No one wants to be vulnerable to attack.  We do a lot to keep ourselves safe.  Many people install security systems in their homes.  Our cars come with theft alarms.  Women carry mace on their key chains.  Each day hundreds of women, all across the country, take self-defense classes.  We are cautious about traveling alone and we no longer pick up hitch hikers.  Our world is just not safe.

So here is the question, if we take so many precautions to keep our bodies safe, why don’t we take as many if not more to keep both our body and soul safe?

Have you ever watched the nature channel and seen an episode that shows a lion on the prowl?  The lions surround their prey.  They look for a weak animal, one that is small or wounded.  Then they isolate that animal.  The separate the most vulnerable in the herd from the pack and then attack.

That is not much different than how the devil and his demons go about their attacks on us.  They look for any weakness they can exploit.  If a marriage isn’t going well, they introduce a third party to tempt.  If you are a new Christian the devil may surround you with your old friends, friends who do things that you have turned your back on.  The devil also wants to isolate you from the body of believers.  When you go to church you have the protection of the body of believers.  They are there to pray for you.

But the devil wants to isolate you.  He wants to take you away from anyone who can build you up or keep you strong so he isolates you from other believers.

The devil wants you to be weak so he certainly doesn’t want you to be aware of the armor of God. But we can learn how to strengthen ourselves for battle with the enemy by reading Ephesians 6:10-18, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 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. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

So there you go, if you don’t want to be vulnerable to spiritual attack, be spiritually strong by placing on the full armor of God and by surrounding yourself with others who love the Lord.  Run in a pack of Christians! We are stronger when we are many.  We are more productive when we are praying together. We are a greater force when we gather together with other Christians.

You can make excuses for not gathering together with other Christians, but know this, you are making yourself vulnerable to spiritual attacks.  You can make excuses for not undergirding yourself with Scripture but you are making yourself as vulnerable as a weak antelope, isolated from the rest of the herd as the lions attack.

The devil’s attacks and schemes will always be out there, but so will that armor and the body of Christ!  Begin your battle preparation now, put on that armor and join the army of Christ’s fellow servants.

Tomorrow I will repost a piece on what the full armor of God really is.  Stay tuned.