Praying Always

Ephesians 6:10-20

How many of you believe or know the severity of living the Christian life?

Do you know that it is an extreme separation from the world and that your flesh and the devil oppose every bit of the life of Christ?

This is a truth that is as real as the floor that is beneath us.

The world opposes genuine Christian faith, subtly to some, but to those who are living their lives after Jesus Christ, it is not subtle!

As an example, I would use all of the Christian martyrs over the years.

There is an example of this in something that happened this week. This is not about mine or your political stance, it is just an example......

There was a vote for speaker of the house this week in which the nominee must get a certain amount of votes to win.

The majority is republican so the vote was assumed to go to a certain republican nominee.

There was 20 republicans that believed the popular nominee wasn’t right for the job and because of that they did not vote for him, causing the house not to have a speaker.

Vote after vote they refused to vote for this person.

They called names, at one point one of the congressmen lunged one of the opposers.

They were hated for their stance, hated by what it seems their own party.

This is an earthly example of a genuine faith....Jesus told the disciples that the world will hate them, because the world hated Him.

The reason? He testified against the world!

Living for Christ, is living by faith and not by sight! It takes trust in the unseen and opposing the seen!

Living for Christ we must reject our selfish desires, we must endure the rejection of the world!

This is not a small thing! However, I believe that there is not a human being that is equipped to do it or has any power to maintain!

We must, daily cry out for help! We seek God’s help in so many earthly matters, I wonder how often we seek His help in the Spiritual?

Today, I want us to look at prayer........a right prayer life that should convict us all! It does me! I didn’t want to preach this because of how convicting it is to me!

Praying just when we have needs is ok, but we must see the constant need for Spiritual help, guidance in the Spiritual Truth!

In Ephesians 6:10-20 Paul is speaking of the Spiritual armor, The Whole Armor of God. At the end on the description of the armor is where our journey starts this morning!

Praying always with all prayer and supplication...........The New Testament frequently exhorts Christians not to cease from prayer (e.g. Luke 18:1; Rom. 12:12; Phil. 4:6; Col. 4:2; 1 Thess. 5:17), and here the particular point is that every incident of life is to be dealt with in prayer.

Luke 18:1 “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;”

Romans 12:12 “Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;”

Colossians 4:2 “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;”

1 Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing.”

I love what the writer said; “that every incident of life be dealt with in prayer.”

This a powerful conclusion that tells me our dependency on God our Father!

This is not a call to unbelievers to pray, but to believers........we do not have it as all together as some would present or tell!

We need help! We must always be in prayer!

I really hate having to ask someone for help, I guess I got that from my dad, but I would rather do it myself and I think that is a mentality that some of us share in our spiritual walk!

Truth is we need help and we need it bad!

The apostle is aware that this is no light demand to be made. People very easily take their difficulties to their friends instead of to God.

Their preacher, their counsellor!

I love what Jesus tells the disciples and us in Matthew 18:3 “And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

This how Jesus characterizes conversion. It pictures faith as the simple helpless, trusting dependence of those who have no resources of their own!

This reveals to us our true dependence on God our Father! This also shows that without Him we have no resources of our own!

We must pray always, with supplication: which is the understanding of our lack of resources or no resources at all!

Desperation, that must be the spirit of our prayer!

It is not that God demands it that way, it is the reality of our situation!

It is the true nature of our situation, spiritually!

The flesh desires to go it’s own way and the devil is desperately wanting to oblige the flesh!

We 2 factors pulling us away from the Truth of God through Jesus Christ!

The flesh inside of us

The devil outside of us

We need help!

Paul’s call to prayer is to pray in the Spirit:

The expression is obviously the same as that which we have in the Epistle of Jude—“Praying in the Holy Ghost”; and it refers to the promised assistance of that Divine Agent when “we know not what to pray for as we ought.” Praying in the Spirit, therefore, is to pray in that spirit of grace and supplication which the Holy Ghost alone can bestow—to pray in that “spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father!” And further, by praying in the Spirit is meant, that we should pray in a right mind—that we should pray fervently—that we should pray with a consciousness that there is an assisting Power to help us. For the Spirit of God not only originates holy desires, but it actuates, it maintains, it cherishes, it keeps alive all praying influences in the heart. Such, brethren, is the great duty with which the apostle shuts up his description of our spiritual warfare.

