Prayer is the final armor-component Paul lists. I think most of us Christians grossly underestimate the importance and power of prayer!
For instance, when a nightclub opened on the main drag in a small town, the only church in that little community organized an all-night prayer meeting. The members beseeched God to burn down the club. Within a few minutes, lightning struck the building, and it burned to the ground!
The owner sued the church, which denied responsibility. After hearing both sides, the judge said “It seems that wherever the guilt may lie, the nightclub owner believes in prayer, while the church doesn’t!”
The Apostle Paul certainly understood the critical role prayer plays in the life of the believer: he mentions it in the first chapter of 10 out of the 13 New Testament letters he wrote! He also makes it inseparable from the armor of God (grammatically it is connected with at least the last two pieces of armor). Paul calls it praying in the Spirit: “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit…” (Ephesians 6:18)
To review, we have said the…
• Belt of Truth is growing knowledge and understand- ing of the Scriptures and how they apply to life.
• Breastplate of Righteousness is knowing who we are in Christ and resisting Satan with that truth when he attacks our identity in Christ.
• Gospel of Peace is overcoming worry with the promises of God.
• Shield of Faith is believing that God is faithful in every circumstance.
• Helmet of Salvation is the mind under God’s control and protection.
• Sword of the Spirit is using verses of Scripture against Satan that specifically suit his temptations.
Now, what exactly does Paul mean when he writes about praying in the Spirit? Concerning prayer itself, I had a seminary professor tell me many years ago that, “Prayer is bringing down to earth the will of God which is in heaven.”
The application of this definition is clear: Prayer is the power for victory! Ah, but what kind of prayer changes things? What kind of prayer defeats Satan?
Let’s take a closer look at Ephesians 6:18: “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.” (NASB)
The Apostle Paul cites three major components in effective prayer:
PRAY WITH ALL PRAYER AND PETITION
Prayer is a general term, a multifaceted term including (but not limited to!)
• cries for help
• intercession
• confession of sin
• adoration
• thanksgiving
• consecration
• celebration
Come to think of it, there are all kinds of prayers! We have the sinner’s prayer, the Lord’s Prayer —there’s even the student’s prayer: “Now I lay me down to rest, and hope to pass tomorrow’s test. If I should die before I wake, that’s one less test I have to take.”
At any rate, there are all kinds of things to bring to God — and all kinds of ways to do it! Moreover, our prayers should be definite and specific — which is what petition means: A petition is a request for specific things. This certainly implies that we move beyond our own horizon and get acquainted with the needs of others — as they make them known. We don’t want to pry but we do want to listen then intercede as the Spirit leads.
PRAY AT ALL TIMES
Paul continues by exhorting us to “pray at all times.” This means maintaining constant communion with God i.e. the sending and receiving lines remain open.
PRAY IN THE SPIRIT
Next, Paul says our prayers should be “in the Spirit.” I take that to mean Spirit given, Spirit-guided prayers. I think this includes several things:
• Prayer as the Spirit prompts us: For instance, if you have the impression to pray for someone, it may in fact be the Holy Spirit prompting you to do it! (see John 14:15-17, 26; 16:5-14)
• Prayer in harmony with the will of the Spirit as revealed in the Scriptures: We applied this principle to my brother Dave’s salvation. Dave was for many years a devoted Mormon. We prayed year after year without seeing any progress. As we continued to intercede, II Peter 3:9 became a great reminder for us: “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
While it’s not God’s decree that everyone will be saved, anyone that truly wants to be can be through faith in Christ alone! Therefore God is patient with spiritually lost folks — more so than we are I’m afraid! So we prayed — and kept waiting. 13 years later Dave responded!
• Prayer in agreement with the Spirit’s intercession for us: Romans 8:26-27:
“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” Romans 8:26-27
When I say “prayer in agreement with the Spirit’s intercession for us,” I simply mean “Lord, whatever the Holy Spirit is praying, I’m in agreement with it!”
• Praying in tongues: I Corinthians 14:14 -15 In I Corinthians 14 Paul writes concerning “praying in tongues”: “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.” Some feel this refers to prayer in the spirit — that is, our spirit communicates with the Holy Spirit in a heavenly rather than an earthly language. If you are Charismatic or Pentecostal, you know what I’m talking about. If you’re not, don’t worry about it! The important thing is that you are open to what God has for you. If you are interested in pursuing this, I’d encourage you to read Chuck Smith’s book, “Living Waters.” “Charisma vs. Charismania” (also by Smith) may also be helpful. For now, every Christian can agree on the first three — practice those and you’ll be Spirit-led!
• Pray with discernment and persistence for other believers.
