Season 3 (Episode 6) Understanding the Power of the Armor of God

Welcome to Pain, Passion, and Purpose. I am your host, Shakeeta Torres, where I share mental health education, biblical teachings, and tips to help you to heal on purpose so you can walk boldly in your God-given purpose. This podcast is sponsored by Empowered Purpose Academy, a certified online Christian academy where where we provide services such as certification for Christian life coaches, mentorship for master's level aspiring and existing Christian therapists, mentorship for Christians, and continued education courses for the body of Christ. You can visit www.empoweredpurposeacademy.com to learn more and to download your free guide. If you like today's episode, please subscribe and leave us a raving review so that others can tap into the knowledge and wisdom that will be shared on this podcast.

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Hey, so before I get started on today's episode, if you have not subscribed to the paid membership of my podcast community, please do. It is going to bless your life. Listen, my episodes are already like therapy slash coaching sessions where I give you strategy and insight and all that good stuff. But the community, you're going to get a lot more. You're going to get more resources, more tools, and be able to ask more questions where I can create episodes around your questions. And you will be able to get discounts on some of my, my products and my events. So what are you waiting for? The price is very affordable. This is for those who are not quite ready to invest in one-on-one coaching with me or into the Pain, Passion, and Purpose mentorship program, which is also low, by the way, but that one is a lot more in-depth. You get access to courses, you get access to the Facebook community, and all that good stuff. But this is for those who just need to just listen and just gain some tools along the way. So what are you waiting for? Go ahead, subscribe. You won't regret it. It'll bless your life. We'll have topics around mental health and faith, biblical teachings, prayer, um, boundaries, communication, anxiety, depression, purpose, and so much more. I have had experience in mental health since actually about 2008 when I first finished my bachelor's program, and then from that point all the way up today and moving forward, I have gained so much so much experience, so much wisdom, and I am anointed for it. So go ahead, hit that button, and I hope to see you in the community. Hey, you guys, welcome back to season 3 where I have been posting my Thriving Thursdays on this podcast. I find that people are really liking the fact that I do that. So that way they don't have to go on my Instagram or Facebook to search for the video. Um, so check out today's episode where I share my testimony about the armor of God and just how powerful it is. You have got to check this episode out because my prayer is that it would inspire you and encourage you to read and understand and study your God-given authority. And also, I wanted to share that, um, my Faith and Mental Wellness Summit Tickets are now on sale. You can receive 20% off if you use the code EARLY20. I am so excited because these speakers are phenomenal. I have posted up most of the speakers so far on the website at faithandmentalwellness.faith. The summit is going to consist of a variety of topics about trauma, about shame, about taking care of yourself, your finances.

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You have access to the recordings as well. So if you are a therapist looking for continued education hours towards your licensure, that would be perfect for you as well to use that, um, in your state. So check with your state to make sure that these hours will count, but in my state for North Carolina, I'm able to use these hours towards my licensure. So thank you guys so much for listening. So let's get into today's episode.

