Ephesians 6:13-20 The Message
13-18 Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.
19-20 And don’t forget to pray for me. Pray that I’ll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I, jailbird preacher that I am, am responsible for getting out.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Warfare of any kind doesn’t normally involve just individuals; it engages whole communities. This is also true with spiritual warfare. In spiritual battle, we are to be righteously concerned not only for ourselves but for all of God’s people.
Christians need to have a global perspective of who is at the forefront of the spiritual battles with the forces of evil. It is not uncommon to pray for people who are ill, who are facing hardened times, or who live in an environment of persecution. Prayers for people in physical need can be heard in many places.
It is less common to pray for someone’s spiritual well-being. But in this world, as Paul puts it, “our struggle is … against the spiritual forces of evil” (Ephesians 6:12). And when spiritual warfare is a big part of our daily experience, it is very difficult for any of us to legitimately claim that we have a sense of well-being.
So we all need each other’s prayers always.
Praying in the Spirit for others is itself a faith-building exercise. It involves giving of ourselves for the benefit of others who are part of the body of Christ.
We may not know precisely the nature of the battle, or the piece of armor that is most needed in a situation, but we know of the struggle—and that is sufficient reason to pray. It is an unselfish and blessed thing to do. Praying this way is also an exercise in obedience because we’re each instructed to be intercessors for all.
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”
Ephesians 6:18-20Amplified Bible
18 With all prayer and petition pray [with specific requests] at all times [on every occasion and in every season] in the Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition [interceding in prayer] for all [a]God’s people. 19 And pray for me, that words may be given to me when I open my mouth, to proclaim boldly the mystery of the good news [of salvation], 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. And pray that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly and courageously, as I should.
Prayer reveals three facts:
When we pray we recognize, first, the existence of an invisible kingdom.
We would never pray at all if we did not have some awareness that someone is listening, that there is behind the realm of visibility an invisible kingdom.
It is not far off in space somewhere; it is right here. It surrounds us on every side. We are constantly in touch with it, though we do not always recognize it.
It lies behind the façade of life, and all through the Scriptures are exhortations to take heed of this, reckon with it, deal with it, and acknowledge that it exists.
The second fact prayer reveals is that we Christians have assurance, confidence that the kingdom of God is immeasurably significant, that it affects our lives directly, that the visible things which are happening in our world are a direct result of something happening in the realm of invisibility. Therefore, if you and I want to change the visibilities, you and I must start with the invisibilities.
Third, our prayers play an essential part in bringing God’s invisible power to bear on visible life. God answers prayer. Prayer is purposeful and powerful; it is not pitiful and pathetic pleading with only a rare chance it might be answered.
No, it is powerful. God answers! Prayer is an essential link in the working of God in the world today. Without it he does not often work; with it, he certainly does.
These three facts are all revealed in the matter of prayer.
But we must immediately add God answers prayer according to his promises.
This is so necessary to say today, for there is a very vague but widespread concept that God answers any kind of prayer, that no matter what you want or why and when, where and how you ask for it, he commits himself to give it.
This, of course, results frequently in disappointments and gives rise to the widespread belief that prayer is ineffectual. The truth is, God answers every prayer which is exclusively based upon a promise of God and the Will of God.
1 Kings 3:6-14 Amplified Bible
Solomon’s Prayer
6 Then Solomon said, “You have shown Your servant David my father great lovingkindness, because he walked before You in faithfulness and righteousness and with uprightness of heart toward You; and You have kept for him this great lovingkindness, in that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is today. 7 So now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in place of David my father; and as for me, I am but a little boy [[a]in wisdom and experience]; I do not know how to go out or come in [that is, how to conduct business as a king]. 8 Your servant is among Your people whom You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. 9 So give Your servant an understanding mind and a hearing heart [with which] to judge Your people, so that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge and rule this great people of Yours?”
God’s Answer
10 Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. 11 God said to him, “Because you have asked this and have not asked for yourself a long life nor for wealth, nor for the lives of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to recognize justice, 12 behold, I have done as you asked. I have given you a wise and discerning heart (mind), so that no one before you was your equal, nor shall anyone equal to you arise after you. 13 I have also given you what you have not asked, both wealth and honor, so that there will not be anyone equal to you among the kings, for all your days. 14 If you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and My commandments, as your father David [b]did, then I will lengthen your days.”
This is what Paul means by his reminder we are to pray at all times in the Spirit.
In the Spirit!
Many will take this phrase as though it describes the powerful emotions we should have whenever we pray.
They think it is necessary to be greatly moved before prayer can be effectual.
Now this is possible at times, but it isn’t essential to the effectiveness of prayer.
And it is certainly not what is meant by this phrase, in the Spirit.
Praying in the Spirit means to pray according to the promises which the Spirit has given, and the character of God which the Holy Spirit has made known.
God has never promised to answer just any prayer, but he does promise to answer prayer in a way that he has already carefully outlined for each of us.
When you learn to pray on this basis, you and I will discover that exciting and unexpected things are constantly happening, and that there is a quiet but an indescribably mighty power busy at work upon which you can steadfastly rely.
As you and I learn to pray in this way, you find there is put at your disposal a tremendous weapon, a mighty power to influence your own life and the lives of others, especially as it relates to withstanding the hard attacks of the enemy.
Take some time to pick up your Bible and make a list of the promises of God.
How can those promises you identified will surely transform your prayer life?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 138 Amplified Bible
Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Favor.
A Psalm of David.
138 I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I sing praises to You before the [pagan] gods.
2
I will bow down [in worship] toward Your holy temple
And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word together with Your name.
3
On the day I called, You answered me;
And You made me bold and confident with [renewed] strength in my life.
4
All the kings of the land will give thanks and praise You, O Lord,
When they have heard of the promises of Your mouth [which were fulfilled].
5
Yes, they will sing of the ways of the Lord [joyfully celebrating His wonderful acts],
For great is the glory and majesty of the Lord.
6
Though the Lord is exalted,
He regards the lowly [and invites them into His fellowship];
But the proud and haughty He knows from a distance.
7
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
8
The Lord will accomplish that which concerns me;
Your [unwavering] lovingkindness, O Lord, endures forever—
Do not abandon the works of Your own hands.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 