Each morning we all have rituals … get out of bed, shuffle to the bathroom, speak with the Lord, eat breakfast, check email (ha), and get dressed.

Unfortunately, many stop there and don’t add the second layer of clothing. This is something you should do each morning as you put on your clothes in the natural — yep, you guess it – get dressed spiritually.

Ephesian 6:10-18 states, “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.”

Each morning I use my hands and place on what in the natural looks like an invisible helmet of salvation (but as an act of faith, I am placing it on my head) … then the breastplate of righteousness. Next I hold the shield of faith in my left hand (the guy on the left forgot his shield of faith!) and the sword of the Spirit in my right hand. I move down to the belt of truth that is buckled around my waist then I place on my shoes of peace.

Didn’t the apostle Paul suggest we do this? Actually, he didn’t leave it as a suggestion because he said, “PUT ON the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (in verse 1).

So many Christians fight through this life not realizing they have a real enemy sent to kill, steal, and destroy them (and destroy their destinies) here on earth. I know I certainly didn’t realize this until the “rug” was pulled out from under my feet many years ago. I thought God was in heaven and satan was in hell. Well, that isn’t completely true because Ephesians 2:2 states that satan is the prince of the air (ruler of the kingdom of the air — depending on the version you read). Even the scripture I quoted above says the devil is in the heavenly realm. I didn’t realize the reality of demons in our everyday life until God revealed my attackers to me. Even the event that happened in the book of Daniel just came to my mind. Do you remember when Daniel prayed and it took a heavenly messenger many days to reach him because of demonic interference? The angel Michael, a prince of the angels was sent to deal with this demonic prince. This is what the heavenly messenger told Daniel in chapter 10:12-14: Then he (the heavenly messenger) continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.”

Good news! Jesus overcame the enemy on the cross! Do not fear! But also, please don’t be complacent. Make sure you put on your armor DAILY. Also, did you know that armor basically covers the front of your body, but not your back? We are to FACE the enemy — not run. I believe that is why the apostle Paul said, “STAND.” Stand, fully armed and ready.

Are you fully dressed?