Prayer As Warfare, Part 2 (Ephesians 6:18-20)

Our text this morning will be verses 18 thru 20, but we will—for the sake of context read through verses 10-17 one last time today. This will conclude our focus on the armor of God. And I hope you can appreciate the hilarity that my son will likely be born when I have but four verses left in the book.

You can find that on page 1163 in the navy blue Bibles found in your pews.

Ephesians 6:10–20 (ESV)

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,

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, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

This is the Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God!

B. Review from Last Week

Since this is our last Sunday in this particular discussion of spiritual warfare, I want to refresh your memory a little: Paul has been focused on equipping the body of Christ, the Church, for the warfare ahead of her. What we have seen so far is that this warfare is not a physical warfare. It is not taking up arms against the state or organizing the church into a literal militaristic body. Paul teaches in 2 Corinthians 10:4 that:

2 Corinthians 10:4 (ESV)

...the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

So our weapons are not fleshly carnal weapons, but they are powerful. They are not physical, but they are mighty.

This is rather a spiritual warfare primarily concerned with spiritual forces. Now certainly spiritual warfare frequently takes on physical embodiments; we are not usually opposed by abstract disembodied blobs of evil somewhere out there in the ether. But the Church as a body moving together has been equipped with Yahweh’s own armor from the book of Isaiah. Armor for all parts except the backside because the Lord has not budgeted for our retreat.

And Last Sunday, as you might recall, we looked at the “four all’s” in verse 18, where Paul admonishes his hearers to:

Pray at all times in the Spirit

To do that with all prayer and supplication

To keep alert with all perseverance

To make supplication for all the saints

We talked also about how so much of spiritual warfare is the fight of prayer. We tend to locate “the fight” mainly in evangelism or preaching & teaching or fighting temptation, and all of that is part of the fight in a lesser sense, but the real fight begins with the wrestling of prayer. Everything that follows after prayer—as much as may be a fight—is also the fruit of this fight of prayer.

Or as John Stott puts it,

“[Paul adds prayer here] not (probably) because he thinks of prayer as another though unnamed weapon, but because it is to pervade all our spiritual warfare. Equipping ourselves with God’s armor is not a mechanical operation; it is itself an expression of our dependence on God, in other words, of prayer.” John R.W. Stott From The Message of Ephesians (IVP Academic, 1979, page 283)

So let’s look again at verse 19

Ephesians 6:18b–20 (ESV)

To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Let’s pray:

Holy Spirit, come and illuminate the words of our God. Keep all your Words ever brightly shining before our eyes. Show us the wealth of glory that lies beneath the old, familiar stories. Teach us the meaning hidden in the songs of Zion. Raise us to the heights of aspiration reached by the wings of the prophet. Lift us to the summit of faith that is trod by the feet of the apostle. Open our eyes that we may behold wondrous things out of your law, and Amen. (Based on a prayer by George Matheson)

C. Transition to Sermon

Our text this morning is a prayer request from Paul to the Ephesians. In fact, I titled the sermon Prayer as Warfare, Part 2. I also thought it could be titled “Paul’s Prayer Request.”

And what I want you to see this morning is that Paul models here for us a good way to seek from others that you are prayed for. We see Paul asking for three things:

First, for Prayer itself. Second, that he would have the right words—that he would do his work well. And third that he would do that work with boldness. And so I want you to see at least three things this morning. That we should be...

I. Asking for Prayer (Without shame!)

II. (That is should be) Prayer for the What (Understanding your Duties)

III. That it should be Prayer for the How (Understanding our Attitudes)

I. Asking for Prayer

Ephesians 6:19 (ESV)

[Pray] also for me...

That the apostle closes his letter asking for prayer should remind all of us that if Paul the apostle needed prayer for his work, how much more should this set before us a sense of our need that our work would be covered in prayer.

I mean, Paul was one of the few men who could just simply not be permitted to have questions about his calling, right? He encountered the Resurrected Christ in the Flesh, and he was knocked to the ground and blinded for three days, and probably—just as Jacob ever walked with a limp after his wrestling with God—it would seem that Paul ever had issues with his eyesight after beholding the glory of Jesus.

And we tend to think about such things: “Man, if only I could have a vision like that, then I could be certain about my calling. Then I would be confident. Then I would be fearless.” And perhaps there’s some truth to that—that’s a hard sentiment to refute, as such.

But even Paul, with all that certifying confidence of his encounter with Jesus, still asks for prayer. Because the number one thing he doesn’t trust is his own courage, his own steadiness, his own strength, his own boldness. So he says “Pray for me.”

This should ever set before all of us our need to be prayed for in all our endeavors.

