the full armor of God

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 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 saints.
--Ephesians 6:10-18

When I pray for myself and my friends, I often think about this armor. I grew up swaddled in holiness language, but it's only recently become evident to me how much gaining an orientation toward holiness is a battle. It's not a slow slide into the Spirit. It's getting up every day, buckling on truth, shoeing ourselves with peace, and holding righteousness close. The shield of faith and the helmet of salvation are necesary, because the flaming arrows do come. And without a sword, the fight is lost.

My prayer is that we will all be well suited for the battle. Not a battle with each other- that's why we need the shoes of peace, because it's so easy to mistake fighting with each other for fighting on the side of the Lord. I pray that we will be alert, praying for and stregnthening one another to wholeheartedly pursue holiness.