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Ephesians 6:18-20
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
New International Version (NIV)
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In the Tower of London, I once saw the armor of the Kings of England and their soldiers. It was not quite as impressive as the crown jewels in the other part of the Tower. Have you ever seen the armor of medieval warriors in a museum? What captured your imagination? I had two thoughts: one, the soldiers were as my father would say, “Little fellers.” People have grown larger and we might not be able to fit in the armor of ancient people. Second, it would have been heavy to wear. It reminded me of my one year of playing football. My problem as a player was that I was small, but I was slow. Still, I was faster before I put on the pads. But I wasn’t safer!
Paul may have been sitting next to a Roman soldier as he wrote this letter. He describes the armor of the Lord as the way to defeat the spiritual forces of evil in the world. For Paul, evil was personal. He speaks of the evil one scheming and shooting arrows at God’s people. How did he know? By grace he had stood against the schemes and ducked the arrows. Most of the armor is defensive. But at the end of Paul’s words he mentions the sword of the Spirit which is God’s word and prayer in the Spirit.
Have you ever prayed in the Spirit? We might take this to mean an unintelligible prayer language. I have friends who pray in tongues. Though I do not have this gift, nor do I seek it as Paul counseled the Corinthians, I don’t believe Paul means that here. What if we recognized that every time we truly pray we are immersed in, located in the Holy Spirit who is also praying for us. It is like saying, “When you swim, swim in the water.” It is possible to try to swim outside the water but it looks comical and ineffective. But in the water, the movement makes sense. So praying outside the Spirit is possible, but ineffective. The Spirit in us prays to our Father above us. Not only is he in us, but we are in him as we pray.
How then would we pray? Paul says, use your whole arsenal of prayers and petitions to combat evil in our world. Paul asked them to pray for clarity and boldness in his own preaching. Whenever I come to this verse as I recite it on the trail, I stop my scripture recitation for a moment to pray for the people of God. Sometimes God will bring a specific person to mind. I don’t always know what they need, but the Spirit examines our hearts and reveals to the Father what they need. So I just join the Spirit in prayer for them. Pray for me like Paul that I will be fearless. I’m praying that for you today, too.
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Pray with me:
Father, remind us as we pray that we are not alone. Jesus intercedes at your right hand. The Spirit intercedes with wordless groans in our hearts. So we know you are “for us” as we pray. We declare that we are for you today. We belong to you. Clothe us in the armor we need to win the battles of today. Help us to take you at your word and to lift this and many more prayers to you. We may not always stop what we are doing, so, help us to pray as we go. Help us to pray without ceasing. God make us fearless in a frightening world. We have so much trouble in this world, but you have already overcome it. We thank you in the name of your undefeated Son, Jesus. Amen.
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Join us in memorizing the Word. Scripture for this week:
Matthew 6:12-13
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
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| Our 2020 Every Day with Jesus readings will follow the Foundations New Testament reading plan. Copies of the reading plan are available at Tallowood Baptist Church, or download your copy at REPLICATE.ORG
We would love for you to join us as we read the New Testament through this year, five chapters a week. In addition I will continue my long-standing practice of reading one Psalm a day through the year. Use Robby Gallaty’s H. E. A. R. plan to study each chapter (also found at REPLICATE.ORG). Highlight verses which speak to you, explain what they mean in your own words in a journal, apply them to your own life, then respond by doing what God tells you to do.
Joyfully,
Duane
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