Oh, you guys, welcome to Thriving Thursdays. Um, today is called Understanding the Power of the Armor of God, and so I called it this, um, because, um, I'm going to share a lot with you all, my own personal testimony with the armor of God and just how powerful I have come to know and learn how important it is to put on your armor. So if you are able to stay tuned, if you're able to, um, watch the whole thing, please do. I'll also have up the replay on Facebook, on Instagram, um, and also I'll turn into a podcast for next week. So before I get into it, I do want to pray. So Father, I just thank you, Lord God, for, um, this time. God, I ask you, God, just to speak through me, God. Holy Spirit, you just have your way. Help me, God, to take my time. Help me, God, to speak what you want me to say, God. I pray that this word will edify your encourage your people. It will equip them even the more and help them to understand the power of your word. In Christ's name I pray, amen. And so if you're on Facebook, I cannot see your comments, but please continue to comment. I'll go back and I will respond to your comments later. I know— oh, you on TikTok or Instagram, I'll do the same thing. I'll go back and, um, reply to you guys as well. So before I get into this, I want to share with you all my testimony and my story of how I fully came to the knowledge of just how powerful the armor of God is. So this was about 2013. I, at this point in my life, I'm living in Georgia and I'm working at, um, an organization, um, under hospice, okay? And so with that, as a social worker, I had to travel to different nursing homes. I had to travel to people's homes a lot to be able to, like, you know encourage them, minister to them, help them to get, you know, what they need as far as like in their home and things like that. And so with that, of course, I'm going into all types of situations, okay? Some places are just, you know, full of God, some are not, okay? So, um, this is nursing home in particular. This nursing home was huge. I mean, it was like probably about 15 floors. It was old. It had been built in like the 19— like probably like '30s possibly. It was white. It was just— it was just— yeah, it was old. So I remember going there for the very first time and I walked in the nursing home and immediately I could feel oppression. Immediately I felt heavy and I knew that it was, you know, in the atmosphere. And so as I'm walking, you know, you have to get on the elevator to be able to go to the different floors to see the patients in the nursing home. So you guys, I— oh my God, I got in the elevator and I'm standing there. I can feel these demonic demons pushing me, trying to push me off the elevator. Like my head was like going this way, my body was going this way. I mean, I was like, these demons do not want me to come here. So I begin to pray. I'm like, God, please, God, you know, God, cover me. God, I'm praying, I'm praying, I'm praying, right? And my prayers are working, but I could still feel them trying to push me off the elevator. It was to the point where, you know, sometimes we would have to have meetings with the admin or meetings with the nurses or meetings with the director of the nursing home to discuss the patients. Even me sitting there, I can feel these demons just like all around me, like pushing me. And I'm like looking like, no one else, you know, can feel that but me, right? So it kept happening. Now, the good thing about it was this nursing home, I only had to go there maybe about 2 days a week for maybe a couple of hours, okay? But the whole time before I go, I have to pray. I have to really pray because that atmosphere was just so saturated with the enemy and demonic presence. And so one day I was sitting in my car and I said, God, I said, I need something else because I'm tired of coming here week after week and these demons keep like pushing up on me, like trying to push me out off the elevator, okay? And so, um, I began to like, you know, read my devotional. And some of you guys may know about, you know, the, um, the YouVersion app, the Bible app that you can go and like look at devotionals. It'll send you like a scripture every day. Even now it'll tell you like, hey, pray, and things like that. So then I use that app a whole, whole, whole, whole lot. And so one day in particular, I opened up my Bible app before I went to the nursing home, and the Armor of God prayer came up. And I was like, oh, I said, you know, I've heard this before. At this time, you know, I'm looking back now, I know that God was just like literally training me for warfare. And so as I'm in there, you know, I'm reading the scripture, I'm like, you know what, I'm gonna read this and I'm gonna pray over myself before I go in the nursing home. Let me pray over myself. Let me, uh, you know, see if this word of God gonna come alive for me today, okay? So I read a prayer. I didn't go into anything fancy, anything huge, nothing dramatic. I literally read the scriptures and I said, God, I pray this over myself right now, and that's it. So then I go inside the elevator. I could still feel oppression in there. But as I'm going into the elevator, it was like I felt this like bubble around me and I could still feel the demons, but they couldn't touch me. They weren't able to push me. It was almost like I could feel them bouncing off of the force that God had placed around me because of the armor of God, because of those scriptures, okay? And so this is— that was the very first time I really fully understood the power of the armor of God and just how serious it is, especially in today's time, to put on