Ephesians 6:18 - Praying at All Times

Preached on November 25, 2007, by Eric Schumacher.

Topics: Prayer

(c) Eric M Schumacher - Preached November 24, 2007 at Northbrook BaptistChurch , Cedar Rapids, Iowa

This famous passage in Ephesians (6:10-20) finds its background in the book of Isaiah. In Isaiah 59:15-17, the Lord finds that there is no one to intercede for (to help) his people, so he intercedes for them through his Messiah; He brings salvation:

The Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him. He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.

The picture is of the Lord putting on His armor and going out to battle on behalf of his people. He fights the war and wins it for his people.

Paul is saying here that we are to stand firm by putting on the whole armor of God. The way we clothe ourselves to stand firm against the schemes of the devil, is to clothe ourselves with the same armor the Lord wore when He won the battle for us. The reason we are able to stand, the reason we are able to fight is not because we ourselves are strong and capable. Rather, Paul writes, "Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might."

We can be strong, not because we are strong in ourselves, but because the Lord Jesus Christ has already won the battle for us. We enter the battle only because Christ has gained the victory for us.

David & Goliath

The best illustration of this is the story of David and Goliath. God's Anointed, David, saw God's people, Israel, cowering before an enemy who they could not defeat. David went out to the enemy in the place of God's people. He fought for them and he defeated their enemy on their behalf. Then David took Goliath's sword and cut off his head, giving victory to Israel.

The story of David and Goliath is much like the story of our salvation. We were cowering before an enemy we could not defeat. We were dead in our trespasses and sins, walking according to prince of this age, Satan. Jesus went out and fought in our place, defeating our enemy for us. In Colossians 2:15, Paul tells us that God "disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them" in Christ. Just as David fought for Israel and delivered them, so Jesus has fought for us and delivered us.

What I want us to see particularly is what Israel did after David killed Goliath. Did they say, "Great? David has killed Goliath. Let us feast and celebrate!" No. 1 Samuel 17:50-54:

So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron. And the peoples of Israel came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp.

David defeated Israel's enemy, cut off his head and lifted in the air in victory. The Israelites saw it, picked up their swords, and with a shout ran into kill their enemy. Their ability to fight their enemy was grounded in the victory already won for them by their deliverer.

This is point Paul is making in Ephesians 6. We put on God's armor. We fight in His strength, as a consequence of what Christ has done. "Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might."

This is structure of the entire book of Ephesians. In chapters 1-3, Paul speaks of our inheritance, our salvation, our position in the heavenly places, etc...all the things accomplished and gained by Christ on our behalf. Then chapters 4-6 offer implications of these truths. Notice this as you study your Bibles. Paul says "Therefore" five times in these final three chapters, each of which signal a result of what Christ has already done for us.

4:1--Therefore...I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling...

4:25--Therefore...speak the truth...

5:1--Therefore...be imitators of God...

6:13--Therefore...take up the whole armor of God...

6:14--Therefore...stand firm...

The entire Christian life is a great big "therefore." How we relate to one another, our hope in suffering, the way we live, putting away sin, imitating God, the way we relate in marriage, family and at work--all of these are a consequence of the truth of the Gospel. Christ has set us free from sin--therefore, live like it, in His power.

So, Paul writes this final half of chapter 6 as the climax of his letter. In this chapter he reinforces the rest of the book. He arouses his readers to respond to the truth he explained back in chapter one. Those who believe are given power, according to what God has done in Christ. God raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the heavenly places far above all authority and power and dominion. Christ has been given power and authority over every power and dominion, so Paul says we can be strong in His strength.

Since Christ is already seated far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, we now are able to "stand against the schemes of the devil." We can wrestle against "the cosmic powers of this present darkness." Christ has defeated sin, death, and the devil through his death and resurrection. Christ has decapitated our enemy. He has crushed the head of the serpent. Now Paul says, "Take up the armor and stand firm in the strength of Christ."

In one sense, spiritual warfare is rather simple. From beginning to end, spiritual warfare is trusting Christ. The basic tenants of spiritual warfare, according to Paul, are truth, righteousness, believing the gospel, faith, salvation, and the word of God, each of which is a description of the Gospel. Spiritual warfare is basically believing God's promises and trusting in what he has done in Jesus Christ, which expresses itself in living a holy life by believing in God's word.

