"In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." (Ephesians 6:16)
Father,
This verse reminds me that, in the spiritual battle that is being waged around us, our enemy is aggressive and intentional. He takes aim at your people with weapons that can inflict great damage. Flaming arrows were not intended to simply kill, but rather to be a weapon of mass destruction, destroying homes and entire villages and cities. And such is the intent of our adversary, to use temptation to bring down entire families and communities with the collateral damage that comes when someone falls.
This verse tells us that our belief in you, in the reality of your existence, in the reality of your involvement in our lives and in the reality that we have an eternal existence with you, we are able to shield ourselves from the specifically targeted temptations that our enemy will fire our way. Our constant focus on you and the reality that is you will protect us from the temptation to chase after things that appear to be desirable, but are not reality.
I pray that these children will develop such a protective faith that allows them to see reality and avoid things that are illusory. Open their ears to hear and open their hearts to receive and their minds to understand. May their parents and step parents and the rest of their extended family pattern lives of faith and faithfulness. Show yourself to them as very real. Give them wisdom and perception to see clearly the deception of the evil one.
Amen
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