To that end I think it would benefit us to look back at our catechism for a good definition of prayer.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism (1647)

Q. 98. What is prayer?

A. Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies. (Modern Paraphrasing from Be Thou My Vision by Jonathan Gibson, page 291)

Prayer is when we give our desires to God. We offer them up to him saying “Lord, this is what I will, this is what I want, this is what I desire, and I pray for all things agreeable to your will, which is better than mine.”

We pray in the name of Christ, that is with his authority, and because of his blood, not because of any goodness in us or right we have in and of ourselves. Apart from the blood and forgiveness of Jesus we deserve the silence of heaven and worse.

With confession of our sins—this is always part of biblical prayer. And always part of biblical worship.

And thanksgiving. Thankful acknowledgement of mercy. So we come to God in prayer doing three things. Always asking. Always confessing. Always giving thanks.

What’s missing from this definition that gets put forward in a lot of modern-day chatter about prayer is that you don’t see the word “conversation.” Perhaps you’ve heard that before. Prayer is a conversation.

And I think that idea actually leads to a great deal of discouragement in prayer. Because many people hear that, and they come to the act of prayer, expecting it to feel like a sort of back and forth between them and the Lord, but I think if many of us are honest, prayer doesn’t feel that way.

Even the Lord’s Prayer, (most unlike the Psalms, by the way) doesn’t ask any questions, doesn’t make room for God to speak (as though God needed room for that). It is simply a series of earnest petitions, asking God to act, followed by a surrender of authority (“…for yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever”) and then comes the Amen.

Paul asks for prayer because he knows his needs are great and he knows that God answers prayer. That is the whole first point of this sermon in one sentence. We ask for prayer because our needs are great, and our God is greater still, and he answers prayer.

II. Prayer for “The What”

Let’s go back to our text...

Ephesians 6:19–20 (ESV)

[Pray] also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

One of the great gifts of the Reformation was clarifying Christian duty. What I mean is, in Luther’s day there was great confusion concerning how to know and certify the duties of the individual Christian. Fasts on this day. Holy obligations on that day. Innumerable duties at all times, and always ever falling short, always stacking up more and more judgment for yourself. And one of Luther’s great insights was to join duty to your vocation, and start there.

In fact, in Luther’s Small Catechism, in one of the early sections, there’s a “Table of Duties.” Martin Luther waved the banner of free grace maybe more effectively than any other man in the last five or six hundred years, but Luther was not afraid to talk about duty.

Near the start of his small catechism, is his table of duties, and what you do is you find your vocation, and there’s a verse attached to it.

Are you a Pastor or Elder? Here you go, 1 Timothy 3. An Elder must be above reproach, sober minded, etc.

Are you a church member? Hear the word with gratitude and thanks, Galatians 6.

Are you a husband? Love your wife, and give honor to her as the weaker vessel, 1 Peter 3 and Colossians 3 and Ephesians 5.

Are you a wife? Submit to your own husband, imitating Sarah, not fearing what is fearful. Ephesians 5 and 1 Peter 3.

Are you a son or a daughter? Children, obey your parents in the Lord, Ephesians 6.

Are you a widow? Continue to trust in God, praying day and night, not trying to spend all your days on earthly pleasure, 1 Timothy 5.

The point of that is not to crush you with endless unachievable duties, but rather, to do the opposite. To narrow your focus to your primary callings in your God-given vocations.

And here in our text, Paul says. I know what my job is. So pray for me.

Ephesians 6:19 (ESV)

[Pray] also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,

This is instructive for us, because I am convinced that often times, Christians can be vulnerable to endless cycles of guilt and shame because it is easy to convince us that we are just never doing enough.

Oh I know I’m a mom, but I could also be a school teacher. Or I should sign up to sub at least. I should also be volunteering. Argh! Real Christians volunteer all the time, right? I should also be ringing the Salvation Army bell this Christmas. I should also be adopting every child, dog, cat, and nutria rat I see. I should also somehow be a missionary to outer Mongolia in all that spare time I have. My couch is probably too comfortable. I should sell it, buy a bed of nails, and give away the leftover money. That’s what real Christians do.

Now sometimes God blesses you with the resources to do a lot of good. And so you’re about the business of doing it. And I am not saying that’s a bad impulse by itself. There is great goodness in aspiring to doing great goodness.

But what happens to us a lot is, we compare ourselves to others. Whether it’s the super-holy people in the pew next to us, or that missionary biography that we read last month that made us feel like an absolute piece of human garbage.

There is great goodness in aspiring to great goodness. But that ambition, when it is motivated by guilt and shame tends to produce perpetually unhappy people who are perpetually unhappy with other people. Because then you start thinking “You know what? I’m a terrible excuse for a Christian, and so are all these other lazy idiots around me.”

What does Paul ask for prayer for? He asks for what he needs to do precisely what God has given him to do.