your armor, especially when you're going into places where you know the enemy is there, where you know the enemy is trying to attack. I mean, I even go as far as saying if you're like, you know, going into, uh, your family or seeing some people that you, you know are not of God, put on your armor. Read this, okay? Because it works, okay? And so, um, I kept going to this nursing home probably about 3 or 4 months even after I prayed that prayer. But every time I would go in there, I would pray this prayer. And I'll be praying on every single floor as I'm going to see my patients. I'm praying in their rooms in my head, silently speaking my, you know, speaking in tongues and all that under my breath, in my, in my mind and in my heart. I didn't realize that I was literally like on a spiritual warfare assignment. I didn't know that until probably like the last week or so that I was there. I was sitting in the cafeteria. Like a little holding room for you to go and watch TV, do your notes and things like that. And usually when I go in there, it's like really, really dark, okay? Like dark, as in me, like the atmosphere is heavy. It's, it's like you can still feel like it just didn't feel right, okay? So as time went on, I would continue to pray. And as I'm sitting in there, you know, I went there one day in particular, and the window blinds were open and the sun was like shining so brightly in that room. And I said, then I said, God, what is like this room? This atmosphere seemed a little different. I'm like, what's going on here? And pretty much the Spirit of the Lord told me, you have literally broken down strongholds in this building. And so now I'm able to shine my light in here because of your prayers. I didn't realize that's what I was doing all those months, going in there and praying and praying for those people, praying over myself. Speaking life, speaking life, right? And I was like, oh yeah, I was just like blown away. So most of the time, I'll be honest with you guys, I'll be on assignment and most of the time I don't even know because I'm just being myself. I'm just being Shakeeta Torres Torres, okay? So that happened, okay? So, um, fast forward, and as I go over these scriptures today, I have different scenarios to to really teach you guys and share with you all, because I really want the body of Christ to fully understand and fully know just how powerful the armor of God is. Okay, so I've actually taught this before, uh, probably this was like during the pandemic. We had our prayer line, me and my husband, but, um, I couldn't find my notes. And I'm like, God, help me remember like some of the notes that I took, because I actually taught this in segments. It was so meaty that I could not cover everything in like 30, 45 minutes. And today I'm not going to be able to cover every single thing either, but I am going to try my best to touch a little bit on each particular armor so you guys can, um, have full understanding of how powerful this is. Okay, so I'll be coming from Ephesians, um, chapter 6, verses 10 through 18. And it says, finally, be strong in the Lord and his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that the enemy cannot— so that you can take your guard against the devil's, the enemy's schemes. And we all know schemes mean plans, um, devious ways, the intent to hurt someone, the intent to set somebody up. Schemes, right? The enemy is always trying to find holes in our lives and find ways to deceive us, find ways to throw us off track from God, right? Especially if you are battling mentally, especially if you're battling mentally, because he wants to keep you oppressed. He wants to keep you down, okay? Even this way, it can help you mentally, okay? Mentally, all right? You about depression inside the armor, armor up, okay? And so, you know, I remember this was like back in 2017 when I was working at, um, my office, and I work from home primarily now, but I'm in my office and like every day before I go to work I would pray before I went inside. I had my devotional, I would pray. And remember one day I got out my car and this man, I never seen him before, he said, I see your armor, your armor is strong. And I'm like, who, who are you? Because number one, I'm like, I'm very guarded spiritually. I just don't let anybody into my space, especially spiritually, because I have to guard that, you know. And so I'm looking at him, I'm like I look, I said, what's your name? And we begin to talk. He said, you are prayer warrior. I can see that you, you pray a lot. He said, I could see your armor is very strong, it's very shiny. He began to minister to me and I was like, oh, here. So anyway, me, him, he and I became friends. Um, I ministered to him, he's ministered to me, and I just thought that was just so powerful that God was just confirming to me that my armor, my armor is there. And that my armor was effective. Okay, so that's one thing, one way God confirmed with me about armor. All right, so verse 12 says, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the principalities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. That is a very meaty verse, but Oh, so true and oh, so powerful. So let's go back to, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against principalities, against the powers of the dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. And so oftentimes when I am ministering to people, whether it's through coaching or just somebody, someone that God put in my path, Like, we forget that when things around us are chaotic, when people come up against us, it is not that person. It is the dark forces behind them. Okay, it is not that person. Once again, it is the dark forces behind them. And you're going to have to train yourself to understand how the enemy works. He can use anybody, including believers. Including believers, to come up against you. And that person is not even fully aware of what's going on because he influences us in our actions, the things we do. It is completely spiritual. