Jesus, help my shield of faith be made up of these two materials:

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Heb 11:6). Let my shield of faith be based on these two principles alone.

Help me realize that these two materials are all that can be included into the structure of my shield of faith; that’s all. Teach me that every other aspect of building the shield of faith must go through these two components.

I must believe:

• First, that God exists.
• Second, that God rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

Empower me to believe these two things all the time.

Jesus, show me that these two beliefs, ward off everything my body, Satan, and the world system throw at me. If I exclude either one of these beliefs, then everything else I believe crumbles into ashes. Make it clear to me that if my shield of faith isn’t manufactured and constructed with these two principles as absolutes, it can be shattered, burned, or penetrated. I need a shield of faith that is reliable, consistent, and brings about the protection I have to have.

Jesus, I have tried to build my shield of faith with other kinds of materials. I have tried to construct it with faith in healing; I have tried to construct it with faith in people; and I have tried to construct it with faith in myself. I have also tried to mix my construction material by having faith in God WHILE having faith in world systems and principles. Then when the flaming arrows of the devil sailed right through, I thought God had let me down. I got the impression that Christianity doesn’t really work. Or, I decided that the Christian life is harder than the old life of sin. Help me know that none of these thoughts (flaming arrows of Satan) are true. The reason my shield of faith failed was because it was built out of faith-materials in the wrong things.

Jesus, without faith it is impossible to please God: So, since it took faith to receive salvation, help me learn from its principles. It was by grace that I had been saved, through faith--and this NOT from myself, it was the gift of God--NOT by works, so that I can’t boast (Eph 2:8). I used to think God helps those who help themselves. I used to believe that God expected me to do all I could do; AND THEN, I was to trust Him for the rest. BUT YOU, JESUS, SAY NO!

Teach me, Jesus, that apart from You I can do NOTHING (John 15:5b). In John 15:1-17, You spent time explaining to me that I MUST remain in You. You used the word “remain” eleven times trying to convince me that apart from You I can do NOTHING. But, there are times when I try to mix faith and human effort; and, I ignore that it is NOT from myself, it is the gift of God--NOT by works, so that I cannot boast.

Jesus, when I ask for something, I must believe and not doubt, because when I doubt, I am like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. I should not think I will receive ANYTHING from the Lord; I am a double-minded man, unstable in all I do (James 1:6-8). Help me understand a situation where I use material that works, but, I mix it with doubt. Since, without faith it is impossible to please God, because when I come to Him I must believe that He exists and that He rewards me when I earnestly seek Him (Heb 11:6), help me fulfill these two requirements. But, keep me from believing these two things sometimes and not all the time, because that doesn’t work either!

Jesus, when trials, temptations, and persecution come so that my faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine, let it result in praise, glory and honor when You are revealed (1 Pet 1:7). Once I only have faith in God, I have a shield of faith with which I can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Once my shield of faith is made of these two materials, I believe that He exists and I believe that He rewards me when I earnestly seek Him (Heb 11:6b), I am ready to win over the drives of my body, the teaching of the world, and the temptations of the devil. Help me have a shield of faith like this at all times.

Jesus, help me simply believe in God’s existence and that He rewards; then all satanic efforts to attack me will be extinguished. Teach me that faith for anything else MUST come through these two materials. Let me fix my eyes on You, Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of my faith, Who for the joy set before You endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb 12:2). Teach me that You will only speak faith into my heart for other things, if I have these two materials built into my shield of faith.