Greetings Mt. Vernon Family,

Ephesians 6:11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes…18 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.

As we put on the full armor of God, we must remember that the battleground is in our minds, but the war is won on our knees in prayer. Every piece of the armor of God has to do with the word of God. The belt of truth is the word of God. God’s word is truth, John 17:17. Our breastplate of righteousness is the righteousness of Christ who is the incarnate Word of God. Christ fulfilled the requirements of the law, not us. So, we trust His righteousness, not our own. Our feet are fitted with the preparation of the gospel of peace, again the spoken word of God. The shield of faith is based on the word of God. For faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, Rom. 10:17. We put on the helmet of salvation when we believed the word that Jesus is the Son of God. He died on a cross for our sins and God raised Him from the dead. Finally, we take up the sword of the Spirit, the word of God. In Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus responded to each of Satan’s temptations with the word of God. How much more should we arm ourselves with the word of God and cooperate with the Holy Spirit, to fight Satan and his demons. We must pray in the Spirit, giving thanks, making requests, interceding on behalf of God’s people. We stay in an attitude of prayer, keeping the communication between us and God open. We do not give up. We persevere in prayer knowing that God answers prayers.

Be Richly Blessed,

Pastor Deborah Giles