IN THE HEAT OF BATTLE: PRAY EPHESIANS 6:18-20

Introduction

Ladies and gentlemen, we are at war. I am not talking about the current world situation or even the circumstances that our own nation finds herself enduring. Yet, the fact remains that we are at war. We are in a war that has been going on for the last six thousand years. It is a war, not between good and evil, but a war that Satan continues to declare against the Prince of heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a war that has ultimately been already won. It was won two thousand years ago by Jesus Christ Himself. Yet, the battles continue to rage for the souls of men, even though our enemy is already a defeated foe.

The problem is that far too many believers continue to live their lives as if they are the defeated foe. I must ask this question: Why did Jesus Christ go to Calvary anyway? He went to the cross not ultimately to keep you out of hell. He went to cross to win back the glory that we stole so that we would glorify God in our own lives. This purpose is clearly revealed in Romans 8:29

Romans 8:29 CSB

For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

Satan tempts us to sin in order to keep God from being glorified in us. Satan is determined to rob God of His glory being demonstrated in our lives. As we are conformed to the image of Christ and live like Him, God is glorified in our lives. This is why Christ went to the cross and saved us. It was not merely to keep us from going to hell. It was necessary for Jesus to bear the guilt and penalty of our sins on the cross so that by believing in Him we could be restored to the image of Christ that had been lost in the fall and in our own sinfulness. God saves us by His grace, not just so that we are assured of eternal life in heaven. That is the icing on the cake of having been restored to the image of Christ.

The apostle Paul has been warning the Ephesian believers of the spiritual war we are engaged in. He has warned us of the necessity of putting on every element of God’s spiritual armour to be able stand against Satan’s poisonous arrows of doubt, denial, and deceit. As he wraps up all the individual pieces of the armour, he comes to the issue of prayer. Prayer is not one of the pieces of the armor. It is even more important than the armor itself. Without prayer, the individual elements of the armor are of no benefit. Prayer is not only important, it is absolutely crucial. Prayer is the release valve that opens up the faucet of God’s power. This power is that which enables us to wear that armor.

In our day, very few of our Baptist churches seem to realize the true nature of prayer. It is something we do before a meal or a Bible study. We pray two-minute prayers asking for God’s leading in a situation. After the AMEN we go ahead and do what we want to do anyway. No wonder our churches are in such a mess, by and large.

In the text at hand, we are given two basic biblical principles necessary for praying in the heat of the battle that is sure to come.

PRINCIPLE #1: IT MUST BE AN ALL ENCOMPASSING PRAYER (6:18)

Notice with me the fourfold repetition of the word all in this verse.

A. All Kinds of Prayer are Necessary.

1. General Requests

“praying always with all prayer”

This is a general reference to prayer. The idea here is that God’s people are to be a praying people. Biblical prayer is not merely that which is attached to the beginning or ending of a meeting. It is to be the all encompassing motivation of the soul. Prayer is not just a work, it is the work. It should be engaged in passionately, personally, privately, audibly, silently. It is the secret weapon of the spiritual warrior of Christ.

2. Specific Requests

“and supplication in the Spirit”

This refers to a specific type of prayer. Supplication is basically intercessory prayer. This is where we pray for the specific prayer needs of others often in detail. We are the prayer warriors bowed before the God who answers prayer and praying for the one in need.

B. It Must Be Directed by the Holy Spirit.

I will also quickly add that it is not only directed by the Holy Spirit, but prayers are to be directed to the Holy Spirit. What does it mean to pray in the Spirit?

Praying in the Spirit means the Holy Spirit helps us when we pray (Romans 8:26 “In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings.”

Praying in the Spirit means the Holy Spirit prays on our behalf (Romans 8:27 “And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

Praying in the Spirit means the Holy Spirit inspires and guides when we pray.

C.S. Lewis once stated, “Enemy-occupied territory- that is what the world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.”

This is what all-encompassing prayer does.

C. It Requires Perseverance and Alertness.

“being watchful to this end with all perseverance”

The truth is that we are in constant spiritual danger of attack. Thus, we must remain on guard. Our top priority as we begin each new day is to be in powerful all-encompassing prayer. If you are too busy to pray then you are too busy. There is nothing more important than prayer.

