Priscilla Shirer teaches at the 2018 Passion Conference for TBN’s Praise. Listen in as Priscilla Shirer outlines what the full armor of God is and how to use it in order to protect yourself from the enemy’s attacks in your daily life.

and if you spend all of your time your

energy your effort trying to hit at what

you see popping up in your life you’re

gonna be so frustrated and by the way

exhausted because as soon as you take

care of one thing another one is coming

back unless you do what the Apostle Paul

says pull back the curtain and let the

enemy know we got our eyes on you

[Music]

so there’s a little church around the

corner from my house in Dallas I’ve been

taking my kids there since they were

little uh to Harvest Festival that’s

basically this Church’s answer to

Halloween

so we will go there for Harvest Festival

and this church has a good old-fashioned

Trunk or Treat does anybody know what I

mean when I say Trunk or Treat

okay

all right so Trunk or Treat for those of

you who are not clear on what that is

that’s when members of the congregation

volunteer they volunteer to bring their

cars into the parking lot on Harvest

Festival night so that they can open up

the trunk of their cars so you go into

the parking lot all the trunks are open

and each person has basically crafted a

carnival game or some sort of fair game

out of the trunk of the car so kids line

up one trunk after the other they play

whatever the game is and then most of

the time whether they win or lose the

person that owns that car gives them a

whole bunch of candy and sends them home

we’re always so grateful

so we stand in line

one car after the other waiting on bags

of candy and we play one game after the

other a few years ago

the biggest line the longest line at the

carnival wasn’t behind the a car it was

behind the bed of a truck it was really

clever

a huge truck had been parked in the

parking lot

and they’d put a stepladder right at the

bed of the truck so that a kid could

walk into the bed of the truck they had

attached a table top which was about the

same size as the bed of the truck they

had attached it to the side of the truck

cut six holes into it put some fabric

some drapery over it and out from those

holes every few seconds a puppet would

pop through they gave the kid a huge

plastic Mallet and the job of the kid

was to run up and down the inside of the

bed of the truck as he tried to hit the

puppets on top of the head it was a

homemade whack-a-mole game is what it

was and it was the longest line me and

Jude at the time he was like four Jude

is my youngest me and Jude are standing

in line we’re waiting on our turn behind

us there’s another kid he’s with his his

mom he’s probably four or five as well

and y’all he was hysterical

because he was annoyed at this whole

situation and he was making sure she

knew it

he was first of all annoyed because Mom

I don’t understand why I got to stand in

this long line didn’t we come to the

carnival to have fun this ain’t fun

standing in line ain’t fun I have an

idea mom how about this how about I go

play all these other games while you

stand in line and hold our place and

then when it’s our turn I’ll come back

and join you in line

but he was not only annoyed about the

line the four-year-old was also annoyed

because Mom I don’t even understand this

game why in the world would I waste all

my energy running up and down the inside

of that truck to hit the puppets on the

top of the head if when I hit them on

the head they’re gonna disappear but

then they’re just gonna come back as

soon as I hit them on the head what’s

the point of this game

so everybody in the line is laughing

hysterically because this four-year-old

this five-year-old is talking so much

about all of his frustrations

finally he gets so frustrated

that he works himself into a frenzy to

where all I saw out of my peripheral

vision was a four-year-old flash running

past me as he ran forward and he grabbed

the drapery off of the table top and

pulled it clean off

underneath there were three adults with

puppets on each hand

that day we all got a good laugh but we

also got a good lesson

there is always something you can’t see

influencing what you can

and if you spend all of your time your

energy your effort trying to hit at what

you see popping up in your life you’re

going to be so frustrated and by the way

exhausted because as soon as you take

care of one thing another one is coming

back unless you do what the Apostle Paul

says pull back the curtain and let the

enemy know we got our eyes on you

and we’re gonna use some weapons that

actually work back there behind the

curtain y’all I wish I had learned this

when I was 18 19 20 21 years old that

that person that physical problem isn’t

really where you need to invest your

energy pull back the curtain use the

weapons that actually have power

the Apostle Paul wants you to know that

the tactics of the enemy are serious

business and so he uses a specific word

to describe them

he says

schemes

listen to me he knows your weaknesses he

knows how to dangle what carrot at the

right time in the right way to make sure

you are snagged in particular

have you ever wondered or found curious

that particular carrot is always dangled

in front of you when you are most tired

when you are most vulnerable when you

happen to be most hungry

most alone most weak that particular

carrot the one that wouldn’t mess with

your friend because it’s not her deal

it’s not his deal he’s not enticed by

that but the one that entices you always

shows up at the right time y’all that’s

not coincidence that’s a scheme

the enemy is trying to derail you he’s

trying to make sure that you don’t walk

in a manner worthy pleasing of the Lord

that you come in here but that you don’t

go out of here the purpose to live for

the glory of God he’s trying to trip you

up

not only for his own benefit but because

he does not want you having access to

everything that you are privy to as a

rightful heir to the King of Kings and

the Lord of lords

it’s a scheme

so if he’s got tactics

we need tactics

the Apostle Paul outlines them for us

I’m just going to read them to you

because he says in verse 13 you need the

full armor and here’s what they are

verse 14 he says make sure that your

loins are girded with truth then he says

you need a breastplate and the

breastplate is called righteousness and

then he says in verse 15 you got to have

something for your feet if you want any

hope of being able to move forward

successfully so your feet need to be

shot with the preparation of the gospel

of peace and then not only that but he

says there are some flaming missiles of

the evil one that he fully intends to

send sailing into your path you’re gonna

need a shield and The Shield is your

faith and then you know there are lies

there are strongholds that he’s going to

try to erect in your mind you’re going

to need something to protect your mind

he says you need a helmet and the helmet

is your salvation but not only that he

says that you are going to need a sword

really a dagger of the spirit it was

about 18 inches long or so the one the

Apostle Paul all is referring to you

need a dagger so that when the enemy is

all up in your space you’ve got

something close at hand to make sure

that he stays at Bay you need a dagger

of the spirit and the dagger is called

the what

the word of God

but y’all he doesn’t stop at those six

can I just say that there is one more in

18 verse 18 traditionally it’s taught as

six I really believe there are seven

pieces of armor because in verse 18 He

says pray

he says pray

not like you know a prayer a day to keep

the devil away

not like a prayer over your meal

just because that’s what your mama did

and your Grandmama did and that’s what

you’re supposed to do

not something quick and casual

fervent

prioritized prayer

y’all you can’t have Victory if you

don’t pray

do you hear what I’m saying to you

prayer is the key that unlocks the

resources of heaven so that they can be

Unleashed on planet Earth

prayer is the key he’s actually given

you to get all the good stuff down here

because I don’t know about you but I

don’t want to wait to get to heaven to

experience all that God has for me any

Bits of Heaven he plans to give me on

Earth I want it right now prayer

accesses the Bits of Heaven he intends

to give you now

and prayer listen prayer is what pushes

the kingdom of darkness back

it’s what pushes it back that’s why

Jesus said my house shall be called not

a house of good preaching

not a house of good singing not a house

of great spotlights and production not a

house of great cafes I hope you have all

of that enjoy it but Jesus said at the

end of the day my house better be called

the house of prayer because spotlights

and fog machines and great singing and

great preaching that won’t necessarily

push the kingdom of darkness back but

when my people who are called by my name

when they will humble themselves and

when they’ll pray he says that I’m gonna

hear from heaven I’m gonna heal the land

the enemy will have to bend the knee at

the name of Jesus in prayer

[Applause]