Ephesians 6:16 KJV Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
We have God’s word, which we believe is the absolute, without error, sovereign truth, we are living a righteous life before God by obeying His word, and 
we walk knowing we are at peace with God through our faith in Jesus the Messiah. The next piece of armour is the shield of faith. Remember this war is not about social issues, people, or anything worldly. Our fight is against the lies of Satan whose only goal is to kill, steal and destroy our faith ( John 10:10, 1 Timothy 6:12).
The word believe does not always mean faith in God. Our opinions are something we believe.
For example, we can believe in people, religious ideals, luck, the power of positive thinking, etc. These are beliefs in a man made system and come from the mind of men. There are also those who say they believe in God and Jesus the Christ but have no true faith.
What is True Faith
Believe in scripture – Believe – pisteuo (from 4102/pistis, “faith, derived from /peitho, be persuaded). Believe (affirm, have confidence); used of persuading oneself (=human believing) and with the sacred signifiance of being persuaded by the Lord (=faith believing). Only the context indicated whether pisteuo (“believe”) is self-serving (without sacred meaning) or the believing that leads to/proceeds from God’s inbirthing of faith. (HELPS Word-studies)
True faith is a gift from God by His grace and does not come from any resource we have but comes down from the throne of grace in heaven. Satan does not want us to have confidence in who God is so he will send 
fiery darts our way. They come in all forms, shapes, and sizes but they all have one thing in common, doubt. The seed of pride and doubt was planted in every human being when Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s one command. Once Satan caused Eve to doubt God he then went for pride telling her she could be like God and make her own choices which she and Adam fell for. We still fall for that today.
What This Looks Like
God has given us many examples of faith in His word here are a few.
Nehemiah 2:1 KJV In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. 2 And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. 3 I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” 4 Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.
Nehemiah had talked to some men who had returned to Jerusalem by escaping their captivity. What they told Nehemiah made him very sad and King Artaxerxes noticed his sadness. The King ask Nehemiah about it and Nehemiah was “very much afraid.” But in the face of fear he told the King why he was sad and he said a quick prayer to God. What did Nehemiah do before this event?
Chapter 1 of Nehemiah tells us he:
1) wept
2) mourned
3) fasted
4) prayed
Nehemiah had already come before God and God had prepared him. Our faith is as strong as our relationship toward God.
In Esther chapter 3 we find Haman plotting to kill all the Jews. He manipulated the King to agree to his plan of annihilation of the Jewish people. In Esther chapter 4 we find Esther being called to bring light into this dark plan.
Esther 4:7 KJV And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and of the sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king’s treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them. 8 Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to shew it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for her people.
Mordecai sends a copy of the order for all the Jews to be killed to Esther and tells her she is to go and beg for mercy for them. We find in verse 11 that Esther is afraid to go before the King unless she is called by the King because He has the right to kill anyone who comes before him without being called first. How does Mordecai address her fear? You think you are safe in the palace but you are not. You and your family will be killed. Ask yourself if you are not there for this very time. What does Esther do?
Esther 4:16 KJV Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
She fasted and prayed. She then had faith to go before the King without being called and God saved His people through her.
The last Person we will look at is Jesus.
Luke 5:16 KJV And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.
Jesus, Himself, often went to a place of solitude and prayed. If Jesus prayed what makes us think we do not need to pray. In Luke chapter 4 we find Jesus fasting for 40 days while being tempted by the devil. We know of only 3 of the temptations the devil threw at Jesus, lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and pride of life (Genesis 3). In Luke 4:13 the devil had done all he could do at that time and so he left to wait for a new opportunity.
We find this new opportunity in Matthew 26:36-46 where Jesus is praying while Satan once again was throwing firey darts at Him. Again if the One who never had a sinful thought, word, attitude, or action fasted and prayed what could make us possibly think we can raise our shield of faith without a devout prayer life. Jesus did not pray to not sin, Jesus prayed to communicate with His loved Ones at home. Jesus prayed to be an example for us. Jesus tells us the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Our prayer life keeps our faith life strong. Our study life in the word of God keeps our faith life and obedience solid and confident in God.
Matthew 7:24 KJV Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
What do you do when the firey darts are thrown your way?
