Weapons of our warfare

Each service has its own tools. The soldier with his rifle, the police officer with pistol and handcuffs, the tech rescue worker with ropes and harnesses, etc. Each one must be proficient with their tools in order for them to be effective at what they do.

Every Christian is called for battle, but the enemy cannot be seen. Our battle is spiritual, rather than physical. No physical tool or weapon could even begin to be used. So, are we helpless against an unseen enemy? No. We have the armor of God to enable us to overcome our enemy.

Ephesians 6
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
He will never leave nor forsake us until our work is done and we go to be with Him. {Psalms 89:30-34} Will bad things happen to us? Probably. Could we be persecuted for our beliefs? Yes. Can we overcome the bad things? I’ll let you answer that.

11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
Without God, we can't even begin to resist. Without God, we can do nothing. With God, we can do everything.

12For 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.
Our battle is spiritual - not physical. We are supposed to love our enemy - love the sinner and hate the sin. NOT love the sin and hate the sinner, because we were all sinners. Like with the abortion clinic bombings,etc., we are supposed to love our enemies and pray for them, if we don't, how are we different from the devil and his allies? The Bible says Thou shall not kill. But, you ask, doesn’t that apply to the people having the abortion? One day, we will all stand before God and we will have to answer for the things we have done. Until then, judge not, lest ye be judged. What better way to turn someone against the church, than to make them out to be a bunch of hypocrites who don’t even follow their own book? A quote from DC Talk: "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today, is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle."

13Therefore 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.
We have to put on the full armor of GOD, not Steve, Bill, _____{insert your name}, in order to overcome our enemy. And after the battle is over, not crawl or limp forward, but to stand.

14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
We should know what the Bible says about different issues, so that we may distinguish right from wrong. We are called to lead perfect Christ-like lives. Will we make mistakes? Yes. Can we learn from the mistakes, and move on? Yes. {2 Corinthians 4}

15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
We should be ready to use the gospel in our daily lives.

16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
A soldier wears a Kevlar flak vest to help stop bullets and shrapnel. A S.W.A.T. officer may carry a shield to help protect them as they enter a house. A Christian has the shield of faith to deflect the lies of the devil.
"Though satan's darts are daily hurled" - Higher Ground hymn. The little lies and rumors that get started, get spread around, and cause conflict within a church, community, or family. The times when the devil says that God has deserted you, you can have faith that He is right beside you, waiting for you to turn back to Him.

17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
A soldier wears a helmet to protect his head from bullets and shrapnel. A Christian has helmet of salvation in Jesus to protect our soul. It was given to us when He overcame hell and rose on the third day. A soldier carries a rifle to do battle with the enemy. A Christian has the word of God to carry into battle, as Jesus did when he was tempted by the devil. Jesus used the word of God to "return fire" at the devil.

18And 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 saints.
We must pray always. When Jesus died on the Cross, He became our intercessor to God. {Romans 8:34, John 14:6, Ephesians 5:20} We should pray for the saints and the people doing good deeds, so that they may have the strength to go on. But, if we pray to the saints, then we could start to worship them, and God said "Thou shall have no other gods before Me". So we must pray to God through Jesus.

We must always keep in mind, that only after we have put on the full armor of God, will we be able to stand at the end of the day.