PRAYING ALWAYS . . . IN THE SPIRIT

For the believer who is walking as God intended there will be resultant warfare. Two metaphors, equally familiar to the Ephesians, are employed in today’s reading - those of wrestler and soldier. If the wrestler in the games was defeated, then his eyes would be gouged out! If a soldier of Caesar was defeated it meant unspeakable shame. Consequently, both went into combat determined to stand, determined not to incur shame, determined to be undefeated. This should be my attitude as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. How then can this be achieved?

Daily I have to don ‘the whole armour of God’. Neglect of one item will allow my canny foe, the devil, to penetrate and inflict certain defeat. Probably we have all proved this to our cost, so, today, as we start the day, let’s pray that with His strength and the armour He has provided we shall stand - to His glory and honour.

Each part of the body has its own appropriate piece of armour, not meant to be admired and talked about, but put on. The items of weaponry cover defence and offence, and victory has been assured us in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

However, the final item in our armoury may well be the least used - ‘praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit’ and ‘watching’; confirming the injunction of the Lord, to ‘watch and pray’, Matt. 26. 41. It is significant that prayer is the seventh weapon in our list confirming that without it we are less than perfectly equipped. Yet it needs to be wielded. It is a weapon feared by the enemy and can be used to maximum effect if we choose to wield it.

Paul speaks of ‘praying always with all prayer’, reminding of the need for constancy in praying, and for prayers that are comprehensive to include all our thought and desires. ‘And supplication’ introduces the idea of a specific targeting of persons or matters, as we beseech God for help in the field of conflict. Whatever obstacles or barriers Satan puts in our way, there is nothing he can do to overcome prayer ‘in the spirit’. Let’s see to it that as an army of spiritual soldiers we all stand together in prayer and so secure the victory.