I came across this old picture of my daughter in my Facebook memories. I thought it was so cute that she was wearing her brother’s medieval armor while cuddling her baby doll. I didn’t realize God would later use this image to paint a vivid picture of my role as a mother, and to remind me that I am no ordinary mom. Guess what? Neither are you.
As believers, we have weapons available to fight for our children with authority, hope, and confidence.
In Ephesians 6:10-18, Paul uses the imagery of a soldier ready for battle and assigns a spiritual meaning to each part of the armor: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the spirit (God’s word), and prayer.
Truth
Imagine standing firm in God’s truth of who we were created to be – daughters who love, worship, and glorify God with our lives. In God’s eyes, we are not defined by our bad choices, struggles, or mistakes. He sees our unlimited potential to do great things for his Kingdom, including our ability to raise the children He has entrusted us with. Replace the enemy’s lies, with the truth of who God says you are.
Righteousness
What if we truly believed that we have been made righteous through Jesus’s sacrifice? Shame and condemnation are no longer a part of us, they have been replaced by righteousness. We can be humble, open, and confident in our parenting because we understand we can’t lose our right-standing no matter what we do. Of course we should always show repentance and seek forgiveness, restoration, and reconciliation when we mess up, but we don’t have to carry the weight of shame and condemnation anymore.
Peace
How about ushering the presence of peace in every room we walk into? We can change the atmosphere everywhere we go when our feet are grounded in God’s gospel of peace. Think about all the arguments we can deescalate, the fights we can prevent, and the comfort we can provide to our children when we have inner peace.
Faith
We are promised that we can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one when we take up the shield of faith. In what ways is the enemy personally attacking the future of your children? What “flaming arrows” is he sending your way? You know, the thing you worry about, the circumstances in your children’s lives that don’t look so great, the bad habits, the ongoing struggles, not to mention the unique challenges of this time. Hebrews 1:1 says “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” There are multiple verses I pray over my children believing by faith God “is able to do immeasurably more than all I ask or imagine.” (Eph. 3:20).
Here are some examples of things I am praying for my children based on scripture:
- My children will be taught by the Lord and great will be their peace. (Isa.54:13)
- My children were created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for them to do. (Eph. 2:10)
- My children will love one another as Jesus has loved them. (John 13:34)
When the enemy sends one of his flaming arrows in the shape of a bad grade or a sibling fight, I pick up my shield of faith believing for what I cannot see at the moment. As Pastor Tony Evans says: “Faith is acting like something is so even when it is not so in order that it might be so simply because God said so.”
Salvation
The helmet of salvation speaks to who we are in Christ. We have a new identity. We are forgiven, chosen, and loved. We are no longer orphans, we have a Heavenly Father who deeply cares about us. We have been set free so that we can break generational strongholds. Needless to say, salvation should radically impact the way we parent our children.
God’s Word
The word of God is filled with time-tested instruction, wisdom and guidance. We can find promises and principles to help us in our parenting journey. God’s word is our firm foundation for everything we do in life, and it is a powerful weapon against the enemy. Jesus used the word of God to retaliate when Satan tempted Him in the desert, leaving a model for us to see how we can effectively use God’s word to have victory over the attacks of the enemy.
Prayer
And last but not least, we have prayer as a weapon. We are called to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” (Eph. 6:18). It is through prayer God changes our circumstances or changes our hearts. Prayer will strengthen, sustain and transform us into the moms we were created to be. The ACTS acronym is an easy way to remember four different kinds of prayer: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication (petition). Each one has a specific purpose, but all of them will position our hearts to connect with the Lord in a deeper way.
So you see, you are no ordinary mom. You have the Lord on your side fighting for you and for your children. You have access to divine power and weapons. So put on the full armor of God and like the warrior He created you to be, fight for your children instead of with your children. May the Lord bless you and give you favor as you engage in battle.
Your turn!
- Which part of the armor do you need the most right now?
- What are some practical ways you can “put on the armor of God”?
Photo Credit: Samantha Evans