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. It is not in our flesh, in our blood, but it is in prayer. It is in supplication. It is seeking the Lord. It is hearing God's voice. And so, um, today I'll be sharing a lot about myself, and I'm not sharing about myself to boast, but I'm sharing with you all to increase your faith and to put some fire under you for you to be able to really dig in this word or really apply this word to your life, because God is no respecter of a person. So please do not put me on a pedestal. Please do not look, oh wow, she did XYZ. Don't look at that. Please don't. Don't, okay? See it in the spirit and know that what God has done for me, he can do the same thing for you if you position yourself to receive it, okay? And so this is why in my natural state, I'm a very nice person. I love people, I love God, I love helping others, I love ministering to other people. But in the spirit realm, I know that I'm a warrior. I know that I'm a beast. So if something's going on in the natural that don't seem quite right, yeah, I get a little aggravated. But I also know that my weapons are not carnal. My weapons are from the Holy Spirit, through my prayer, through my worshiping, through my fasting, through me reading my word. Those are my weapons, and that's what I use to fight. I don't fight people. I don't argue with people. I'm not going to do that with you. I'll be stern with people, but I'm not going to argue with you. I'm going to my word. I'm going to God about it. But I understand principalities. And so principalities and rulers— people, people don't really fully, I don't think, understand. Like, it's like, what do you see when you hear that, right? Like, principalities can be over a whole entire city, it can be over a nation, it can be over a country, it can be over any area. Like, you can literally go from state to state, city to city, and encounter different types of demonic principalities. Every city, every state has one. Everyone has one, okay? And so like, that's a whole, you know, different teaching right there. If you want to hear more about that, I can give you some recommendations of where to go to to learn more about the different states and regions and things like that. And so also your family— your family can have territorial demons too in your bloodline that affects you, okay? So this is— this is— I'm telling you, y'all, this can get really deep. It could get really, really deep, okay? And so, can we keep going? The enemy comes to frustrate us. He comes to make us, you know, wary, to harass us, irritate us, confuse us, and just like, just, just a downright nuisance, okay? And so it comes in different forms, like witches, warlocks, imps. Oh my gosh, y'all, the list goes on. But I want you to understand this as well. I tell people this all the time. The enemy tries his best to duplicate everything that God has. So if you— so if the enemy has this, just know that God's army is greater, that God's army is diverse, and that God can come down at any moment to fight your battles for you. But you have to ask him, you have to invite him in, and I'll get into that in just in just a moment. So verse 13 says, therefore put on the full armor of God so that when the day of the evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground. And after you have done everything, to stand, to stand, right? So I'm like, God, you said the word stand. Why? This is me talking about talking to the Holy Spirit, and the Lord is beginning to minister to me and said, because sometimes we get into battles that are only reserved for God. There are some battles we face where God just wants us to stand still, know who he is, trust the process, and let him fight our battles for us. Okay, I can say that because I lived it. I can say that because I've been there, been there before. Well, I'm like, God, I'm doing all this, I'm doing this, I'm praying, I'm fasting, I'm doing this. God said, just stand. I need for you just to stand and let me fight this battle for you, okay? And he has, and I won time and time again, okay? So when you did all you can do to stand, to stand. And 14 says, verse 14 says, stand firm then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place. So the belt of truth is buckled around your waist, which is the word of God. And the belt of truth is what holds all the pieces of armor together for you to be fully clothed in God's armor. Okay, the breastplate, it covers our heart. It covers the— our heart. It guards our heart. And the word of God does say in scripture to guard your heart with everything that you have, because out of it comes the issues of life, right? And of course we get disappointed, of course we get hurt, of course we deal with grief and different things, right? But I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about whatever you are going through, battles that— okay, either the people— people are coming for you, okay? But even in that, God, he can, he can keep— he can— oh gosh, let me— oof, my God. And the truth is the foundation of your whole full armor. So if your belt is not buckled, if your belt is not in place, which is the word— I mean, which is, you know, which is the word God, it cannot— like, is everything gonna fall apart?

