The Helmet of Salvation

Preface

This is my seventh article submitted for publishing as a member of the Young Writers Program organised by Press Services International. This program helps to provide a ready-source of content for the magazine publication Christian Today Australia. You can read that article here.

As a prayer, I have not added to that section. Instead, the full passage of Ephesians 6 is included along with extra commentary before and after the prayer. Be blessed.

Ephesians 6:10-18: The Armour of God

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² 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. ¹³ 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. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,which is the word of God.

¹⁸ 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 Lord’s people.

Introduction

In my last article the focus was on the Lord’s Prayer, which teaches us how to pray. I will be combining the concept of prayer with the topic/theme of the armour of God, which will guide my articles throughout 2019. My intention is simply to share and write this prayer to amplify the power of God’s armour, specifically the helmet of salvation.

Why have I chosen to start with the helmet of salvation when the passage follows a slightly different order? I am simply working from top to bottom instead, which is why I begin with the head. The order and precedence of each item in the armour is not that important – all are equally important and none can or should be overlooked or diminished in their role. Collectively, the entire armour of God is empowering, enduring and indeed a rod that guides and protects us.

Praying the helmet of salvation and its truth over people is empowering. Our words of encouragement help to reinforce the truth that God alone is the one who grants us His salvation.

Prayer

Dear God, I pray for the people who read this article. May they each be reminded of who you are in their lives and that as fellow believers, we share this gift of salvation which comes from You alone. You know each of our hearts and minds, so help us to fill them with your love and peace. Specifically, I pray Philippians 4:6 & 7 over them – that in giving you thanks, they will indeed, not be anxious. Help them to lean not on their own understanding but seek Your heart and will for their life. Our minds are indeed a battlefield so we submit this arena to You so that we can know right from wrong and truth from deception. May Your light shine brightly in the darkness of this world; may no one, no word, no thought pass through our minds without being cleansed by You and the saving knowledge that Christ is alive with us via Holy Spirit.

Lord I pray the helmet of salvation will be a ready and handy tool that you, God have given us to help connect into Your heavenly peace. Remind us that the helmet represents our salvation, which is You, Christ Jesus. Help us to consider and reflect on this very nature of the helmet of salvation – the salvation is a gift from You, God which we cannot earn but given freely from Your grace. As we are saved by Your grace and love alone – therefore to wear and put on the helmet of salvation simply requires us to acknowledge God and accept Your gift. Lord – we receive Your precious gift right now.

Just as a king may knight and don a helmet on one of his soldiers, I visualise You, Father God knighting us and placing this helmet of salvation over our heads. As I reflect on this imagery, I also can see you have placed the helmet on our heads as we bow before you our Heavenly King, you embrace us and provide a heavenly justly kiss on the helmet – it is precious and even though the helmet is an outer covering separate from our own heads, we can feel the touch of your lips as Your love pours out on impact into the helmet and our own heads.

Let us all wear our helmets securely and know that You, God bring us peace of mind. Help keep our minds balanced so that we will not be overconfident or boastful of our capability. Instead, help us proclaim confidently the truth of Your salvation over our lives. Jesus you saved us and nothing can take this away from us.

When we start getting ahead of ourselves, remind us God that we are right where you want us to be. You know both our past and future so let us submit it all to you at the foot of the cross so that no fear, doubt or anxious thoughts can take hold. Your Word of Philippians is simple in instruct, so help us to not overcomplicate issues and simply not be anxious. Thank you that we have the power to choose how we feel and react in all situations – good or bad. Even more so, during the tough times, help me to proclaim Hallelujah, praise and honour all to You God.

In Jesus Name,

Amen.

Further Reflection

As I reflect on this prayer, the words of Man of Sorrows, specifically in the chorus come to mind:

Oh that rugged cross, my Salvation
Where Your love poured out over me
Now my soul cries out Hallelujah
Praise and honour unto Thee

(Man of Sorrows, Hillsong Worship, Brook Ligertwood & Matt Crocker)

God’s love was and is poured out over us. This imagery helps me to merge it into the concept that it forms the protective helmet over our heads. God’s love was poured out literally onto our heads, bowed before him. It was at the cross where salvation was made possible and it was poured out over us. The helmet of salvation indeed protects, saves, strengthens and points us back to Easter and the cross.

Our response? Just as the song leads us – our soul should respond to God’s love by crying out hallelujah, praise and honour all to you Jesus.