Lesson 19 – Ephesians Chapter 6:18-24
In our last lesson we took a good look at what it means for each one of us to put on the full armor of God. Unlike the Roman soldiers of Paul’s day, who would put on and take off their armor depending on the conditions, once we put on the armor of God, we are to leave it on. There’s an old saying out there that isn’t used very much, “to be comfortable in one’s own skin,” which means to be relaxed and confident in one’s manner of presenting oneself and interacting with others. It conveys the impression that one has a clear, satisfying understanding of one’s own abilities.
In a similar way, we can say when we put on the armor of God it is our “new skin” that we are to be comfortable in. When we do this, the believer can be relaxed and confident, knowing that God is with them and in them (going back to chapter 1, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit). Unlike being secure in our own self-sufficient abilities, we wear God’s armor knowing that He is our protecter and our strength – Belt of Truth, Breastplate of Righteousness, Shoes of the Gospel, Shield of Faith, Helmet of Salvation, and Sword of the Spirit. All these different armor parts point us to the lordship of Jesus in our life, and with this armor intact, the believer is prepared to engage the world and be able to face the enemy (satan) head-on.
The believer in full-dress armor is no doubt Spirit-filled.
Eph. 6:18
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”
In verse 18, we are told to pray in the Spirit in addition to wearing the full armor of God. We cannot neglect prayer, as it is the means by which we draw our spiritual strength from God. Without prayer, without us having a complete reliance upon God, our efforts at spiritual warfare are going to fall short. When you think of the full armor of God, think about truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and now we add prayer into the mix. These are the tools God has given us, through which we can become spiritually victorious, knowing that satan is a defeated enemy.
Praying always… The NIV says, “pray in the Spirit on all occasions” For us to pray always or to pray at all times is for us to live with a continual consciousness of God, where everything we see and experience becomes a kind of prayer for us. We live with a deep awareness and surrender to our heavenly Father, knowing that God is always with us, meaning that He’s always involved in our life, and with that, there’s no such thing as luck or coincidences. Why wouldn’t we want to always be connected to the God of the universe?
In the book “Pilgrim’s Progress” John Bunyan speaks of Christian’s weapon called prayer, which, when everything else failed, prayer would enable him to defeat “the fiends in the valley of the shadow of death.” An excerpt from the book says, “Christian’s sword does him no good here, and he falls back on the weapon of fervent prayer.”
Who can say that they pray enough? When it comes to our prayer life, there’s always room for improvement. We also see that prayer isn’t part of the armor of God, but it is the very “spiritual air” that the soldier of Christ needs to breathe.
E.M. Bounds wrote a whole book on prayer, and he writes, “The greatest and the best talent that God gives to any man or woman in this world is the talent of prayer. And the best payment of interest that any man or woman brings back to God when He comes to reckon with them at the end of this world… is a life of prayer.”
I Thess. 5:17 Paul says, “Pray without ceasing,”
That’s an easy verse to memorize, or we can say, “keep on praying.” Satan not only hates to see us in God’s holy armor, he hates it even more when he sees a soldier of Christ praying. To combat this, satan will do anything to get in the way of our praying.
II Tim. 2:3-4
“Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the One who enlisted him as a soldier.”
As this relates to prayer, Paul is telling us not to allow ourselves to become distracted when we pray. Don’t let the things of this world get in the way. Just the other day, as I sat down to pray, I immediately got a text on my phone. I said to myself, “Nice try satan.”
Life is filled with all kinds of things that can steal us away from spending time with God in prayer. With that, the obvious thing that stands out for us is “time.” It takes time for us to pray, and the simple “busyness” of life certainly demands much of our time.
Have you ever attempted to pray and you just felt restless, that you couldn’t focus? You’re not alone, everyone goes through this. Or perhaps you found yourself saying, “I’ll cut it short for now and I’ll come back and pray some more later.” The problem is, you never do get back to it that day. Score one for satan.
We know that being a soldier of Christ can be challenging, that every day we face constant battles. These battles not only take place every time we leave the house, but there’s a fierce battle right inside your own prayer closet (whatever that might look like).
Effective prayer is a discipline, it’s a work of our souls, but if we are willing to put in the work (yes, prayer is work), the rewards are great and sometimes instant. Make time for prayer, don’t try to find time, because you’ll most likely never find it.
As you make time to pray, stay in it. When you first start praying, the distractions will start coming. All kinds of thoughts are going to come flooding in… what things you need to do, what people you need to talk to. That may be some demon trying to keep you from praying. Fight through it, hang in there, the demon will run. Once you settle into prayer, let the peace and calm of God wash over you, like a gentle wave. Know that in your spirit, you are now with the Lord most high, the God of the universe. Your spirit is one with God. Stay a while, soak in the holiness that surrounds you. This is the source of our strength, the strength we need to fight the daily battles that rage within us. Soon, our holy souls will be winning battles again… we have been with God.
I Peter 1:13-16
“Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”
One of the best ways to prepare your minds for action and to be holy is to spend much time in prayer. How do we do this? We need to set a time for prayer every day and then stick to it. Remember, satan will fight you on this, but He who is in you is always stronger!
With all prayer and supplication… or petition or requests
One pastor says, “The idea is all kinds of prayer or prayer upon prayer. We should use every kind of prayer we can think of. Group prayer, individual prayer, silent prayer, shouting prayer, walking prayer, kneeling prayer, eloquent prayer, groaning prayer, constant prayer, fervent prayer… just pray.”
Supplication: is more the petition aspect of prayer. It is to ask God humbly. It’s not some kind of demanding thing that we often hear about from some of the faith evangelists. It is recognizing that we have no right to even stand before the Lord of the Universe, and yet He has granted us the privilege of coming before Him. God owes us nothing, yet we owe Him everything. Our very existence is dependent upon Him. It’s important that we come to God from a position of pleading or imploring Him for our needs.
