The whole armor

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:10-12).

Be strong in the Lord.  When we are weak He is strong.  Satan's power has been destroyed.  He has no authority over God's children.  Yes, he would love to make us believe he has authority and convince us that we are worthless, but we are made new in Christ.  Our struggles are not against one another, but against satan's schemes.  We must be prepared for attacks at all time!

Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.  Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with TRUTH, and  having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of FAITH with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  And take the helmet of salvation , and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6: 12-17).

Truth and faith popped out at me as I read this passage.  The devil is the author of LIES, but God speaks TRUTH.  I have days that I am bombarded with lies and I will begin to believe they are true.  The difference is, the devil seeks to kill, steal, and destroy.  He wants us to believe we are worthless.  So easily, I forget to test the thoughts that bombard my mind.  Neil T. Anderson writes,

"Determine whether your feelings reflect thoughts of truth or error, and you will indentify their source,  Do you feel guilty, worthless, stupid, or inept?  That's a sorrow provoked by accusation because those feelings don't reflect truth.  Judicially, you are no longer guilty; you have been justified through your faith in Christ and there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  You are not worthless; Jesus gave His life for you.  You are not stupid or inept; you have the mind of Christ, and you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. When you find lies lurking beneath your feelings of sorrow-especially if your feelings persisntently drive you into the ground-you are being falsely accused.  Even if you changed you wouldn't feel any better, because satan would then find something else to harass you about.  To diarm the sorrow of accusation you must submet yourself to God and resist the devil and his lies."

He also says, "But if you are sorrowful because your behavior doesn't reflect your true identity in Christ, that's the sorrow according to the will of God which is designed to produce repentance."  It is important for me to take each thought and determine if it is a sorrow that leads to death or repentance.

With all prayer and petition PRAY AT ALL TIMES in the Spirit, and with this in view be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18-19). 

To me, prayer is such a beautiful and wonderful weapon.  I am thankful to have friends and family that pray with me and for me.  Friends and family that I am able to pray with and for.  I do believe it is so important for the body to continue to lift one another up in prayer.  Often times, I have struggled with praying.  I have believed I was "bad" at it.  I am not sure that makes sense, but it was a real feeling to me.  I have felt to unworthy to pray.  I know this was not true and this thought was meant to cause "death," at least in a spiritual sense.  It has been easy for me to get so down, that I just would not pray at all.  In those moments when I felt as if I could not pray, I had others praying for me.  I love meeting new people and instantly feeling connected, because we are brothers and sisters in Christ.  I have a few blog friends which I have experienced this with.  We are connected through the strongest bond and we are able to pray for one another.  Thank God that satan has been defeated through the blood of the Almighty Lamb!