Prayer in Ephesians 6

So what does all this have to do with prayer?

First, prayer, like the rest of the Christian life, is not something you or I do to earn our way into heaven. It is a result and a response to what Christ has done for us in His death and resurrection.

So, if you are an unbeliever this morning, your first step is not to start praying, but to start trusting. Do not hear me saying that you must pray more to get to heaven. In fact, I will say that you cannot pray until you trust Christ. Our prayer counts for nothing in itself because we are sinful and unclean before the Father. We may only pray "in the name of Jesus," which means that we come on the basis of what he has done for us, by being our righteousness and bearing our sins.

Second, an essential part of the Christian life is standing in the gospel. If we don't stand firm in our faith, we will fall and be defeated by our enemy. So, if you are trying to stand firm, to live in holiness and to study God's word, pay attention.

Standing firm has to do with prayer because, in this passage on spiritual warfare, prayer is a special place. It is the most important aspect in Ephesians 6.

Prayer, the Key

Prayer is the manner in which we put on the whole armor of God. Putting on the whole armor of God is not only useless, but it is impossible, without prayer.

Prayer is not a piece of armor. Prayer is how we put on the armor and how we use it. You cannot live the Christian life with only prayer. But you cannot live the Christian life without it.

Look at verse 18. It begins, in the KJV and ESV, "praying..." Some versions (NIV and NAS) translate it as a command--"pray." But in the original, it is not a command. In fact, as I read it, it does not begin a new sentence, but is the end of this long command, which began in verse 14. The command is to "stand firm." "Praying" is a participle that functions like an adverb, describing how we stand firm. It tells us how to be obedient to the command to stand firm, how to put on the armor of God. It is as if Paul is saying:

-Stand firm...praying

-Fasten on the belt of truth...praying

-Put on the breastplate of righteousness...praying

-Shod your feet with the gospel of peace...praying

-Take up the shield of faith...praying

-Take the helmet of salvation...praying

-Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God...praying

Prayer is not something you tack on to all these things. It is they way you use them. The way you put on the whole armor of God and stand firm is: "praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints..." Prayer is not a piece of your armor. It is how the armor is used.

That is not to say that you can have prayer without the whole armor of God. You can't. Prayer without the righteousness of Christ, faith in our Lord, the truth of the Gospel, or the word of God is not prayer at all. You must have all these to have prayer. It does you no good to pray without them.

However, the opposite is true. The whole armor of God is absolutely worthless unless the Christian is praying. It does us no good to put on the whole armor of God, if we will not pray.

Why Is Prayer Necessary?

Why? Why is prayer so necessary to wearing this armor? Because it is God's armor. So often, I hear of the armor in Ephesians 6 interpreted in terms of what we ought to be doing. However, I would argue that the armor Paul speaks of is not what we do, but what Christ has done for us. Every piece of the "whole armor of God" is really a different way of speaking of the Gospel, how we respond to the Gospel or how we hear of the Gospel. We are able to stand against the schemes of the devil by resting in what Christ has done.

We are not living the Christian in our own strength. We are living it through faith in the work of Christ and in the power of the Spirit He has sent.

Putting on this armor is an act of faith. Putting on the armor requires an attitude of dependence upon God. As E. M. Bounds wrote, "Prayer honors God; it dishonors self. It is a man's plea of weakness, ignorance, need--a plea that heaven cannot disregard. God delights to have us pray." Prayer is a way of saying, "I can't fight this battle. I am too weak, too ignorant, too needy. I need You, God! You must fight for me! I trust that through the life, death and resurrection of your Son, you have won the war for me. Therefore, in Christ's name, help me to stand now."

Jesus Lived a Life of Prayer

Remember that we are putting on God's armor. It is no coincidence that the One who wore it before us, Jesus Christ, when He marched out to gain our victory, lived a life of prayer. He rose early in the morning to pray. He agonized in prayer. He spent nights in prayer. Jesus, putting on the armor and going out to win the victory for His people, modeled what it meant to be entirely dependant upon God. So, as we follow Christ into battle, we put on the armor, depending upon God.

Five Ways to Pray

So how are we to pray? Paul says five different things about our prayer lives:

1) ...at all times...