All right, all righty.

So verse 15 says, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. It is possible to walk in peace even in the storm. I always use the example of the hurricane. So, you know, the hurricane, in the middle of that, it's like the eye of the storm. In that place, they always say it's very quiet, it's very peaceful. That's what research shows, that it's very peaceful. And it's possible to be in a storm, to be going through chaos, and for you to be at peace. Okay, and so I'll share again with you my own example of my own life. And so, you know, I went through a season where I just kept having these dreams of me losing my shoes, losing my white sneakers. And I kept saying, Lord, like, what's going on here? So I went to scripture and I began to study the shoes, right? And I'm like, oh my God, oh my God, you were showing me that I keep losing my peace. Like, I had the peace, but then I'll lose it. I had the peace but then I'll lose it. Okay, and what's the opposite of peace? Anxiety, right? Worry, stress. So I was going through a season where I was actually building some things, and I was like, God, it's not working out. God, you told me to do it this way, but it's not working. I would get so frustrated, and God was like, I need for you to keep your peace. Because think about it, think about like this: whenever we're anxious and wherever we are, you know, feel like we're all over the place and we lose our peace, it's hard for us to focus. It's hard for us to truly keep our mind on God. It's hard for us to be productive. It's hard for us to make wise decisions. So whenever you are anxious and all over the place, that is not of the Lord. Do not make a decision in anxiousness. And so I really had to study out peace because I— me, my Shakeeta Torres— my battle has always been anxiety. Anxiety, it was definitely spiritual. That's a whole testimony all by, all by itself, okay? I'll tell that another day.

But my battle was anxiety.

And so for me to keep losing my shoes, and which is peace in the word of God, I'm like, okay God, I gotta work on this. And even in that, God showed me this battle belongs to me. I need for you just to stand, just to stand in my word, put on my armor, okay? And then, um, verse 16 says, in addition to all this, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. So our shield is our faith, because the fiery darts that the enemy sends us is to distract us, to destroy us, to get us off track, to make us think God has forgotten about us. And our faith is, okay, I know God got my back. I know I might not always see the end. I know I don't see what's going on, but I know God has me. So when you have that kind of mentality and that mindset, that's your shield. It protects you from the enemy's darts. Okay, let me go back to myself. Okay, this is my testimony. And so this was maybe around the same time when I was beginning out, you know, building something new. And it was, it was hard. I had so much pushback. I had so much warfare, y'all. So much warfare. And I remember, uh, one particular week, it was like, y'all, I could not get back up. Spiritually. Like, I kept getting knocked down. I had to get up and pray. I felt knocked down, knocked down. I'm like, God, I'm trying, God. I'm sitting here crying, God, I'm trying. It was so bad to the point where my husband said, this is not you. He said, you— this is not how you operate. He said— so he knows me, he know how I am when it comes to prayer and the things of God. And so he was like, I'm about to call our spiritual father. And I was just like, okay. And I'm the kind of person that I don't like to worry anybody I want to be a burden on anyone, you know, it's, you know, for me, especially my leaders, because they already carry so much. So my thought, my position for me is to pray for them, is to cover them, okay? And so he said, no, I'm getting ready to call him like right now. So he called him, and luckily, thankfully, he answered the phone, but he's actually really, really busy. And so, um, he calls him, he said, hey, um, you know, son, daughter, how y'all doing? I'm like, uh, my husband was like, you need to tell him, and I'm just I was quiet. I didn't want to say anything. I don't know why I didn't want to say anything. And, um, I just began to tell him, like, yeah, I just really been like battling. I really just been going through, and it's just been really difficult for me to pray. Um, and he— I was beginning to share with him. Before I could even finish it, he started speaking in tongues. He started going in prayer, going in prayer. He said, your shield has dents in it. And I was like, what? He said, the enemy had been throwing so many darts at you, and he's trying his best to defeat you, to get you to back off and not do what God is calling you to do. And I'm like, oh God. So then he began to pray, y'all. I literally— no lie— I literally felt like my armor, like, rebuilding back up. It was like, it was like, I