(Eph. 6:15 Amp)
Peace is a powerful force.
It’s not just a puffy cloud-like thing. It’s not just soft and sweet like spring rain or whispers or candle light. It’s strong and hefty. As Colossians 3:15 says, peace rules! (How could a puffy cloud rule anything?) Peace garrisons and mounts guard over your heart and mind. It’s like a bodyguard. It has muscles.
That’s why the apostle Paul instructs us to put on peace as a part of God’swhole armor so that we may be able to successfully stand against all the strategies and deceits of the Devil. Before I understood the true nature of God’s peace, I couldn’t see how it could possibly be considered armor. I would read in Ephesians six about things like the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, and the shield of faith, and I could easily envision those things as being the strong pieces of armor that Roman soldiers wore. But the verse about peace puzzled me.
I’d think, Here’s this soldier all outfitted in his military attire of brass and wood and leather, and now he is going to put on these little soft bedroom slippers of peace? That just didn’t seem to fit. So I did some investigating into what kind of shoes Roman soldiers actually wore—and it turned out, they weren’t bedroom slippers!
From the knee to the foot, they were solid brass, strong enough to protect a soldier’s legs from any kind of lacerations or bruises. They were so sturdy and impenetrable that they enabled the Roman infantry to march over rocky or thorny terrain without injury.
That’s what the peace of God does for us. It makes us able to go on dangerous missions for the Lord without suffering harm. It helps us forge our way through the rockiest situation without injury.
No wonder Paul says we’re to be shod with it! The word “shod” means to fasten on very tightly. We don’t ever want to wear our peace boots loosely. We want to wrap God’s peace around us so tightly that no thorn or stone of the enemy can wedge its way in. We want to be like Esther and Mordecai who, through prayer, put on the force of peace and won great victories for God.
Scripture Reading: Ephesians 6:10 – 18
Source: Devotions for the Praying Heart by Lynne Hammond.
Excerpt permission granted by Lynne Hammond Ministries
On the chilly March night in 1972 when Lynne Hammond took her first step into a life of Spirit-led prayer, she had no idea what was about to happen. All she knew was the hunger in her heart for God wouldn’t let her sleep. In the few short months she’d been born again, her desire to fellowship with Him had grown so strong she could hardly contain it. “Help me, God!” she cried. “I want to know you. I want to be able to talk to you. Please, teach me to pray!”
Suddenly, a heavenly presence flooded the room. Lynne sensed waves of spiritual fire sweeping over her and a beautiful language began to flow like a river from within her. Although she’d never heard of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, she knew instantly, without a doubt—this was God!
What began that night soon blossomed into a life of prayer that ultimately became a ministry of prayer when, in 1980, Lynne and her husband, Mac, founded Living Word Christian Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Under Lynne’s leadership, the prayer ministry at Living Word has become an internationally recognized model for developing effective pray-ers in the local church.
A teacher and an author, Lynne publishes a newsletter called Prayer Notes, has written numerous books, and currently serves as the national prayer director for Daughters for Zion. Her passion for inspiring and leading others into the life of Spirit-led prayer continues to take her around the world to minister to believers whose heart cry, like hers, is “Lord, teach me to pray!”