We are reminded to pray "at all times," because the battle we are in is never ending. It will not end until Christ returns. The context Paul puts this in--battle--adds urgency to the need for prayer. We are in the midst of an on-going battle. Granted, the battle has been won, but it is a battle none-the-less.

How do we do this? How do we pray constantly? It has to do with the posture of the heart. It has to do with always realizing that we are dependant upon God. We realize we need His grace to meet all our needs. We realize we are needy and He is sufficient. We always need to be looking up to God for grace and aid, when times are good and when times are bad.

If this is the posture of our hearts, then it will result in both spontaneous prayer throughout the day and disciplined prayer at planned times. If we realize that we are truly dependant upon God, we will not content ourselves to "pray when we think about it." We will discipline ourselves, set a schedule, and remove obstacles in order to spend devoted, concentrated, uninterrupted time in prayer.

Is this true of you? Do you pray "at all times?" Is your life characterized by prayer? Do you take advantage of your time and free moments to go before the Lord? Does the schedule of your day reflect a heart that is dependant upon the Lord? Or does your day reflect the heart that feels confident in itself and goes ahead in its own power?

2) ...in the Spirit...

Paul isn't speaking of praying or speaking in tongues here. In the New Testament, not every Christian is expected to pray in tongues. But, every Christian is expected to pray "in the Spirit." So what does this mean?

First, it means our prayers are a result of the work of the Spirit. Galatians 4:6 says, "Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!'" We pray and cry out to God, because He has filled us with His Spirit and caused us to see our need for Him.

Second, it means prayers that are through the Spirit. Ephesians 2:18 says that through Christ we have access in one Spirit to the Father. The Spirit's work allows us to draw near to the Father through the work of Christ.

Third, it means our prayers are guided and directed by the Spirit. He stirs our hearts and minds to be concerned for right things. He conforms us to Christ and gives us Christ-like desires. As a result we pray for the things we should.

Fourth, the Spirit intercedes for us, when we don't know how to pray. Romans 8:26 says, "The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings to deep to understand." The Spirit intercedes for us when we don't know what to pray for.

3) ...with all prayer and supplication...

What does Paul means by "all prayer" and "all supplication (or, petitions, requests)?" By and, does he mean something like "ham and eggs?" Both being necessary to make a complete breakfast? So, we need both prayers and supplications?

Prayer is a general term. It could refer to all sorts of different types of prayer. In fact, it sounds kind of funny in the context, if it is left alone. Paul would be saying to "praying...with all prayer." So, what kind of prayer does Paul have in mind? I think the second word defines what type of prayer Paul has in mind.

He writes, "with all prayer and supplication." A supplication is a request. We are to pray with requests. And, not simply with requests, but with all requests. Paul uses this same combination of words in Philippians 4:5-6 to encourage his readers to bring their requests to the Lord:

The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

We are to ask God for what we need. It is not wrong to ask God for things. Sometimes, we feel guilty is we ask God for things in prayer. We feel less spiritual when we bring our supplications to God. We should not. Never let anyone ever make you feel guilty for doing what Scripture emphatically commands.

In fact, I think Paul gets this attitude from his Lord. Remember the content of the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6. When Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray, the prayer begins with a very brief word of address, followed by six petitions (or supplications). By words, the Lord's Prayer is almost nine-tenths requests.

So, how do we know what to ask for? Remember the context. In Matthew 6, Jesus has been talking about the Kingdom. The six petitions of the Lord's Prayer are all related to the Kingdom of God and what we need to live in light of it.

What is the context in Ephesians 6? Standing firm in the midst of spiritual war. Therefore, our supplications will flow from what we need to stand firm. When soldiers on the battlefield in the in the heat of combat petition their superiors, they don't ask for cotton socks because the wool socks are itchy and a hot-tub because the nights are cold. They ask for what they need to stay alive in battle.

And so we should not use prayer as a means of gaining unneeded luxuries for ourselves. But, on the other hand, we may never be ashamed to bring any request before the Lord, provided that it can be asked with right motives--for the glory of God, the advancement of his Kingdom, and our perseverance and life in tribulation.

4) ...keep alert with all perseverance...

We need to "keep alert." We always need to be aware of our need for the grace of God, praying for those things we need. We need to give ourselves to prayer, devote ourselves to it.