felt it in my spirit, y'all. I was like laid out on the bed just crying and worshiping God. And this word, it's like I got all my fire back and then some. And so like, with that being said, just— there are different levels of anointing, there are different levels of authority, okay? And so he have a high authority to me in the Lord, okay? And so he was able to speak that into me. Everybody can't do that, okay? Was able to speak that into me, speak life back into me, and pray, and that my shield was rebuilt, all right? So that's the shield of faith, okay? Number 7, uh, verse 17. Verse 17: Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ah, the word of God. So first, the helmet. All right, simply believing that Christ died for your sins and that you are a child of the Most High God is— and receiving him as your Lord and Savior is simple put. It's simply put. Salvation and having faith to believe that he died for us. That's salvation. But with that, people forget, like, oh, I know I'm a Christian, I know that, you know, I believe in God. But people don't truly understand the authority that they really carry in the spirit and the authority that Christ has given us when it comes to prayer, when it comes to telling the enemy to get out my face, okay? Because that's how I talk to him, okay? Whenever I— enemy come for me and I'm having these thoughts, whatever, I'm like, wait a minute, hold up now. I'm gonna say, shut up, you are a liar. Like, I talk junk, okay? Once again, I'm out this way of my natural state, but spiritually, and when it comes to the things of God, I'm like, I'll be ready, I'll be ready, okay? I'm ready, I'm ready. Don't come for me, Satan, don't come for me, because I understand my authority. I understand the benefits that come with being a child of God. So the helmet, it protects our thoughts, it transforms our mind. The enemy loves to attack our mind. He can get to our mind, he can control what we say, he can control our actions, he can control so much about us if we let those seeds of words that he sowed into our mind grow. Okay, so back to this war. Now this right here, I'm about to share some more with you all, some more testimony with you all. And even now I'm saying it, I'm— God is bringing back things to my remembrance too. So the sword, it's a real thing. So if you go back and you study the Roman soldiers, like, you know, for time's sake, I'm not going to go over the whole entire thing, but Paul was really using this as, you know, symbology compared to the Roman soldiers because that's what they had back then. Back then they were soldiers, so he used the, the, the equipment, their, their armor to really explain and drive home what God was trying to tell them so they could understand it. Right? So the sword is the word of God. The word of God is your sword. So think about it. So if the enemy come at you and say you are worthless, you are nothing, God doesn't love you, you're, you're this and you're that, and you come back with, oh no, but the word of God tells me that I'm fearfully and wonderfully made, so who, who You ain't talking to me, right? So like, that's how you talk back to the enemy with the word of God. It's just so— why it's so important to pick up your sword. I did a live last week called Are You Spiritually Deceived? And I shared with you all about how I really wasn't effective in prayer. I wasn't really as effective as I needed to be as a child of God, a woman of God, if I didn't pick up my sword. Without the word of God, you leave room for deception. You leave room to be tricked. You leave room to be just tossed to and fro by the enemy. By the— the word of God is your sword, okay? Please remember, you don't get anything else out of today's teaching, know that your word is a weapon against the enemy. You may hear that, but I'm telling you, I lived it. I lived it. It is so true. I used to be so naive and so gullible. So naive and so gullible and fell for so many different lies from people and from the enemy. But when I began to read the Bible for myself, that's when I discovered I could say, oh, that's a lie, they told me a lie, or that's not God, that's the enemy talking to me because God's word doesn't say that, you know. So y'all, please, please read your word, please. But anyway, and so when it comes to the sword, um, this is probably about a few years ago too, and I don't know, like, of course, you know, I'm human. So there's periods where, you know, in my life in the past where I would get weary, or I wasn't reading my word as much, much as I should have been reading. I have to read my word daily at this point. I have to now. I have to. For me, it's not an option, okay? And so I wasn't reading the word as much, and my husband said, the Lord keeps telling me to tell you to keep your sword sharp. So I'm like, okay, God, I know what you're saying, for me to stay in my word, keep reading my word, right? And so I remember, um, he told me, he said, wow, he said, I even