as a protection against all the fiery darts of the enemy. There can be no shield if any

element of unbelief enters our minds, and it is Satan's constant aim to try to get us to

doubt God's Word, just as he did in Eden when he whispered to Eve "hath God said?"

(Gen. 3: 1). Israel lost the promised land through unbelief (Heb. 3: 19) and the only

effective antidote to this dangerous thing is complete trust in all God has said and

revealed, for "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Rom. 10: 17).

"And take the helmet of salvation" continued the Apostle, using the same figure as he did

to the Thessalonian church (I Thess. 5: 8).

Lastly, we come to the only offensive weapon that the believer is allowed, which is

"the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God" (Eph. 6: 17).  Heb. 4: 12 R.V.

reminds us that the "Word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged

sword" and this weapon is the only thing Satan fears. We remember how effectively the

Lord Jesus used it against the onslaught of Satan in the wilderness temptation. His one

reply to each of Satan's attacks was "It is written" (Matt. 4: 1-11). He could have

demolished the evil one's craftiness by His divine power, but how glad we are that he did

not do so, but instead gave us all a practical exhibition of the "Sword of the Spirit" which

caused Satan to retire defeated.

Now it is useless having a weapon if we do not practice with it, so that we are expert

in its use. Imagine anyone needing to use a revolver in a state of emergency, who had

never handled one! To use any weapon effectively, constant practice is essential, and we

must have "the Word of Christ dwelling in us richly in all wisdom" (Col. 3: 16), this

wisdom guiding our use of the divine Sword, which can accomplish all God's purpose

and rout the hosts of darkness, which continually seek to thwart His plan.

We need to remember that the modernist who refuses to acknowledge the full

inspiration of the holy Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation, leaving a book that is

inspired only in parts, has only a broken sword which Satan does not fear and is useless

in this spiritual warfare. Outstanding witnesses for Christ in this age have been men of

the Word, and later on, when writing his last thoughts to Timothy, Paul declares that the

God-breathed Scriptures are the complete equipment of the believer (II Tim. 3: 16, 17),

sufficient for all the needs of the Christian pathway.

Having described the panoply of God under which His children are perfectly safe,

though going through a time of danger with the unseen spiritual warfare ever raging

around them, Paul now stresses prayer and supplication. These are not part of the

armour, and it is not Spiritual to speak of "prayer warfare". As we have seen before, we

have not been commanded to attack, but to stand and withstand all the enemy's

onslaughts and not yield an inch (6: 13). However, prayer and intercession are of the

utmost importance if we are to accomplish anything worthwhile for Christ. There must

be constant intercession, guided by the Word of Truth and a personal knowledge of the

Lord's will and this must be continual. "Men ought always to pray and not to faint"

(Luke 18: 1), and the non-ceasing intercession of the Apostle is an example to us all.

The prayer-less Christian is an ineffectual and defeated one. Let us also watch, for the