Episode 125: 3 Ways to Protect Yourself From Satan Daily

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I am not sure if you knew this but I have a full time job working as a therapist on the Navajo Reservation. As part of this job, I frequently consult with a Navajo traditional counselor. In order to help create healing with not only western medicine, but our behavioral health department also creates traditional healing with Navajo healers who perform ceremonies, teachings and specific prayers. Our traditional healer, Ernest Begay, has taught me so much about the Navajo teachings and every time I am so blown away at how closely they fit with the teachings of the gospel.

One teaching that he is always pressing upon us as therapists is the concept of arrows being shot at us due to the nature of what we take on everyday. He has told me that because we are teaching our patients to turn away from evil that evil is always looking for a way to take us down. I liken that to opposition and Satan in the gospel. He says that in order to protect ourselves from these arrows that are being shot at us daily from evil, we need to put on a belief something that is stronger than evil every single day. Since he knows my beliefs he is so kind to help me understand this through my belief system. He will often tell me that my Bible and Jesus are my protectors. 

He explains that if we don’t believe in something stronger than evil in our lives, we are giving our power away to evil and it can take us over. Everytime he talks about this teaching, I think of the scriptures that talk about putting on the armor of God. I think about how I daily put on this armor to protect myself and build my belief in God as my protector.

I want to read you one of the scriptures that talks about this armor of God then talk about ways you can put on this armor daily to also protect yourself from Satan. This one comes from Ephesians 6:11-18.

11. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15. And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16. Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

I love that last line talking about prayer because I believe it is one of the most effective ways to put on the armor of God. I want to break down those 6 items of armor and talk about how you can use prayer to put that armor on each day and protect yourself from the arrows Satan is shooting your way.

The first two items I want to talk about are the helmet of salvation and the breastplate of righteousness. The helmet of salvation can be thought of as repentance. When you look up salvation in the topical guide the word repentance comes up. Then the breastplate of righteousness can be thought of as good works because that is how you can show your righteousness is through your good works. Now what do both of these have to do with prayer? Well both of those things need to be done daily AND we need help with them. They can’t be done alone. We need God’s help to do them and in order to get God’s help with them we must ask in prayer. 

Each day before you pray try pondering what it is that you need help with that day. Is it something you want to improve or change in your life (also known as repentance). Or is it something you want to do to help others (also known as good works). Asking is what opens the powers of heaven. Sitting down each day and thinking through your day and HOW God can help you unlocks a power that is stronger than Satan. 

As you sit down and think about your day and how God can help you grow more like Him or help others do the same, you are breaking your prayers down into small and simple things that God can help you with rather than big giant prayers that may take quite a bit of time to answer. It truly is through God’s small and simple means that He will bring great things to pass in your life. So truly, the first way to protect yourself from Satan is to put on the helmet of repentance and breastplate of good works by asking God for help with each of those daily. Then He can walk with you throughout the day and be your protector.

This next one ties right into the last one perfectly. The second way to protect yourself from Satan daily is to put on the shield of faith (trust) and to have your feet prepared with peace. Let’s talk about the shield of faith first. One way I like to simplify my definition of faith is thinking about it like trust. Trusting God that He will provide for me no matter what. Also, having your feet prepared with peace is recognizing the Help that He is providing for you as you walk this world of opposition. 

One simple way you can do both of those is through gratitude in prayer. One of the reasons I love to record my prayers is so I can see HOW God answered them and start recognizing HOW he shows up for me each day. Now if you are doing the first step like I talked about and writing down what you are asking for, then it will make it super simple to recognize HOW God is showing up for you providing you with peace and trust. 

Each day I like to look at my prayers from the previous day and ponder HOW God showed up for me in those prayers. This helps my feet be prepared with peace as I move forward because I start recognizing that He IS helping me. Before I started recording my prayers I often forgot what I even prayed for or just assumed it didn’t get answered unless I saw a giant miracle. As I have been recording my prayers, my trust in Him has increased because I see that God shows up for me each day even if it’s not exactly how I requested. 

Developing a practice of seeing God's hand in your life daily can help you put on the shield of faith or trust and prepare your feet with peace as you recognize Him in your life daily. Thus blocking Satan’s attacks on you. One thing to mention here is that the armor doesn’t stop Satan from shooting the arrows, just that you are protected as he does. Opposition will be a part of your earthly life everyday. Your job isn’t to stop opposition, it is to be prepared for when it comes. 

For the last way to protect yourself from satan by using the belt of truth and the sword of the spirit. Now where is it that you find the truth? In the scriptures. The belt of truth is girding your loins with the truths found in the scriptures. In that Ephesians scripture it says that the sword of the Spirit is the word of God right? So you could assume that it means just read the scriptures. But I also believe that when you are in the scriptures is where you invite the Spirit in to teach you about WHAT the scriptures are telling you. It’s not enough just to read the words on the page, we need the Spirit there confirming truth too.

Reading the scriptures might seem obvious even as I described earlier with my friend Ernest telling me that my Bible is my protector. That is truth and we also want to invite the Spirit into our scripture study and be writing down our revelations as we read. I also do this by writing down a specific question I want to know about and pray for that answer before I study. That helps me to invite the Spirit into my scripture study to find what He wants me to know about the answer. 

The last way to protect yourself daily from Satan is to put on the belt of truth by reading the scriptures and using the sword of the Spirit and inviting Him into the word of God with you. This will help you seek what God wants you to know for your day and provide extra protection. 

I have been doing this practice for about 5 years now and I can tell you that I am a much more faithful and believing person than I was back then. In fact, as I was starting my business, I had a distinct impression that I needed to share my process with others. Thus the Seeking Personal Revelation Journal was born.

This journal is something I use daily in my process of connecting with God in prayer and scripture study. It provides the outline for me to record my prayers, write my scripture seeking questions, and to record my revelations. I would love for you to join me in protecting yourself from satan daily as well. Please keep in mind, the journal is not magical. You can do this on a piece of paper, but if you would like all your prayers and revelations contained in one journal then I encourage you to check out the Seeking Personal Revelation Journal. Also, if you have a ministering sister or friend that could benefit from this episode send them the link so they too can protect themselves from satan.