Step 7 of 14Won on bended knee

Put On the Armor

It's four a.m., the house is still, there's frost upon the paneThe world ain't found me yet today, it ain't called out my nameSo I'm down on the cold wood floor where no one else can see'Cause the battle ain't won on the field, it's won on bended knee

Belt of truth around my waistRighteousness across my chest

Put on the armor, every single pieceEvery mornin' 'fore the fightFaith for a shield and truth for a beltAnd the Word to cut the nightDon't you leave one strap unbuckledDon't you leave one plate at home'Cause the enemy don't aim for the steelHe aims for what you left alone

I open up the Book at the table by the lantern lightAnd I sharpen up the sword on every page till the edge is rightThen on Sunday at the sacrament I renew the oath I sworeTake the bread and take the water, and I'm fit for one more war

Feet shod with the gospel of peaceHelmet of salvation on

There were mornin's I got lazy, mornin's I let it slideWalked straight out into the world with nothin' but my prideAnd I came home cut and bleedin' in the places I'd left bareSo now there ain't a mornin' that I skip my knees in prayer

This ain't my armor, never was — I couldn't forge a plateHe pours His Spirit out on any man who'll kneel and waitAnd I ain't wrestlin' flesh and blood, it ain't no man I fightIt's the rulers of the darkness — that's why I need the light

My boy came down the stairs this mornin', saw me on my kneesSaid, "Dad, will you teach me how?" — so I knelt him down by meNow there's two of us puttin' on the armorTwo of us ready to standAnd the next time the enemy comes for my houseHe's gonna find more than one man

The story

It's four in the morning. The house is still, there's frost on the window, and the world hasn't found this man yet. It hasn't called out his name. So he's down on the cold wood floor where no one else can see, because the battle ain't won on the field. It's won on bended knee. Jesus taught it: "when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret." The fight of the day is decided before the day starts.

Paul wrote about the whole armor of God: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Count them. Five pieces protect you. Only one is a weapon, and the weapon is the word. And Paul wraps the whole thing in prayer: "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit."

Then he tells us who the enemy is, and this matters more than anything else in this song: "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world." The enemy is never a person. Not your neighbor, not the person who disagrees with you, not the one who hurt you. This album is full of shields and swords, and I never want anyone to hear it as a call to fight people. The fight is against darkness, and the only thing that wins against darkness is light.

Here's the doctrine I think changes everything. When the Lord spoke of this armor to Joseph Smith, He called it "my whole armor." His, not ours. He said the sword is "the sword of my Spirit, which I will pour out upon you." We don't forge this armor. We couldn't forge a plate if we tried. It's issued. He gives it, freely, to anyone who will kneel and receive it. That's grace, and that's the Atonement of Jesus Christ giving us strength we don't have on our own.

So how do we put it on? On our knees, every morning. With the scriptures, sharpening the sword on every page. And every Sunday at the sacrament, when we take the bread and the water and renew the promise to always remember Him, and He renews His promise that we may always have His Spirit with us. Helaman describes people who fasted and prayed often and grew "stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ." The man in this song admits there were mornings he got lazy and walked out into the world with nothing but his pride, and came home cut in every place he'd left bare. That's why he doesn't skip it anymore.

And then the best part. His boy comes down the stairs, sees his dad on his knees, and asks, "Dad, will you teach me how?" Now there are two of them. Moses told Israel to teach these words to their children "when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." Sometimes the most powerful thing you'll ever teach your children is just letting them see you pray.

Sources

Think about it

The enemy doesn't aim for the steel; he aims for what you left alone. Which piece of the armor have you been leaving at home, and what has it cost you?

Tonight

Before bed, put your scriptures where you will see them first thing in the morning. Tomorrow, kneel and pray before you pick up your phone.

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