And we keep alert "with all perseverance." If someone must command you to "persevere" at something, you may almost guarantee it is something that isn't easy. Typically this command comes because it is so easy to fall away from it. In prayer, there is a great need for effort and self-discipline. A healthy prayer life, just like constant meditation in God's Word, doesn't just happen. It comes as a result of discipline.

We are called to persevere in prayer. That means to pray and never give up. Jesus once told the story of the woman who persevered in petitioning an unrighteous judge. She beat on his door until he answered her request. We do not have an unrighteous judge in heaven, we have a righteous, loving Father. How much more should we be motivated to persevere.

In thinking of perseverance, remember the context of this passage. Paul is speaking in terms of warfare. We are in the midst of a battle. Prayer is not a piece of armor, but it is the line of communication between us on the front-lines and the Commander-in-Chief.

As one author describes it, prayer is a war-time walkie-talkie. [1] Imagine that we are soldiers fighting on the front-lines. It is pitch-black and we are in enemy territory. The enemy has surrounded us and is pressing in. We can hear shells whistling past our heads. Every time a bomb explodes, it lights up the battlefield and we see dead bodies everywhere. We retreat to a fox-hole and turn to the communications specialist. He takes out the walkie-talkie and communicates with the base:

"O, Dear General! How wonderful it is to have you as our general! We confess that we have failed to plan our battles as we ought and to fight as valiantly as we should. Thank you for the nice boots. We really like our helmets and our guns. We especially like the nice flags on our jackets. Please help Tommy; he sprained his ankle running for cover. Help Billy; he tore his jacket and needs a new one. We would really appreciate it if you could send some better rations. We are getting tired of MRE's. Oh, and the battle is not going well. Please help us to know what to do. Good-bye."

Is that how you use a walkie-talkie in the midst of a war? NO! You grab it and shout, "If you don't send back-up, we are going to die!" And you would keep shouting until reinforcements came or you were dead.

This is what it means to persevere in prayer. You cry out for help and you don't quit until God answers or you die. Now, don't get me wrong. There are times for prayer that praises God and reflects on who He is. But in this context, Paul is speaking about prayer in the midst of a war. Our prayers must often be characterized by urgency. "Lord! I'm struggling with sin, I don't understand Your word, my spirit is weak...If you don't help me, I'll die!"

Is your prayer life a life of perseverance? Is it a prayer-life of urgency? If not, do you really understand how desperately we need the Lord? Do we understand how important it is that we "stand firm?"

5) ...making supplication for all the saints...

Finally, our prayers are on behalf of the whole army. They are made "for all the saints." We are not in the Christian life alone. We are part of a family that includes those in our church and those around the world, who we will never meet.

Part of being a family includes bearing with one another. Spiritual warfare and the Christian life is not an individual affair. It is a "team" affair. It is fought by an army. We need the prayers of fellow Christians. We need one another's prayers to survive in the faith. Part of being a Christian is being mindful of the fact that we are part of something bigger than ourselves.

Is this reflected in your prayer life? Do you hold up your fellow church members, your pastors, your missionaries, your family in prayer from day to day? Do you ask your fellow Christians to pray for your spiritual needs? Or do you assume you can make it on your own?

Paul asks for prayer so that he can make the gospel known. (It is interesting to note: If there was anybody who probably had physical afflictions that needed praying for, it was Paul. Yet, how often does Paul bring his physical sufferings up as a prayer request? He focuses on what he needs to fulfill his ministry.)

Do you pray this way for others with alertness and urgency? Do you pray for your pastor and his preaching? Do you pray for missionaries around the world? Do you pray that the gospel will spread around the globe? Do you pray for the hundreds-of-thousands of Christians who are being persecuted for their faith every day?

Conclusion

Standing firm in the faith is not an option for the Christian. We stand firm in the faith, believing the gospel, or we die in unbelief. To stand firm, we must put on the whole armor of God. To put on the whole armor of God, we must pray.

Prayer is how we stand in faith in the gospel. Prayer is how we take hold of God's word. If we care about living righteous and having victory over sin, about believing the gospel and holding to the truth, or about being people of God's Word, then we will be people of prayer.

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[1] See chapter on prayer in John Piper, Desiring God.