see your sword in the spirit. Your sword is huge, it's really big, babe. I'm like, wow. And so, um, I remember that same night when he told— my husband told me that, I was asleep. And I had this, um, in my dream while I was asleep, I could feel them demons coming for me. I can feel them like trying to pull me, grab me. And in my sleep, I literally picked up this sword and started swinging. And I felt myself swinging this sword, and it was heavy. It was so heavy. And I went back to sleep like it wasn't nothing. And when I woke up, I was like, wait a minute, that had— I said, did that really just happen? I said, okay, God, all right, you confirming your word. You confirming what my husband had pretty much told me. And not only that, my youngest daughter tell me, Mommy, I got a sword. Mommy, I have a sword. I use it when I'm at school because she's a little warrior too, little warrior in the making, all right. And so This ward is a very real thing in the spirit. It really is. Okay, somebody trying to call me, sorry. And so then, um, verse 18 says, 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. And so this right here, you know, I'm reading this, right? I'm like, okay, God, Holy Spirit, give me, like, um, revelation on your word, you know. Yeah, you can read commentary, you can, but it's also great for you to ask God to give you revelation of what he wants you to know. It's much more powerful, and also it'll stick, it'll stick better for you, okay, when God himself give you revelation. And so of course, you know, praying in the spirit includes, you know, you know, worshiping, praising God. Like, I know a lot of people who are— who know the word of God, but they don't worship. They don't worship. And I'm like, how is that? They can read the word of God and they don't worship? Or I see the opposite, when they're worshipers but they don't really read the word of God. It's like an imbalance there. And so prayer is like what really holds all the armor together. That's like the foundation of like what keeps everything, you know, nice and tight. Without prayer, without a prayer life, how are you hearing God? How are you communicating with God? And prayer simply means just talking to him, just talking to him. For one, that's one way we can communicate with God. In different ways, y'all, we communicate God through speaking in tongues. Speaking in tongues is powerful. Speaking in tongues is a weapon in itself. And once again, that's a whole teaching all by itself. If you read, um, Corinthians, 1 Corinthians chapter 14, Paul talks about speaking in tongues and gives us clarity on speaking in tongues. It's also, you know, books you can get as well. But speaking in tongues is powerful. I began speaking in tongues when I was a baby in Christ in 2000. I think it was like 9 or 10. A woman of God, like, she literally laid hands on us and we, for those who desired it, spoke in tongues. But since then, I have gained— God has given me different levels and different types of tongues. Okay, do I know what I'm saying? Most of the time I don't. But here lately, I will say this, here lately I've been praying in tongues. When I'm praying in tongues, my brain is interpreting what I'm praying because sometimes I don't know what to pray. Like yesterday, I was driving home from the dentist and I was praying praying for somebody in particular while I was driving. And as I'm praying, I'm speaking in tongues, my brain is interpreting what I'm like, oh wow, I'm like, that's exactly what needed to be prayed. So God was letting me know that this is what you're praying, but I— it was, it was all in my head, y'all. And, um, also I was— I would say this, so recently, you know, I went to Waking the House of Prayer, um, Elijah Prophetic Conference, uh, almost, almost 2 weeks now., and it was amazing. Like, I can't put into words just how amazing it was. Um, I love it. For one, Apostle is amazing. She's an amazing leader. She's an amazing teacher. I mean, she's just amazing, y'all. Okay. Um, second of all, um, I get to meet other like-minded people who also operates in the gifts of the Spirit, who are just— who are anointed and on fire for God, and we sharpen each other, right? Like, I'm like— like, none of us has everything. None of us know everything. So I love it. I'm able to go in environments and learn new things from other people. I'm like, wow, it opens your mind up, it builds your faith, right? And so one of the ladies I had met, we, you know, we became friends pretty quickly. And, um, God was using her to sharpen me, and I was sharpening her. And it was like a two-way thing. It was so beautiful. And so, you know, she's driving and I'm with her, and God begins to use her to minister to me about something I had been praying about. And God gave her the answer— gave me the answer through her. And so then we begin to talk about the armor of God. I don't know how it came up, I don't know how it came up. I'm like, Shakeeta Torres, oh my God, I