Review
That brings us to the final piece of the armor. Actually, this last item is not listed as an official piece of the armor. However, it is listed as the final piece to a puzzle. So, what is it?
Ephesians 6:18 - “Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints."
Along with equipping themselves with armor and being well trained with their weapon, communication was just as important to the Roman soldier when it came to their success in battle. Overall, communication was one of the biggest reasons for the success of the Roman military. The commanders primarily would communicate the plan before the battle. However, there were times a commander needed to get a message to their officers during battle. In doing so, they would use an assortment of methods like a bonfire system, flag system, a torch system, etc. Whichever method they used, they made sure to get the message to the their commanding officers.
As Christians, communication is just as important to us as it was to those Roman soldiers. We too must stay in communication with our commander as we well. We do so through prayer. Prayer is vitally important in a spiritual battle against a spiritual enemy. Without prayer, we lose the strength necessary to stand strong against the attacks of the enemy. Prayer allows us to tap into the power of the Spirit for our life. We are weak in a spiritual battle; therefore we need spiritual power! That power comes from God and is accessed through prayer. In order to stand strong against the enemy, we must be on our knees in prayer.
In order to stand strong against the attack of the evil one, Paul says to equip ourselves with the armor of God. Along with putting on the armor, he charges us to pray. Now we can easily read over this and miss what Paul is saying here. He says that in order to stand firm against the devil and his demonic forces, we must 1.) put on the armor of God, and 2.) pray. We have to have the armor, but we also have to have prayer.
So why pray?
Ephesians begins by informing us that our blessings our found in the spiritual realm. It ends by reminding us that we have an enemy in the spiritual realm. The enemy is launching attacks on our life every single day. Why? Because we are in a spiritual battle. In order to be prepared for this battle, we must equip ourselves with spiritual armor AND spiritual strength. That spiritual strength comes from God. Prayer requires us to be reliant and dependent on Him.
So how should we pray?
At All Times
Kairos = Measure of time; fixed time; opportune time; the right time.
Paul says to pray at all times. That means, when things are difficult, pray. When things are good, pray. When times are easy, pray. When times are hard, pray. When you are in public, pray. When you are in private, pray. When you are at church, pray.
No matter what time we find ourselves in, it is a good time to call on the name of the Lord.
All-Prayer
Worship - Praising God for who He is
Thanksgiving - Giving thanks to God
Confession - Confess our sins to God for forgiveness
Supplication - Praying for yourself; Making your requests known to God
Intercession - Praying for others in need
Prophecy - Declare the truth
All Perseverance
There are times when we need to persevere through prayer. That is to keep praying and not giving up. Let us not be deceived into believing that we don’t need to pray; that we can do it on our own. No! Pray and keep praying because we need God!
Perseverance is one of the most valuable attributes we can develop in life. However, many times it is only developed in our own personal work ethic. It is good to have, however, there is another level of perseverance that is available for us to develop. It is the ability to persevere in waiting on the Lord. To keep doing what we are doing, to keep praying as we wait on God to come through.
We are taught to not rely on someone else. However, God is not just someone else. We can wait on God. We can trust in Him.
All the Saints
As we pray for ourselves, let us remember to pray for other believers as well. While God does see you individually, He also sees you as a part of the body of Christ. Let us not get stuck in our own world, but let us consider what God wants us to pray for as well. Let us pray for those who are in need.
In battle, a Roman soldier who only looked out for himself was not fit to be a part of the military. He was not fighting for himself, he was fighting for his brothers. He was fighting for his nation.
In the Spirit
Pneuma = God’s power; influence of the spirit
Romans 8:26 - “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”
*Praying under the influence
Matthew 26:41. - “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”
Let us have an attitude of prayer. One whose meditation of the heart is pleasing to the Lord. (Psalm 19:14)
It is important to remember that we are called to live in the spirit. We are called to:
Therefore, we are called to live out our Christian life in the spirit. If we are living in the spirit, then we will be praying in the spirit. We will be prompted by the Holy Spirit to pray. It is allowing Him to guide our prayer life.
Ephesians 6:18 encourages us to pray:
In other words, God wants us to develop a prayer life. God’s desire is to grow our prayer life. We need God and God needs more people praying.
Takeaways
You are in a spiritual battle. You need spiritual strength.
Don’t believe the lie that you don’t need to pray.
There is nothing you can do about yesterday. But you can begin today.
Allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you in prayer.
The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
