Stand at the Ready

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQmmS7HbhkE

Stand ~ Newsboys

 

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. ~ Ephesians 6:13 NIV

 

This morning, the Lord woke me, first to pray for my own children, then for all children. The theme throughout the prayer was that they would stand:

Stand for the Truth.

Stand on the Truth.

Stand up for each other.

Stand up for righteousness.

Stand up in prayer, humbling themselves only unto the Lord.

Stand firm.

The Lord closed out the prayer by saying, “Let them put on their Armor and Stand at the Ready.” As I pondered, “stand at the ready,” Ephesians 6:13 immediately came to mind. The final word, “stand” means, “to stand ready or prepared,” as well as to be “one who in the midst of the fight hold his position,” (G2476 - Histēmi - Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV), n.d.).

 

It’s no coincidence that today is the National Day of Prayer. Today, as you’re praying for our nation and leaders, please also pray for our children. Pray for their protection and the covering of Holy Spirit. Pray that they’d be given a Spirit of wisdom and of revelation. Pray that they’d not be swayed by their peers or by evildoers, but that they’d cling to what is good in God, alone. Pray they’d be godly leaders, following only after Christ. But above all, pray that they’d stand.

 

Father, we lift up all children to You, today. Anoint them with Your Spirit. Help them to stand strong, stand firm, and to stand their ground. Help them to draw a line in the sand and put the devil “on notice,” not allowing him to take any more ground. Then, Lord, sound the charge! Call them to fight for others until they are freed to stand in Your victory! Father, I pray that today would be a game-changer, and that we’d recall this day as the day You called us to Stand at the Ready!

I pray all these things in the mighty Name of Jesus! Amen.

~Heather Potts

*It’s not copyrighted. Please share! Please pray!

Called to Stand

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU771D5AYWE

Holy Ground ~ Passion ft. Melodie Malone 

Who is this King of glory?

    The Lord strong and mighty,

    the Lord mighty in battle.

~ Psalm 24:8 NIV

In the 2002 movie Signs, after crop circles appeared on the farmer’s land, his kids started reading about aliens. Then, one day, the farmer found his kids and brother-in-law watching the news with aluminum foil on their heads, so that the aliens couldn’t read their thoughts. We laugh at the aluminum foil scene, but honestly, with all the extremes on the news these days, there are people in both camp extremes: some with their heads in the sand and some already wearing aluminum foil. Fear can be a great motivator; but more often than not, fear is the greatest paralyzer, holding you as a powerless prisoner to what might happen. 

What if it didn’t have to - what if there was another choice besides head-in-sand and aluminum-foil-on-head? Fear only has power when it has your attention. What if you cut off its power supply by shifting your focus? 

Prime Time with God: Reflecting on the Names and Nature of God is a devotional I read. The title from the other day was, “The Lord Mighty in Battle,” from Psalm 24:8. It was the prayer at the end that really hit me between the eyes. It said, “Lord, I’ll not look at the strength of the Enemy; I’ll look to Your might.” I was shocked by the revelation that I had been focusing on the strength of the enemy, instead of power and might of my God. That revelation was my wake-up call to pull off the aluminum foil, lift my head from the sand, and STAND! 

We are a people called to STAND. Not cower, not crumble: we’re called to dress in holy armor and then stand. The enemy will come against God’s people and he will bring a mighty force. But when we’re not distracted by the enemy’s strength, when we’re focusing on God’s power and might, regardless of what the enemy brings and flashes in front of us, we’ll be able to stand.

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. ~ Ephesians 6:13 NIV

©Heather Potts 2021

Stand, part 2

Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. ~ Ephesians 6:14 NLT

After God told me to stand, I had to remember What, Where, and How to stand.

What: We stand on God’s Word.

There are well over 3,000 promises in God’s Word.  When problems arise and the enemy attacks, we must find the promises upon which to stand. But the LORD’s plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken. ~ Psalm 33:11 NLT

Where: We stand on the Rock

God is our rock, protection, fortress, refuge, stronghold against trouble.  Where else would we turn or stand? He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. ~ Psalm 62:6 NKJV

How: We stand in our Full Armor

The armor of God enables us to not only stand, but to defeat our enemy, disabling his attacks and enabling our advance. So stand firm and hold your ground, having tightened the wide band of truth (personal integrity, moral courage) around your waist and having put on the breastplate of righteousness (an upright heart), and having strapped on your feet the gospel of peace in preparation [to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news].  Above all, lift up the [protective] shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. ~ Ephesians 6:14-17 AMP

Whether you’re facing unemployment, pain or sickness in your body, struggles with your children or other family members, an overwhelming mountain of debt, or any number of issues, find your promises from God and remember to STAND!

©Heather Potts 2016

Stand

Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious]. So stand firm and hold your ground… ~ Ephesians 6:13-14 AMP (emphasis added)

For a long time, I was lackadaisical in taking my thoughts captive. Though I heard God speaking to me regularly, I wasn’t standing firm against the enemy. In my laziness, I began to listen to the enemy’s voice, too. The more I listened, the more the enemy’s lies became my thoughts and before too long, I found myself too weak to stand. But God wasn’t giving up on me. At the October Worship Wednesday, Pastor Bryan Meadows challenged us to get real, really real, with ourselves and with God. It wasn’t easy, but when I did, my Father told me I was ready and He challenged me to STAND!

The armor of God is for standing. We are able to stand because Christ holds the victory. Because He is in us, we hold the position—the proper and appropriate place—of victory. If you’ve been lackadaisical in taking your thoughts captive, if you’ve been entertaining the lies of the enemy—as true as they may sound—I challenge you to get really real with God and then stand your ground. When you do, the enemy will flee from you.

And the Master, God, stays right there and helps me, so I’m not disgraced. Therefore I set my face like flint, confident that I’ll never regret this. ~ Isaiah 50:7 MSG

©Heather Potts 2016