in his power to destroy your life. The devil is a deceiver and will use any tactic he can to get you to renounce Christ. He shudders every time you turn God. The enemy wants to steal our faith by tempting us, discouraging us, making us doubt God’s goodness, distracting us and dividing us. He uses various strategies to attack our faith and our assurance in God. However, God always helps us survive these attacks with our faith strengthened rather than destroyed. The Bible tells us, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:11). When we wear weakened armor, it’s easy for the enemy to work his way in and sabotage us. However, if we’re intentional about it and trust in God’s power, we can defeat the devil. God can help us take on the enemy and all his empty promises. Here are seven prayers to put on the full armor of God.
Keep Your Eyes Focused on God
Satan doesn’t surrender without a fight. He comes seeking to discourage you and to defeat you. He may even use your friends, an area of persecution or discouraging responses made by your family. He may also try to throw a missile of temptation at your heart. If you’re in a difficult situation right now that includes suffering pain, worry, or illness, the devil is behind it to some degree. In these situations, it’s important to acknowledge that the devil is working against you, but also be knowledgeable enough in the Word of God to discern when he is behind the attack. Fix your eyes on God with this prayer: Dear Lord, please help me to keep my eyes focused on You. I know You are at my right hand. If I keep my eyes focused on you and trust you, I know that I will not be shaken. Amen.
Pray Without Ceasing
The Bible tells us, “Your adversary the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). The adversary wants to attack your desires, your thoughts, even how you see and treat your own body. It’s important that you guard against Satan’s schemes through prayer. First, ask God to guard your heart so that it beats for Him alone. Next, pray that God would cover your mind with the helmet of salvation, reminding you that you are a child of God who is loved. As you pray that God will develop the fruits of His Holy Spirit in every area of your life, you will be invincible through prayer to the one who seeks to tear you down. Start with this prayer: Heavenly Father, I know that prayer has incredible power. Help me to pray without ceasing and keep You in total focus. Amen.
Stand Firm in Your Faith
When Christians begin to have doubts about something as a significant as the truth of their faith, it’s quite understandable that this might worry or even frighten them. Whenever unbelief shows us we must deal honestly with our doubts. It’s imperative that you address your unbelief. To ignore them is to court spiritual disaster. One of the best ways to put on your full armor and combat the enemy’s advances is to address your unbelief. Pray for guidance and for God to stand beside you through whatever you’re battling. Trust God to strengthen your faith with this prayer: Dear God, I call on You to help me to stand firm in my faith. Ground me so that I am protected from any attacks the enemy throws my way. I know I am stronger with You. Amen.
Don’t Believe the Devil's Lies
The enemy wants you to believe a number of lies about God. One of the biggest lies he wants you to believe is that there is no life after deal, that our earthly life is the only one we’ll experience. There’s no need to worry about tomorrow or the next day because everything ceases to exist when we die. On top of that, he wants you to sin. There’s no need to concern ourselves with God or life after death because that doesn’t exist either. This lie couldn’t be further from the truth. God promises eternal life and salvation for those who believe. He also wants you to believe that hell doesn’t exist, not only because it puts us in a mental place where living a life of sin is acceptable but also because the enemy wants to put us at odds with God. How could a God who loves us so deeply send any of his children to a place of such torment? While Hell is just as real as Heaven is, God doesn’t send us there. Our complete brokenness does. God does everything He possibly can to keep us away from Hell. Not believing those lies is a big step you can take in combating the enemy. Stay protected from the enemy’s lies with this prayer: Heavenly Father, teach me to trust Your direction. Help me to have confidence in Your guidance and not be steered off course. Amen.
Fight Back
Another way Satan will try to get you to struggle with doubt and unbelief is by thinking God won’t help you because you haven’t done everything right or believing that God is willing to help others, but not you. But God doesn’t expect perfection from us. God works in our lives through faith. He wants us to trust Him, believe in Him, and have faith in Him. He wants us to expect good things in our lives. Fight back at Satan’s schemes by shifting your paradigm. Every day believe something good is going to happen in your life. Protect yourself with this prayer: Dear God, thank You for Your protection over my family and friends. I come against any plot, ploy or scheme the enemy has planned for our lives and I render it useless sin Jesus’ name. Amen.
Let Go of Doubt
No matter where you are in your faith life, it’s common to doubt. While it may seem difficult to eliminate doubt from your heart, you have more power than you think. You really can doubt your doubts. If you’re wondering how to do it, turn to Romans 10:17 which says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” The key here is the Word of God. We need to love the Word of God and go after it like we go after food when we’re really hungry. God’s Word is medicine four our soul and we need it to be spiritually strong. As you begin looking at Scripture more and more and speak the Word, be sure to also talk about the good things God has done for you and not the problems. Choose to doubt your doubts. Remove doubt from your heart with this prayer: Dear Lord, I surrender my worries, problems, fears and doubt to You. Your powers are vast. I ask that you guide me, give me vision and clarity. Amen.
Remember the Power of God
The enemy wants you to believe he’s more powerful than God in hopes that you will lean on your own understanding, not God’s. He wants you to hear his voice, which manifests itself in the form of stress, confusion, addiction, even depression, instead of talking to God and trusting that all things are possible through Him. Don’t let him break you. A very powerful way to conquer the enemy is to remind the enemy how powerful God is. The truth is God is the greatest, most powerful and perfect being that exists and the reason life continues to exist is because God continues to sustain it. What makes our Heavenly Father strong reminds the enemy of his weakness. His power doesn’t compare to the power of God. Hold on to the power of God with this prayer: Dear God, I know you are more powerful than any force that will try to bring me down but I know there are times that I still struggle. Help me to remember Your endless power in the process. Amen.
The enemy wants to destroy us but we have the greatest weapon – our faith. The more we dedicate ourselves to Christ, the weaker the thrust of the devil becomes. Jesus said that if we wanted to follow Him it would mean denying ourselves. It means setting our mind and affections on things above. It calls for loving Christ to the point of being willing to sacrifice life for Him. With strong faith and dedication to God, the devil doesn’t have a chance.