see your armor, girl. She began to describe to me in great detail my armor and how she saw it in the spirit. And I knew she wasn't lying because right before that she had gave me another vision she was on. She had had about something that I had been praying and asking God about, and she saw, she saw everything, right? So we all have different gifts and all, we all have different callings, and God is not a respecter a person, okay? He's not— she's been in the faith like for almost only about a year now, right? She knew who God was before that, but she wasn't really actively living this thing out until about a year ago. So she's still learning, she's still growing, but the gifts are there. We all have gifts and callings, and that's why it's so important to plug in, plug in the people who are going to teach you, who are— who, who, who loves God's people, right? I know we live in a world where you see it's so much going on, it's this and it's that and it's this and it's that, and it can be hard times to really decipher what's true and what's not true. So if you go back, if you get a chance, and look at my video I just did called 'Are You Spiritually Deceived?' because I share some of my testimony. I share about, you know, how to really tell if you're being deceived by someone or not. There are other books I can recommend that I know of that are a guide for you to be able to read and be equipped because I'm telling y'all, like, for me I can't afford not to have my armor on no more. I can't, because I know I'm a threat to the enemy. I know that. And so when I allow myself to get weak, to become weakened, like, the enemy's trying to come for me even harder. Now, of course, whenever you go through season— life in the hard seasons, you have to have community. You have to have— so I have my community, okay? You know, I'm a prayer hub leader for, you know, Apostles Ministry for Awakening Prayer Hubs movement, and I'm a part of my regional team, which is like we have a regional leader who's over different states, and we, we pray together at least twice a month, but we minister to each other, we encourage each other, we pray for one another. And I also have my other— I have other friends who are in my area who live near me that I can call on. Girl, I need you to pray with me, or, you know, who cover me in prayer, y'all. So that's why it's so important to have community. And for those of you who have experienced church hurt, for those of you who have experienced letdown and disappointment, I get it, I understand. But know the enemy is using that as a tactic to keep you away from community, to keep you from growing, to keep you from being all that God has called you to be. So I urge you, I encourage you to sit down with the Holy Spirit, sit down with God. God desires to talk to you. So you can hear him, so he can give you direction on where to go, where to be fed, so you can deal with the issues of your heart. Okay, so with that being said, that's all I have for today. Let me check, let me double check. Okay, so I told about Crystal. Okay, so yes, I think that's it. I think that is it. So I'm going to pray us out and then, um, I'll let you guys go. Thank you guys so much for watching. I don't think anybody left any comments, but you guys tuned in. Thank you so much. Thank you so much, TikTok and Facebook. Yes, thank you so much. Keep it up. Thank you, I appreciate it. So Father, I just bless your name right now. I give you all the honor, glory, and the praise. I thank you, God, for your word. I thank you, God, for who you are in our lives. But I just pray for every single person who tuned in today, for those who will tune in later, Father, even for those who were able to stay, God, I thank you for them. God, I pray, God, that you would just show them, show them who you are, show them your glory, show them, God, that you desire to have relationship with them and that, God, you love them so very much. Father, I pray for their healing. I pray for deliverance. God, I pray, God, that you would just send them, God, to people who can teach them, who are hungry for you, who love you, who honor you, and who are not out to deceive your people. So, Father, I just pray, God, that you just, um, you know, open their eyes to see the enemy's tactics, God. Remind them to put on the armor every single day. Put on their armor every single day so, God, they will not be deceived. They'll be guarded and they'll be girded up, Lord God, in your word, in truth, in spirit, through prayer, through worship, through supplication, God. So, God, I just thank you. I thank you, God, for this platform. I thank you, God, for trusting me to be able to release these words to your people. I do not take it lightly, Father. So, Father, I love you so very much, God. I just bless your name and I just pray, God, that your people will have a blessed rest of their week. In Christ's name I pray, amen and amen.

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