MONDAY August 5th
Ephesians 6:18
‘. . .praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.’
If we wanted to make a list of the various themes that crop up in this letter of Paul to the Ephesian church, we would most definitely have the theme of prayer, for as we have covered in the devotions recently, he wanted them to know that he prayed for them and what he had prayed for them. As we come to the closing verses, we see that prayer is the theme again. He uses the words prayer, praying and supplication.
He has told them that he prays for them, he tells them that they need to pray for themselves, and he asks that they in turn would pray for him.
As we have gone through the various items or aspects of the armour, it is very clear that Paul would say that there is very little point in us putting the armour on, if at the same time we are not going to be a people of prayer. The two must go together.
He also says in the following verse, that we are to keep alert with all perseverance. We need as believers to be prayerful and watchful; we always need to be in such a spiritual condition that we can be sensitive to what is going on all around us in the spiritual battle. Ready to react, ready to respond, ready to fight the good fight of the faith, whether it requires an offensive or a defensive response.
Sometimes, we will need to defend, and therefore we must speak up and speak out. Sometimes we will just need to stand firm and in our own strength we will fail, but as we pray at all times in the Spirit while at the same time being clothed in the armour, we will be able to persevere against every onslaught that will come against us from ‘the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places’, Ephesians 6:11–12.
It is a very real battle, and again I remind us that it is ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts’, Zechariah 4:6.