Not only are we to remain vigilant and alert, we are also to pray “with all perseverance.” The devil is determined to keep us from praying. Prayer requires tenacity and endurance. When we enter into the arena of prayer, we are entering into the arena of spiritual conflict. To be ready for the conflict, we must be prepared and persevere in prayer.

D. It is to Be Given on Behalf of All Believers

“and supplication for all the saints”

It is our responsibility to intercede for fellow believers. We should understand that God does not call spiritualized “Lone Rangers” in to His kingdom. We are not alone in the struggle. Therefore, we must not view ourselves as begin outside the need of others. We need the prayer support of our faith family and they need ours as well. When someone asks you to pray for them or with them, do it. You and I should also ask the same of others.

The prayer prayed in the heat of the spiritual battle is to be an all-encompassing prayer.

PRINCIPLE #2: IT MUST BE A PRAYER FOR GOSPEL BOLDNESS (6:19-20)

I want us to observe the gospel-saturated nature of this prayer in these two verses. Notice that Paul did not pray for healing from his wrists and ankles that had been chained to the prison wall and/or with other prisoners. Neither did he pray for release from his bonds. Rather, he prayed for boldness.

A. Gospel Proclamation Must Be Bathed in Prayer (19a).

“for me”

That is, Paul is requesting prayer on behalf of himself. Paul is making a prayer request for himself.

“that utterance may be given to me”

Paul desired that every occasion of speaking would be an opportunity not only for witnessing but also for preaching and teaching. Paul was not praying for protection from his Roman captors. He was praying for boldness. What was this request for boldness for?

B. Boldness is Key in Gospel Proclamation (19b).

“that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,”

Paul prayed that he might speak with boldness concerning the “mystery of the gospel.” The term “boldness” here means to have the liberty to speak “freely and openly.” Again, Paul’s prayer request pertained to spiritual matters (the gospel) rather than material matters (release from prison or personal comforts). When Paul had the opportunity to speak, he wanted to say the right thing, to deliver the right message and to be able to do so with confident boldness. This is the prayer we ought to be praying for each other.

C. Gospel Proclaimers Must Be Bold Ambassadors (20).

The term ambassador speaks of the Roman emperor’s legates, or representatives. These representatives or ambassadors. were empowered to be the official representatives of his government. Similarly, Paul viewed himself as the authorized representative of the gospel to the Gentiles.

There was some overlap in Paul’s ambassadorship and apostleship. Here is the apostle (one sent out with a message) who is an ambassador (legal representative) who is in chains. Normally an ambassador had diplomatic immunity and could not be imprisoned by those to whom he was sent. However, in Paul’s case, prison chains now become the appropriate badge for representing the gospel.

Point: The gospel triumphs despite opposition and extreme adversity.

As believers we are not to view ourselves as a group of people cowering in fear and hiding from opposition. Rather, we are to view ourselves as the possessors of the glorious gospel that is to be proclaimed freely and openly in the midst of the surrounding world.

Conclusion

When we are in the heat of spiritual conflict, we must remember to pray.However, we must also keep in mind that prayer is not something that is attached to the putting on of the elements of the armor. Prayer is to be the foundational glue that holds it all together as we put on all the elements of the armor. We are to observe two principles of being a prayer warrior in the midst of spiritual battle. Our prayers are to be all-encompassing prayers and our prayers must be prayers for boldness in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jack Taylor, in his book Victory over the Devil, wrote, “We need to discover there is a battle, decide that we are on the Lord’s side, declare that He has won, and determine that we will walk from victory unto victory.”

We have been given everything God’s Word tells us that is ours in Jesus Christ. This includes everything needed to fight the devil and his schemes against us. We must be aware and persevere in this battle. We must not allow Satan to deceive us and convince us otherwise. Yes, there is a raging battle. However, there is the greater reality of victory in Christ. Christ has won the battle and we walk in that victory as we are connected to Him through prayer. When the battle is raging, don the garments of spiritual warfare, God’s armor as you pray not for victory, but from victory.