He does not, indeed, make prayer a part of the spiritual equipment, because it is the life, and strength, and safeguard of the whole. You must gird on your sword, and pray; you must bind on your sandals, and pray; you must buckle on your breastplate, and pray. In all things there must be a simultaneous outgoing of that which is to give effect to all the weapons you employ in your spiritual encounter.

No prayer, no victory.

Paul continues, teaching us to pray for one another:

Christians are not to think only of their own spiritual conflict, but to be concerned for the whole church of Christ, and for the victory of all their fellows in the fight.

Look around.......maybe the others that you see know their struggle, maybe it is not upon them yet, or maybe they do know their struggle and they need that Spirit of grace upon their lives, that spirit of adoption where they can cry Abba Father!

We must pray for the Spiritual health of our brothers and sisters, but with a mind that they are just as weak as we are!

Lets look at Philippians 4:6-7 and see this same call to prayer but the result of that prayer:

In everything....Praying always.......with prayer and supplication....this is the same though of Ephesians 6......

The apostle Paul tells us, here, to do this with thanksgiving, thankful for?? God through Jesus Christ making Himself available to mankind!

This is the result of prayer.......

The peace of God will keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus!

This peace is beyond understanding.........

This is all about living unto God, following the steps of Jesus Christ, Who is the example that we follow!

Does that mean we do not pray for sicknesses, trouble and other things? No......however when we are in those situations the heart of our prayer is that we remain faithful and that we live out the purpose of God in our situation!

Paul prayed for his thorn in the flesh in 2 Corinthians 12, matter of fact he prayed desperately, Jesus told him that His Grace was sufficient, that His strength was made perfect in Paul’s weakness!

If our hearts desire is to live unto God through Jesus Christ, then our main focus will be on just that and our prayers will reflect that and that is why Paul said that the peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and mind s through Christ Jesus!

Hence, Paul’s answer to Jesus’ answer to Paul’s petition: 2 Corinthians 12:9 “And he said unto me, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

This is the essence of the Christian life and the essence of our prayers!

Jesus taught us to pray......we prayed it just a bit ago.......Do you just recite it? Memorizing is good, but sometimes it is just that and we lose the heart of what we memorize!

Matthew 6:9-13..........Let’s briefly look at the prayer that Jesus said that we should pray in this way......

Our Father.......Galatians 4:6 “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”

Hallowed be Thy Name.......Revelation 4:11 “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

Thy Kingdom come.....Matthew 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Thy Will be done......Matthew 26:42 “He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.”

On earth as it is in Heaven.....All prayer, first of all, willingly submits to God’s plans, purposes, and Glory!

Give us this day our daily bread.......Proverbs 30:8 “Remove far from me vanity and lies: Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with food convenient for me:”

Forgive us our trespasses (sin).......1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

As we forgive those who trespass against us........Ephesians 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

Lead us not into temptation......1 Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

But deliver us from evil (the evil one).........John 17:15 “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.”

For Thine is the Kingdom, The Power, and the Glory forever and ever Amen.........Exodus 15:18 “The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.”

1 Timothy 1:17 “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

Jesus’ teaches us to pray in this way and in this prayer we find:

Praise

Petition to God for our physical needs

Petition to God for our Spiritual life’

Petition to God to keep us from evil and the evil one

And more praise!

I was looking up at the full moon last night and seeing how it cast a great light on everything around me......This prayer that Jesus calls us to pray in that way......the beginning of the prayer gives the priority of our prayer....

Our Father, Who is in Heaven, Hallowed be thy Name!

As I looked at the moon’s light exposing what is normally dark, I thought of God, knowing everything about me and the world!

I thought of His purity and righteousness and I saw mine and the world’s unholiness and wonder how can the Only God give so much Grace?

Our lives is lived with so much selfishness, we are so consumed with us and our little kingdoms!

How can this God, that I know of in Scripture tolerate us, even speaking to Him!

Then I go back to the intro of the prayer, but it is not an intro, it is a declaration of the heart and mind!

I won’t break down every word, but to point out the last 2.

Hallowed be thy Name......

Hallowed is stronger than holy....

Holy means set apart, hallowed however is stronger than that......It carries a meaning of God as sacred...

Entitled to reverence and respect.....whether He gets it or not, He is worthy!

Because of His Name......not the word, but the essence! His life, His characteristics, His purity, and His Goodness!

This opening makes God the priority and therefore the 3 requests for ourselves in this prayer is for living unto God!

This is a necessity, this should be our prayer life.....it doesn’t have to be recited, it has to be a plea from the heart and mind from each one of us and this is a daily, never ceasing prayer!