New Life in Christ Pt. 22 Perseverance in Prayer

Ephesians 6:18-20  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; 19) And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20) For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. 

Paul brings his instruction about putting on the whole armor of God to a conclusion. However, he gave us three closing verses about prayer and this is our other weapon. Prayer is both an offensive weapon in that we can pray against something evil and it is also a defensive weapon, in that we can pray for deliverance from evil. Prayer can be proactive or reactive. 

The attitude of prayer. "Praying always" is what Paul tells us to do. In his letter to the Thessalonians Paul commanded them to "pray without ceasing." It has to do with always being alert and sensitive to our need to pray about something. It is always remaining in the spirit of prayer. 

In Romans 12:12 Paul tells us to be "continuing instant in prayer." This means that we must be dedicated to praying and ready to pray at all times. It means being courageous enough to pray even when the circumstances are not the best for prayer. 

What is prayer? Prayer is speaking to God to express our worship and adoration of His glory. Prayer is also confessing our sins and repenting of them. Prayer is asking for mercy and forgiveness from God when we fail Him. 

Prayer is bringing the needs of other people like missionaries or a sick family member, before God. This is known as intercessory prayer. Prayer is expressing gratitude and thanksgiving to God for all of His blessings and benefits that He sends to us. 

Thus prayer is full of action. You saw the action words highlighted in the preceding paragraph. Prayer is praising, worshiping and adoring God. Prayer is full of confessing and repenting. Prayer is active asking for God's specific help, whether we need mercy, forgiveness or strength. Praying is interceding for the well being and needs of other people. Prayer is full of gratitude and thanksgiving to God. 

Matthew 6:6  But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 

The word translated "prayer" means prayer addressed to the One, True God in a suitable place set apart for prayer. 

Jesus gave an example of this in the sermon on the mount. The religious leaders were focused on externals and how they looked to those who observed them. Therefore, they made prayer a public spectacle in order to gain the praise of men. 

Our Lord tells us to find a place in our home, a private place where we will not be distracted. Christ tells us to pray in secret because our Father will openly reward us. The word "closet" refers to an inner chamber, a secret room, where we can really pray our heart out to God. 

Rom 8:26-27  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27) And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 

Paul tells us to pray with supplication in the Spirit. The word "supplication" refers to earnest and sincere prayers to God. The phrase "in the Spirit" reminds us that we are to be seeking after the Spirit, to be led by the Spirit and to walk in the Spirit. 

Paul reminded us that the Spirit of God comes alongside of us when we pray and He helps us as we pray with soundless groanings as He intercedes for our needs at the throne of God. 

We are to be "watching thereunto" when it comes to our prayer life. This phrase literally means a state of sleeplessness and has the idea of not being able to sleep because of our need to be praying diligently and vigilantly. We are to pray with "perseverance" which means we continue in prayer, resolutely with a determination that cannot be swayed. 

Prayer is to be made for all saints. Why? Because the entire church of Jesus Christ, composed of all who are born again all around the world, is subjected to relentless attacks of Satan in this ongoing spiritual warfare.

Prayer is needed to all who labor in the Word to share the gospel. This includes pastors, evangelists, theologians, lay leaders, missionaries and any others who seek to preach, teach and communicate the gospel of Christ. Satan hates Christ and he hates the gospel because it contains the message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. It contains the power of the cross and resurrection of Christ. Thus, we are to pray for all believers to have boldness to share God's word with other people who do not know Him. 

Psalm 145:17-18  The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. 18) The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. 

We have a promise from Jehovah that He will draw near to us when believers call upon Him in prayer. He has promised to hear us. 

Psalm 18:6  In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. 

King David gave us many examples of prayer in the book of Psalms. In this text, David was under great pressure from his enemies and he cried out to Jehovah for help and deliverance. What happened? God heard his cry and he responded to David's needs. This is a great promise of having a ready audience with Jehovah when we pray. Thus, we should become dedicated to praying according to God's will. 

Thoughts to Ponder...

We are going to take a more detailed look at the subject of prayer because we need to learn about this powerful resource God gave us to use. We need to see what Christ teaches about prayer. We need to heed the apostolic instruction concerning prayer. We need to see how saints from both the Old and New Testament prayed. 

I will tell you right now, the devil does not want believers to pray. He will fight us when we seek to pray. But, as I noted, prayer is a defensive weapon and an offensive weapon that is part of the armor of God and we need to learn how to pray effectively. 

We will be in a spiritual battle throughout our life here on earth. The armor of God is given to us to help us, to stabilize us, to protect us,  to pick us up when we are discouraged or overwhelmed, and to draw us closer to our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

The armor of God is spiritual armor specifically made for the spiritual warfare that each believer is caught up in. May we wake up each morning ready to think about God's armor and seeking to put it on before we begin our day.

Bob