Heb. 4:16
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Praying “in the Spirit,” it doesn’t mean that we must speak in tongues or get worked up into some physical state. Jesus simply said that when we ask, we ask in His name. When we do this, we’re praying within the will of God. In chapter 5, Paul told us to be filled with the Spirit, to pursue Spirit-filled lives. The Spirit-filled believer will be in harmony with the will of God. To pray in the Spirit means we take prayer very seriously, remembering who we’re praying to and that the Lord hears our prayers. Then when we’ve exhausted our prayer and we don’t know what to pray for, but we know we’re not done yet…
Rom. 8:26
“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
And as the Holy Spirit is interceding for us…
Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God;”
Being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints… or be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints…
Be alert, be watchful…
Jesus said…
Matt. 26:41
“Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
With all perseverance… we are to be devoted.
Col. 4:2
“Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;”
Jesus teaches us the parable of the persistent widow who wouldn’t leave this judge alone, constantly petitioning him for justice.
Luke 18:4-7
“The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”
Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge.
Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?”
Luke 11:9
“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.”
Be alert, be watchful with your prayers… be persistent. As we do this, we will find that we’re spending more and more time with God… which is also Jesus’ goal for us. This is how we achieve a “oneness” with God, there is no substitute for this.
It’s easy to pray for ourselves, for all our own personal needs, but Paul says pray for all the saints and also for him.
Eph. 6:19
“And pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel”
Paul wasn’t saying pray for me so that they might take off the chains that were probably cutting into his ankles, or that he could get better food and a cleaner cell. No, he was kingdom praying. Paul was asking for prayer so that he could speak better for the Lord, that the gospel would continue to be spread everywhere.
Eph. 6:20
“For which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”
Looking at Paul’s life, I don’t think we’ll find a man more devoted to Christ. Evidently, Paul felt that there’s always room for improvement… to speak boldly.
That should be our prayer as well.
II Cor. 11:23-28
“Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served Him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches.” (NLT)
Paul is selfless and he is driven… he says I might sound like a mad-man but I’m living for Jesus. I eat, drink, sleep for God’s kingdom… you cut me open, I bleed Jesus… this is my complete purpose in life.
Can any of us say that to the extent Paul does?
As Paul has taught us, our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against satan and his minions. Paul knows the value and power of prayer, and he’s asking his brothers and sisters in Christ to help him fight by praying for him.
God will not use anyone who thinks that they’re self-sufficient, because such a person hasn’t any need for God. Paul was God’s man, God would use Paul to do the lion’s share of the work to tell the world about salvation and to plant churches everywhere he went. Paul knew prayer would fuel his gas-tank. Paul set the example by praying for everyone, and he was asking that all his fellow believers pray for him as well.
This is a great model for us to live by. If our prayer life is less than strong, let’s make it strong. God’s Word makes it clear that prayer is the spiritual circuit that weaves the tapestry of God’s kingdom together.
Greater than Paul, Jesus prayed all the time.
Mark 1:35
“Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.”
This is a good way to start our day.
Heb. 5:7
“While Jesus was here on earth, He offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the One who could rescue Him from death. And God heard His prayers because of His deep reverence for God.” (NLT)
Do we have a deep reverence for God? Let’s always have reverential prayers before God.
I covet your prayers as well. Pray that I’m never self-satisfied with my own growth in Christ. Please pray to keep satan away from me. Pray for this church that God has given us, that He will cause it to grow as He sees fit. Pray that we always seek His will in everything we do.
As we close out the book of Ephesians, I want to briefly cover a few highlights from Paul.
1. God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. By His grace, God adopted each of us into His family and there is an unspeakable inheritance waiting for us. We are given the Holy Spirit the moment we give our life to Christ and we are sealed with Him. God is omnipotent, His power is beyond measure.
2. At one time every one of us was lost, enslaved to the power of sin. God loved us so much that He provided the way to be one with Him, and that is through the finished work of Jesus Christ. Eph 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;” Jesus made believing Jews and Gentiles all one people… we are citizens together.
3. Paul was given his ministry to present the Gospel to the world and to unite Jews and Gentiles. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we have God’s mighty inner strength.
4. We are one body in Christ, Christ is the head of the church… Eph. 4:4-6 “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.” We are given gifts by the Holy Spirit to use for the church. Be Christlike in all that we do.
5. Let the Holy Spirit be the absolute ruling influence in your life. Be filled with the Holy Spirit, live the Spirit-filled life. Husbands and wives submit to God, and submit to each other.
6. Children, honor your parents. Parents, raise your children in a Christ-like manner. Employers and employees work as unto the Lord. When you visualize yourself wearing the full armor of God, know that it represents truth, righteousness, the Gospel, faith, salvation, and the Word of God. And finally, let prayer be the spiritual air your soul longs for. Make time every day to talk to God… if you’re already doing this, do it more. Just like we need the spiritual food of God’s Word to sustain us, we need the oxygen of prayer to keep us connected to God.
Paul’s Final Greetings 21-24 (NLT)
“To bring you up to date, Tychicus will give you a full report about what I am doing and how I am getting along. He is a beloved brother and faithful helper in the Lord’s work. I have sent him to you for this very purpose – to let you know how we are doing and to encourage you.
Peace be with you, dear brothers and sisters, and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness. May God’s grace be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Paul ends his letter the same way he began it, praying for God’s grace to be upon us. Where would we ever be without God’s grace? Truthfully, we would all be condemned to hell. I know you hear about grace all the time, but don’t ever take grace for granted. Don’t ever turn God’s grace into cheap grace by misusing it. We are saved by God’s grace, He makes it available to us so we can always be in fellowship and communion with Him. God’s grace is always there for you!