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Ephesians 6:16 (NLT)
In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. [1]

[1]
Greek, the evil one.

DRAWING NOTES:

TIME OF DAY:
Indeterminate.

LIGHTING NOTES:
A single source of light comes from above & to the right.

CHARACTERS PRESENT:
None.

RESEARCH/ADDITIONAL NOTES:
This is the fourth of 7 “scenes” depicting each of the pieces of the armour mentioned by the apostle Paul. Putting on the whole armour of God protects us in the battles of life & faith.

This was actually the first illustration in this set that I drew. I enjoyed drawing the fiery arrows & designed them to look dark & menacing. If you look closely you’ll see that each arrow head has a different design. perhaps indicating that it is a different thought or idea, hurled at us by the enemy, Satan. I liked adding the cross to the shield, with it’s radiating lines of colour. The red on the shield indicates Jesus’ blood, shed for our redemption on the cross.
Notice that not a single arrow has got past the shield – that’s a comment on the power & steadfastness of the Shield of Faith! Notice also that the flames on the arrows that are sticking in the Shield are dying – showing that the Shield extinguishes those fiery arrows & renders them useless & ineffective against us.

I decided early on in the design process to include a white cross on each piece of the armour, which is my way of signifying that this is not merely metal armour, but is spiritual, God-given armour, empowered by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

Shield of Faith: what is it & what’s it for?
To get a broader sense of what the belt of truth is, lets look at several versions of the Bible:

Amplified Bible
Lift up over all the [covering] shield of saving faith, upon which you can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked [one].

New International Version
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

New King James Version
above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

‘The shield in a Roman soldier’s attire, made of wood, was about 2 1/2’ wide and 4’ long. It was overlaid with linen and leather, to absorb fiery arrows. Thus it also protected the other pieces of the armor; hence Paul used the phrase, “in addition to all this”. ‘
(Source: The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty.)

The soldier needed to also carry extra protection in the form of a shield. The image was taken from the Roman shield, a large oblong or oval piece, approximately four feet high by two feet wide, made of wood and leather, often with an iron frame. Sometimes the leather would be soaked in water to help extinguish fiery arrows. The ancient “flaming arrow” or “fire dart” was made of cane with a flammable head that was lighted and then shot so as to set fire to wooden shields, cloth tents, etc.’
(Source: Life Application New Testament Commentary.)

From these references we can see the Shield of Faith as a powerful defensive device. It provides excellent protection from the attacks (the fiery darts or arrows) of our enemy, the Devil. In addition, the Shield of Faith protects the other parts of the Armour of God, just as a Roman soldier’s wooden shield did so.

‘NAMES OF SOLDIERS INSCRIBED ON THEIR SHIELDS
Lest the soldiers in the confusion of battle should be separated from their comrades, every cohort had its shields painted in a manner peculiar to itself. The name of each soldier was also written on his shield, together with the number of the cohort and century to which he belonged.’
(Source: “De Re Militari” (Latin. “Concerning Military Matters”), Book 2. Written by the late-Latin writer Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus.)

Vegetius wrote (in the above quote) that every soldier in a Roman legion wrote his name on his own shield. Perhaps if we similarly personalise our “Shields of Faith” we will come to love our own faith more, & be all the more ready to wield it.

Application: why a Shield of Faith? “Of faith”, is a genitive of content; the shield consists of faith. The idea, then, is that a Christian’s resolute faith in the Lord can stop and extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one aimed at him. (Cf. “evil one” [Satan] in John 17:15; 1 John 5:19.)
(Source: The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty.)

‘For Christians, this shield is faith—complete reliance on God. Faith means total dependence on God and willingness to do his will. It is not something we put on for a show for others. It means believing in his promises even though we don’t see those promises materializing yet. When the enemy, the ruler of this world (John 12:31), sends his fiery arrows of temptation, doubt, wrath, lust, despair, vengeance, problems, and trials into our lives, we can hold up our shields and stop them. Faith gives us the strength to stand against Satan with firm courage, even when he uses his most fearsome weapons.’
(Source: Life Application New Testament Commentary.)

Because the Greek and Roman god of passion (called Eros and Cupid, respectively) was said to strike with flaming arrows, some of Paul’s readers may have thought specifically of the temptation of lust in this verse, although Paul probably intended the image to cover more than that danger (cf. Psalm 11:2; Psalm 57:4; Psalm 58:3-7; Psalm 64:3; perhaps Psalm 120:1-4; Proverbs 25:18).
(Source: Bible Background Commentary – The IVP Bible Background Commentary – New Testament.)

From these references we can see the Shield of Faith is a powerful defensive device, just as a Roman soldier’s wooden shield was. It is a Christian’s faith which protects him or her, especially in the battle for our minds: with doubts, fears, anxieties, etc all being thrown at us from the enemy of our souls.
As the Life Application New Testament Commentary points out (see above), faith means believing in God’s promises (as outlined in the Holy Bible) even though we don’t see those promises materializing yet. I like what it adds next: ‘Faith gives us the strength to stand against Satan with firm courage, even when he uses his most fearsome weapons.’

Hebrews 11:1-2 [1] tells us what faith is: trust in the existence of God; this faith is the firm foundation for our lives as Christians, it underpins everything that makes life worth living. It’s our belief & confident assurance in that which we can not see with our senses: the spiritual realms; spiritual truths.
Hebrews goes on to give a long list of people from the Old Testament who did amazing, miraculous things, utilising the power of their God-given faith to achieve them. Indeed, faith is a central theme running all the way through the Holy Bible.

Back to the military metaphor of our Shield of Faith, it may even provide additional protection for other people (Christians or unbelievers) in the same way that Roman soldiers locked their shields into a whole, multi-shield defensive structure, which provided excellent protection for an entire unit of soldiers. When the church of Christ comes together to work as a unit, with Jesus Himself directing our efforts, we are certainly a mighty force for good, capable of achieving more than any one individual might hope to achieve.

Bible References
[1]
Hebrews 11:1-2 (AMP)
1 NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. 2 For by [faith—trust and holy fervor born of faith] the men of old had divine testimony borne to them and obtained a good report.