Continuing, Paul exhorts us to persistently “be on the alert.” In other words, “pray with our eyes open” for our brothers and sisters in Christ. This means fighting the tendency to be listless (lazy) and indifferent to what’s going on around us in our own churches as well as the larger Body of Christ. We’d do well to remember that the Lord’s Prayer begins with “Our Father” not “My Father”! We’re part of a family that talks to God and we ought to pray for other members of the family, not just about our own needs!
The great 16th-century reformer, Martin Luther, said of prayer “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” Concerning our battle with the forces of darkness, someone else has said “Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees.”
What, therefore, is praying in the Spirit? We can safely conclude that Paul is referring to Spirit given, Spirit-guided prayers.
From Ephesians 6, we now know about the weapons of warfare God has provided. Availing ourselves to this arsenal will determine our impact for God within the sphere of influence He has placed each of us. By God’s grace, may our epitaph be II Timothy 4:7-8: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the righteous Judge will award me on that day — and not only me but also to all who have longed for His appearing.”
SOLA FIDE!
Reviewing the wonderful story of the reformer Martin Luther fueled my passion for sound doctrine, particularly as it concerns soteriology — the doctrine of salvation. From the earliest days of the Christian faith, this core doctrine has been under attack. In fact, much of the New Testament is an apologetic (defense) against heretical teachings, salvation being at the top of the list!
I’ve entitled this post “Sola Fide!” which is Latin for “faith alone.” This was the primary cry of the Reformers of the 16th Century, sparked by Martin Luther. What Luther initially reintroduced to the world was the clear teaching, from the New Testament, that: “Man is justified and thereby reconciled to God by grace ALONE, through faith ALONE, in Christ ALONE — period!”
True believers will persevere; they will not, indeed they cannot lose their salvation. Sure, it’s possible to defect; Christians do turn their back on Christ from time to time — but those who truly know Him always return to Jesus!
Concerning sola fide, it’s tragic, for instance, that Catholicism teaches salvation by grace — but that it’s only past sins (i.e. sins committed up to the moment we receive Christ) that are remitted. Once “saved” we must maintain our salvation through all the works they teach: confession, penance, the sacraments, etc. In so many words the same basic theology is prevalent in many Protestant churches when they say you can lose your salvation (Arminian/Wesleyan doctrine) i.e. YOU must hold onto Christ rather than what Paul teaches: HE’S holding onto us.
Here’s the bottom line folks: What the New Testament teaches is that when we receive Christ all our sins — past, present, future — are forgiven (e.g. Romans 8:1; Colossians 1:13-14, 21-23; 2:13,14; Ephesians 1:4,7; II Corinthians 5:19, 21 — the grammar/tenses of certain verbs in these passages make this stunningly clear!).
Once “saved,” when we sin it’s technically not necessary to ask for forgiveness; rather we confess (i.e. agree with God) that what we did was wrong (see I John 1:9), thank God that He’s already forgiven us for that offense, turn from (repent) that sin (whatever it might be) and carry on.
“Forgetting what lies behind, I press on…,” says the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:13-14!
This teaching is obviously radically different from the soteriology (salvation theology) of the non-Christian cults (e.g. Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses), virtually all world religions — and unfortunately some of our mainline Christian denominations!
The truth (and liberating beauty of the good news of the Gospel of Jesus!) is what the late Dr. Walter Martin used to reiterate time and again: “NOT by works; NOT by works; NOT by works!”
“Sola fide” is therefore the best news man could ever hear. JESUS DID THE WORK FOR US! His righteousness is permanently imputed to us the moment we receive Him as Lord and Savior (see II Corinthians 5:21)! When God the Father looks at a believer, that’s what He sees: CHRIST’S righteousness, not our wretched sinfulness! No wonder Satan has opposed and perverted this fantastic truth so vigorously all these millennia!
Ironically, good, solidly-Biblical books that detail this core, fundamental doctrine abound (too bad more pastors today don’t avail themselves to these great tools!). For instance: The late Dr. R.C. Sproul/Ligonier Ministries wrote extensively on this subject. In fact, I’m just finishing up a re-read of a classic that might be of interest to those of you considering digging further into this wonderful gospel truth! It’s Hal Lindsey’s book, “The Liberation Of Planet Earth.”
It’s out of print (bummer!) — but used copies are available on Amazon! He covers with wonderful clarity all that Jesus accomplished on Calvary’s cross! Also: Hal’s book “Satan Is Alive And Well On Planet Earth” (still in print and available on Amazon) has a great chapter entitled “The Guilt Trip” in which he discusses salvation by grace alone and how to handle false guilt and Satan’s lying condemnation.
May God bless and enable each of you to grasp in a more profound way His incredible, gracious love for you — and for our spiritually lost world!