“… In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”  Ephesians 6:16

This time we are not specifically teaching about the whole Armor of God, we are focusing on the shield of faith and defending against the fiery arrows of the evil one. Depending on the age and maturity level of your children, decide how open you will be when you are teaching about Satan’s attacks.  You might want to play the game below and have a quick discussion now as a family, but be prepared to explain it more in depth later to older kids. The point of this game and lesson is to be able to recognize some of the “fiery darts” the enemy uses to mess with our faith, and that the “shield of faith” is what we need to use to resist him.

The kids are going to love this game- we’re taking turns pelting each other with tiny marshmallows!  Have one child sit on the floor and the other members of the family receive a certain number of marshmallows to try and hit him/her. It shouldn’t hurt, especially if you are using the mini-marshmallows.  Thankfully, we aren’t going to light them on fire and send them over!

Now give the child something to try and block the mini-missiles. This is representing the shield of faith that we are commanded to use. It could be a plastic plate, an aluminum pan, a rubbermaid tote lid, anything at all.
Afterwards, ask the kids what those fiery darts of the evil are anyway? What does our enemy throw at us? I think, since we are to use faith to rebuke them, they are things which cause us to doubt. I think our enemy puts wrong thoughts in our mind: mean thoughts, thoughts to distract us when we are trying to pray or read the Bible (It’s amazing how many , harsh thoughts criticizing our teachers, parents, or pastors. Terrible thoughts can cause us to question our own salvation and our belief in our heavenly father. Some might even wonder if Jesus really saved them at all!  We don’t have to accept every thought that burns into our head. We need to extinguish lingering darts and recognize that they are an attack of our very real enemy!

But how? The shield of faith protects us, but only if we use it. And holding up this shield is as simple as speaking God’s Word. “I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day” 2 Timothy 1:12 and  “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). That is putting on the shield of faith.  When a thought falls into your mind, ask yourself if this is from God. Would God say this? If not, then rebuke that fiery dart for what it is, a lie from the devil.  As a family, declare the truth of our amazing God and encourage each other to be strong with their shield of faith.
Finish off with a quick family prayer. God cares about every area of our lives; let’s encourage the children to pray about whatever is on their hearts. Add to your prayer journal weekly, and be sure to leave space to jot down a quick note when God answers the prayer. Your kids will grow stronger in their faith when they can look back and see what the Lord has done.How did this work for you? Did you adapt it to fit your family?