The Battle on Our Knees

1 John 3:9–10 NKJV

9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. 10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

A couple had been dating for a short time when the lady looks to her boyfriend with frustration and said, “All you do is sit around all day and take naps. You told me you were interesting.” He looked at her and relied, “No. You heard me wrong, I said I was into resting.”

Ephesians 6:18–20 NKJV

18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Big idea: Battle-ready believers pray in dependence, watch with perseverance, and speak with boldness.

Controlling statement: We pray because the battle is spiritual, we watch because people are at stake, and we speak because the gospel must be heard.

Series connection: We do not fight against people; we fight for people—and the fight begins on our knees.

INTRODUCTION — READY TO FIGHT THE WRONG BATTLE

Paul has spent Ephesians 6 preparing us for spiritual battle. He tells us to be strong in the Lord, put on the whole armor of God, stand against the schemes of the devil, and remember that our struggle is not against flesh and blood.

Then we reach verse 18:

“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance…”

After all the armor, Paul brings us to prayer. But there is another word in the verse that we cannot overlook:

Watchful.

That word takes us to Gethsemane.

In Matthew 26, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John farther into the garden and tells them:

“Stay here and watch with Me.”

Jesus goes away to pray. When He returns, He finds them sleeping and specifically says to Peter:

“Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Peter's problem was not that he was unwilling to fight.

A few moments later Judas arrives with an arresting party. Peter wakes up, pulls out a sword, and strikes Malchus, the servant of the high priest.

Peter had courage. He had passion. He was willing to act.

Peter was ready to fight, but he was not ready for the battle.

Jesus had been trying to prepare Peter's heart. Peter slept through the preparation, and when the crisis arrived, Peter saw flesh and blood and began fighting flesh and blood.

Paul has already told us:

“We do not wrestle against flesh and blood.”

One of the enemy's strategies is to take a spiritual battle and turn it into a personal feud.

And when we fail to watch and pray, we do not necessarily become inactive.

Sometimes we become incredibly active fighting the wrong battle.

So how does a battle-ready believer prepare?

1. PRAY IN DEPENDENCE

Ephesians 6:18a

“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…”

Paul describes a life of continual dependence upon God. Prayer is not an emergency button we push after everything else has failed. Prayer is the atmosphere in which the Christian lives and fights.

Peter gives us the opposite picture.

Earlier that evening, Peter confidently told Jesus that even if everyone else fell away, he would remain faithful. Peter believed he was ready.

His confidence was largely in Peter.

But in Gethsemane, Jesus prays while Peter sleeps.

Jesus prays:

“Not as I will, but as You will.”

That is dependence.

Then the crisis arrives.

Jesus is composed while Peter is reactive. Jesus understands what the Father is doing while Peter believes everything has gone wrong. Jesus sees the cross and the unfolding plan of redemption; Peter sees an arrest and somebody who needs to be stopped.

Peter reaches for the sword because Peter has misunderstood the moment.

KEY TRUTH

Prayer doesn't just give us strength for the battle. Prayer helps us recognize what battle we're actually fighting.

Prayer brings my heart into alignment with God before I react to what is happening around me.

When I am hurt, opposed, misunderstood, frustrated, or afraid, my natural instinct may be to identify the visible person as the problem.

Prayer teaches me to ask:

Lord, what am I not seeing? What are You doing? Where is the real battle? How should I respond?

Before we react, we need dependence.

TRANSITION

But Paul does not simply tell us to pray. He tells us to remain watchful.

Prayer keeps us dependent, and watchfulness keeps us spiritually awake.

2. WATCH WITH PERSEVERANCE

Ephesians 6:18b

“…being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints…”

To watch is to remain spiritually alert, discerning what is happening beneath what we can immediately see.

Peter shows us what happens when we fail to watch.

Jesus tells him to watch. Peter sleeps.

Jesus tells him to watch and pray. Peter sleeps again.

Then the crisis arrives.

Peter wakes up physically, but he is still not seeing spiritually.

He sees Judas, swords, clubs, and people coming toward Jesus. He sees everything happening around him, yet completely misunderstands what is taking place.

Peter sees an arrest; Jesus sees the Father's redemptive plan.

Peter sees an enemy; Jesus sees people who still need grace.

Peter sees a sword; Jesus sees a cross.

And notice what Jesus actually warned Peter about:

“Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”

Jesus did not tell Peter to pray so that Jesus would avoid arrest.

The greatest battle was not what was about to happen around Peter.

The greatest battle was what was about to happen inside Peter.

Fear. Anger. Confusion. Self-preservation. Faithfulness. Trust.

Jesus was preparing Peter's heart for what was coming.

Peter missed the preparation.

So Peter swings a sword.

Later Peter runs.

Eventually Peter denies Jesus three times.

