The Importance of Armor Maintenance: Prayer
This is the final segment in an eight-part series.
from Cossondra
We have looked at the Armor of God over the past several weeks:
The belt of truth
The breastplate of righteousness
The shoes of the gospel of peace
The shield of faith
The helmet of salvation
The sword of the Spirit
And we have seen how important it is to maintain each piece, examining our relationship with God through each attribute. I hope you have shored up some weaknesses and built confidence in more solid areas. God needs confident soldiers.
But the significance of the armor isn't where Paul's teaching of preparedness ends. He states that after we put on our armor, we need to pray. But realize that they aren't separate actions. It is part of the same process, and putting on the armor is just a step. See, our prayers are made more powerful through each piece of armor we have reviewed. By examining and tending to our beliefs in and interactions with truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and the Word of God, we are preparing ourselves to go into battle, a battle of prayer.
However, Paul doesn't simply tell the Ephesians to pray. Let's look closely at 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.
First, Paul instructs us to pray in the Spirit on all occasions. Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to help us pray. "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever." (John 14:16) And, so, He does. Joining with the Holy Spirit in prayer increases our effectiveness considerably. He provides us with radar and a strategy we wouldn't have without Him.
Next, Paul says to pray on "all occasions." Major celebrations? Yes. Major trials? Yes. Can't find your car keys? Yes. Really. That is an occasion, too, and Paul says ALL occasions. God is not worried about your bothering Him for what you consider insignificant things. Praying throughout the day, even for small things, means we communicate with God. We build our relationship with Him by talking to Him and learning to rely on him, not ourselves.
Paul continues this thought by telling us to pray with all kinds of prayers and requests. He encourages us in this more than once "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) What kinds of prayers are there? We have talked about requests. But, among others, there are also prayers of thanksgiving, praise, and intercession. And that's what Paul mentions next. Actually, he talks more about intercession than about making our own requests.
He instructs us to be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people. He says to Pray also for me, that I may declare [God's Word] fearlessly.
Intercession is, of course, praying for others, being a go-between. And, as Jesus intercedes for us (Hebrews 7:25), we can intercede for others. Sometimes we pray because we know of a need -- like healing or restoration. Other times, we feel what is often called a burden. Someone comes into our mind (is on our heart), and we feel an urgency to pray for them. It could be people we know or people we don't. But our prayers are no less effective when we pray for someone on another continent or our neighbor. And we can be confident in our stance in prayer when our armor is well-maintained and is in good shape. This is what God wants us to do.
"For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do."
Ephesians 2:10
Look at that. God has prepared works for us. Some of that work, I believe, is intercession. There are prayers to be prayed, targets to be addressed, battle plans to be followed! God has prepared us to be soldiers for such a time as this! (Esther 4:14)
For example, He knew that Ukraine would be under attack right now, so he prepared people to do good works during this time. Some of that is on the ground, and some of it is in intercession. But the same is true for other things -- situations that your family is facing, situations you see in church or hear over dinner. And, you know what? You are ready.
You have cleaned your armor, addressed the issues that could weaken it, and you are ready for battle. What is your battle plan? Your strategy? None of us should let our armor sit on a stand and get rusty. Perhaps you already have a strategy. You may have a war room, a prayer journal, or a prayer wall. If so, is it used regularly?
I'll make some personal confessions. I have a prayer board. I have needs mapped out and scriptures declared all over it. But right now, it needs updating. I got out of the habit of going through each need, relying on my memory to recall my list. That may work just as well for some people, and maybe even you. But it doesn't work well enough for me. So my new battle plan is to evaluate the board daily. I will make sure my armor is in good repair, and I will pray the way Paul instructs: on all occasions, for all requests, interceding for God's people. God has strategic targets for me, for us.
If you don't have a concrete battle plan, build one. Take the Word of God, your truth, righteousness, peace, and faith, and pray. Then, as you go into battle, I pray that your communication with the Commander expands, and you see victory after victory.
