Take Up Your Sword… and Pray!
“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” Ephesians 6:17–18
When I first surrendered my life to Jesus as a teen, I had no idea how to pray. For several years, I found prayer to be dry and boring at best and discouraging at worst! There were so many unanswered questions in my heart: What should I pray for? Am I praying the way I “should” be? Does it even make a difference? I wasn’t sure what to aim at and certainly had no idea that I had powerful weapons I could use in prayer.
One of the things that transformed my prayer life was learning that Scripture itself gives us powerful words to pray.
In Ephesians 6:17, we are instructed to take up our offensive weapon, “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” It’s important to note the Greek word translated as word in Ephesians 6:17 is rhema, which means spoken word (Strong’s Concordance G4487*). It is the same word used in Hebrews 4:12 when it says the word (rhema) of God is “alive and active.” This means that the words of Scripture become powerful both as God speaks them to us and as we, in turn, “take up our sword” and speak them out loud.
And did you notice? Immediately after this instruction comes verse 18: “And pray.”
These two commands are connected. When we use our sword, the Word, in prayer, we are fighting spiritual battles (Ephesians 6:12)!
Since realizing this connection, I have begun asking the Lord for a “sword,” a specific Scripture to use in whatever situation I’m facing, whether it’s a worry, a struggle, or something troubling me. This simple practice has been life-changing.
About two years ago, I found myself dealing with a lot of generalized fear and difficulty sleeping. One sleepless night, tired of tossing and turning, I finally got up and began praying. I asked the Lord for a “sword” for the situation, and immediately Psalm 23 came to mind. I began reading out loud, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want…” and thought, Lord, this is such a peaceful, soothing word, how can it be a sword? But I immediately laughed as I realized it was exactly the Scripture needed to counter fear.
The truth that God is my Shepherd, who leads me, restores me, protects me, prepares a table for me in the presence of my enemies, anoints me, and covers my life with His love and mercy is a direct antidote to fear. Fear whispers that I am alone, unprotected, and vulnerable. But the Word tells me the exact opposite. To this day, when I struggle with fear, I begin thanking God for being my Shepherd! It has proven to be a powerful weapon, a true sword, against fear. God is so wise!
Sister, what areas are you struggling in right now? I want to encourage you: God has swords from His Word for you to use mightily in prayer. When you take up His Word and begin to pray it out loud, you are wielding a powerful sword that defeats the enemy. Try it today!
Prayer:
God, thank You for Your words that become powerful weapons in my difficult situations. Would You show me, through Your Word, what “swords” to take up right now in my life?
Prompt:
What is an area you are struggling with? Take a concordance in the back of your Bible or do an online search for Scriptures that speak to that topic. Which verses stand out to you? Write them below and begin praying them out loud as weapons against the enemy!
With love,
Jen Pierce and the Help Club for Moms Team
I remember going into my daughter's room night after night and kneeling beside her bed and crying my heart out to God because I didn’t know how to be a Christian mom; I felt like I had no idea what I was doing. You know what? God is so faithful! He answered me and simply said, “Spend time with me, Deb.” And so I did. I began arising 15-30 minutes earlier each day so I could read my Bible and pray, and plan out my day with my family.
If there was one thing I would love to share with you is that God is personal and loves you as you are. You don’t have to be perfect to be loved by our amazing God! Come as you are! His loving presence can be practically known and experienced. He is not a God who is far away, He is near and easily found. He longs for you to come to Him!
Randy and I have been married for 33 years and we have two grown children, Christie, and Jack, and one answer to prayer son-in-law named Alex. And now I get to be a Gigi to my sweet little grandbabies, Aspen and Skylar, and Piper. Yay!
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