Ephesians 6.13-18 commands, be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out. MSG

Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. This is the command of God, how diligent are we to ‘apply’ these words? To apply them we must think about them, we must consider them, and we must pursue them with the Church for in the family of God is wisdom and accountability for not only knowing but for taking action upon these things God has commanded.

The Bible is not full of platitudes but is literally God’s word, His voice to us, for knowing Him and doing His will. God does not speak to hear Himself talk but He speaks to see us obey. God’s Word is indispensable to the Christian life, how is that we so easily ignore it?

All of the thinking and all of the reading and studying of God’s word is to be placed in the caldron of prayer where we brood upon it with God, seeking His Holy Spirit to refine it in our hearts and minds for specific action we are to take fulfilling the accomplishment of the good works He prepared for us to do before the foundations of the world. Praying hard and long is our discipline for personal understanding and application of God’s Word to our lives.

As we experience God, we share our experiences with His church, for encouragement and correction. Where our hearts and minds have heard amiss, the Church corrects us, in this way we stay on the narrow road, not falling behind or dropping out.