Paul’s “What” in Prayer is his vocation of an apostle. He knew his mission was to preach to Gentiles. So he says “Pray for me, that I would have the right words when I open my mouth to boldly proclaim a mystery. I need words, I need wisdom, because I am proclaiming a mystery (that is, the Gospel). So I need the right words! Pray for me that I would do my job well. Not my 47 jobs. But this, my one main job.”

Now, just so it’s clear, I’m not saying you should not (to quote John Wesley) do all the good you can, to all the people you can, in all the ways you can, for as long as you can.

I am saying that you should ask for prayer to do the main thing or few main things the Lord has very clearly given you to do, rather than turn your life into a constant, neurotic, fearful, guilt-and-shame ridden pile of anxieties because (apparently, in your heart) you serve a God who refuses be pleased with ordinary obedience in ordinary work.

Dear saints, let our church be filled with prayer requests for courage in evangelism, and for hearts that love our neighbors. And for relief from the illnesses, and prayers for the trouble out there in our city, and for our school and its challenges, and for the nation and its repentance.

And let our conversation also be filled with dialogues like “How can I pray for you?”

“Well, I’m a dad. I’m a mom. Pray for me, that I would be faithful in that. Fully involved and fully present in that. Confessing my sins, and giving thanks for God’s mercies.”

“Well, I’m a husband. I’m a wife. Pray for me. That I would carry out that duty well, and that I would wring out all the glory god has stuffed into that good work, and then go to bed with cheerful thanksgiving for the strength and daily bread God has given.”

How can I pray for you?

“Well, I just got a promotion at work. Pray for me. That God would remind me that I have a master in heaven who holds me accountable, and that I would do my work with all godly joy, setting an example to those under me.”

So that’s praying for the what. Next...

III. Praying for “The How”

Let’s look at verse 20...

Ephesians 6:19–20 (ESV)

...to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

First of all, you kind of have to love what Paul is doing with his words here.

An ambassador…in chains.

That’s like saying

A prince…in rags.

A respected military general…in ugly pajamas.

A king…in a potato sack.

An ambassador…in chains.

It’s a position of honor, contrasted with circumstances of dishonor.

And what Paul asks for (or, rather, what he asks others to pray for) is for a certain attitude or quality in his work. So he asks for prayer for his work, and now he clarifies that he needs prayer for the how—he says “Pray for me, that I would do this with boldness.”

Now in there—you have to think about it for a moment—but within that request is an indirect confession.

He’s saying “Brothers and sisters, I struggle with fear and cowardice. Pray for boldness. I need boldness. My cowardice needs to be crucified. I need to do this work with courage.”

And this also gives us a very good sense of how to ask for prayer from others, and how to pray for each other.

A good template for your prayer requests should be. First, that you are unafraid to ask for specific prayers for yourself.

Second, that you ask for prayers for faithfulness to the vocation and the work God has put right in front of you.

And third, that you ask for the right attitude and protection against temptations in that work.

So what kinds of temptations face you in the work God has given you?

Dads and Husbands: You are tempted to retreat, or to be a pigheaded boss-man, or rather marvelously both at the same time. You’re tempted to blame your wife for the problems before you like Father Adam did. You’re tempted to love her after she deserves it.

Moms and Wives: You are tempted to fix your home by complaining or nagging or belittling your husband. You’re tempted to honor him after he deserves it.

Single and Unmarried People: You are tempted to fill your life up with either ingratitude or laziness. You are tempted to treat the phase of life you are in as preparation for a godly life, when God calls you to holy living now. Today. To love and to patience and to modesty and to wise stewardship of resources.

Widows: You are tempted to withdraw and tell yourself that you don’t have much to offer in this season of life, rather than pouring out the wisdom and the experience God has given to you to the next generation who are hungry for it.

Children: You are tempted to disrespect mom and dad. To be ungrateful for all their work and kindness for you. To ignore their guidance and correction.

So what shall we do with all these things? We take them to the Lord. And one of the ways we do that is by sharing those common temptations with others and saying “Pray for me. Pray the that the Lord would give me courage. That he would replace my fear with courage. That he would replace my anxiety with trust. That he would replace my complaining ungrateful spirit with thanksgiving. That he would replace my despising of my neighbor with love. That he would replace my laziness with good work. That he would replace my love of sin with love of Him.”

Conclusion

So as we march forward to the warfare of prayer, we must be reminding ourselves and each other that the God who has given us good work to do has already purchased all we need for it.

If you know Christ, then you know also that he has not only forgiven your sins by his blood, but also, his blood has purchased all the grace and faith you need for today’s work and he means to give it to you, so ask for it. And tell others to boldly go before the throne and ask for it on your behalf.

If you do not know Christ, there is a storehouse of mercy that waits for you, if you would but believe. If you would turn from your sin, confess Christ as Lord, and find in him all you need to do exactly the good work that he has placed before you.

He has purchased all we need for the work ahead.

Therefore, let us pray.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

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