"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 and your ground and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm with the, with the belt of truth buckled around you 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."

Ephesians 6:10-18 NIV

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

2 Timothy 3:16 NIV

The Bible is the inspired Word of God.

I was driving this week and pulled up to a stop light. Bored, I glanced around at the cars surrounding me and, to my right there was a man who had what looked like a well-worn Bible, sitting on his dashboard. Now maybe he is a man who delves into the Word every day and leaves it on his dashboard for easy access. Or maybe he is one of many people who only place their Bibles in certain places because they think that its thin, gilded pages will protect them. Some keep them open on coffee tables, in baby's cribs, and on nightstands. The simple act of placing it in these places is not what offers true protection. It is reading it, consuming it, understanding it and living it.

The Word of God is the source from which we learn of who He is and what He wants from our lives. It also tells us who we are. It's our birth certificate, our instruction manual, the will and testament of God, among many other things. The key to fighting the enemy is knowing your identity and that of your Creator. The Word of God is not only a tool in itself, but clues us in to the other tools that God has provided. Hosea 4:6 says "My people perish from a lack of knowledge." Seriously?! What a powerful statement. What knowledge do we lack? Often times it's the very knowledge of who we are. Of who GOD, our Creator, is.

The activation of this weapon is largely dependent upon us. Now God's Word is His Word and will never change. But in order for us to use it to its full capacity, we must actually use it. I saw a cartoon on the page of one of my Facebook friends this week. In it, a lamb sits reclined in a beach chair; headphones in place with the volume blasting. He's surrounded by a TV set with some show or other streaming through it and a laptop right next to that. Several books are piled up on the ground beside him and at the bottom of the pile is a Bible. In the distance you see the shepherd - shouting it seems - trying to get the attention of his sheep who is obviously distracted. In the midst of his "self-inflicted" distractions, the sheep wonders why he doesn't hear from the shepherd anymore. It gave me a chuckle and then convicted me. How much time do I spend - I mean truly, honestly spend - seeking after my shepherd? Do I allow my Bible to fall to the bottom of the pile, so to speak?

With the day-to-day business of work, school, kids, friends, and sometimes even our involvement in church/ministry, we sometimes allow ourselves to get so sidetracked and our quality time with God dwindles. And then, we sit on our haunches after a while and marvel at the fact that God 'isn't speaking' (although He says He will never leave or forsake us and He is always true to His Word). We have to reconnect and stay plugged into that Word that is an explanation of who He is. As I have said in more ways than one during this miniseries, how can we take full advantage of a weapon, a tool, if sits in a corner?

The latter part of our key verse says, "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." That word and tells me that it goes along with what preceded it. So God gave us our tools but in conjunction with that he has ordered us to pray in the spirit. It doesn't say we must only pray sometimes, it doesn't give us a list of what concerns are acceptable to take before the Lord and what concerns are not. We have full access pass to the Throne of Almighty God. We have clout! So when you are 'wrestling not against flesh and blood' make sure that, not only is your armor intact, but seeking the face of God.

We have been provided with the equipment but we still need to be equipped. Don't sleep on your resources! This whole series was to encourage us and remind us of what God has given us. He wants us to live abundant lives where we are not subjected to strongholds and barriers set in place by the enemy. He wants us to know the power we have, not because we are so powerful on our own, but because of He who lives in us. The gift of salvation provides freedom from the bonds of sin. Freedom to tell the enemy to "get thee behind me," when he is on the attack. Get to know your weapons. Get to know your God. Remember that "greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4)

Shari Grant is a Registered Nurse in South Florida, where she was raised in a (very!) Jamaican home. Some of the loves of her life are words (both reading and writing them) and missions work. She enjoys spending time with friends and family while living for a good laugh - one that makes her belly ache and her eyes water. Her bottom line goal in life is to make the Lord smile and maybe even serve Him up a chuckle from time to time, too.