And there is an incredible irony here:

The man who had enough courage to take on an armed crowd was not spiritually prepared to answer a servant girl's question.

Peter did not lack courage.

Peter lacked spiritual preparation.

ILLUSTRATION — WHAT AM I NOT SEEING?

Imagine a father walking toward his teenage son's room after another blowup. The door has been slammed, words have been exchanged, and Dad is rehearsing everything he intends to say about his son's attitude.

But when he opens the bedroom door, he finds his son sitting on the floor crying.

Something happened at school. He has been humiliated, frightened, rejected, or hurt in a way his father knew nothing about.

Dad walked down the hallway prepared to win an argument.

But his son needed a father.

Sometimes we enter situations the same way.

We are ready to correct. Ready to defend ourselves. Ready to prove our point. Ready to win.

Maybe our first prayer needs to be:

“Lord, what am I not seeing?”

We see the behavior in front of us.

God sees the battle underneath it.

That is why we watch and pray.

Christians can expend tremendous amounts of spiritual and emotional energy fighting people, preferences, offenses, disagreements, and frustrations while completely missing the deeper battle.

KEY TRUTH

If the enemy can get us fighting flesh and blood, he doesn't have to stop us from fighting. He only has to redirect our fight.

Prayer prepares us to see clearly.

TRANSITION

But watching and praying does not make us passive.

Jesus was not preparing Peter to do nothing.

He was preparing Peter to take the right action.

That brings us to Paul's final request.

3. SPEAK WITH BOLDNESS

Ephesians 6:19–20

“…that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel…”

Paul is imprisoned. He is chained and surrounded by the Roman world.

Yet look at what he asks the church to pray for.

He does not primarily ask them to pray that he escapes.

He does not ask God to destroy the people opposing him.

He does not ask for an opportunity to retaliate.

Paul says:

Pray that I open my mouth.

Pray that I clearly proclaim the Gospel.

Pray that I speak with boldness.

Paul understands the battle.

And Peter's story does not end in Gethsemane.

Later, Peter will again stand before hostile people. He will be threatened and ordered not to speak about Jesus.

Peter is still courageous. He is still outspoken. He is still bold.

But something has changed.

In Gethsemane, Peter carried a sword.

Later, Peter carried the Gospel.

The courage remained, but God redirected it.

Peter wanted to fight for Jesus.

Jesus had to teach Peter how to fight the right battle.

KEY TRUTH

Prayer doesn't keep us out of the battle. Prayer prepares us to enter the right one.

And the right battle leads us toward the mission.

People knowing Jesus.

People being rescued from darkness.

Broken lives being restored.

Lost people hearing the Gospel.

ILLUSTRATION — THE HOUSE IS BURNING

Imagine a firefighter arriving at a house engulfed in flames.

A mother is standing outside screaming:

“My child is still inside!”

She is terrified. She may grab the firefighter, yell at him, or even blame him because he is not moving quickly enough.

But the firefighter does not stop and say:

“Don't talk to me that way.”

He does not defend himself.

He does not turn the rescue into an argument.

Why?

Because that is not the battle.

The house is burning.

A child needs to be rescued.

Something far more important is happening than winning an argument in the front yard.

And church, sometimes I wonder if the enemy has gotten Christians arguing in the front yard while the house is burning.

We become consumed with frustrations, disagreements, offenses, and things that seem enormous in the moment.

Meanwhile, people around us are living without Jesus. Families are hurting. Young people are searching. Neighbors are broken. People are stepping into eternity.

That's the battle.

Paul understood it.

That is why Paul, sitting in chains, does not say:

“Pray that I win.”

He says:

“Pray that I open my mouth and proclaim the Gospel.”

Peter reached for a sword.

Paul asked for an open mouth.

Because when you understand the battle, you understand the mission.

Then slow down:

“Church, let's stop fighting in the front yard.”

Pause.

“The house is burning.”

RESPONSE — THREE PRAYERS

If we are going to fight the right battle, I want three simple prayers to become part of the rhythm of our lives.

1. LORD, OPEN A DOOR.

Colossians 4:3

}Give me an opportunity.

Put somebody in my path.

Help me recognize the moment when it comes.

2. LORD, OPEN A HEART.

Acts 16:14

I cannot save anyone.

I cannot argue anyone into the Kingdom.

I cannot force anyone to believe.

Only God can open a heart.

3. LORD, OPEN MY MOUTH.

Ephesians 6:19

When You open the door and begin working in their heart, give me the courage to speak.

Don't let me sleep through the opportunity.

Don't let fear silence me.

Don't let anger distract me.

Lord, don't let me fight the person You have sent me to reach.

CONCLUSION — READY FOR THE RIGHT BATTLE

Peter was willing to fight.

That was never the problem.

Peter was ready to fight, but he was not ready for the battle.

Jesus told him to watch.

Peter slept.

Jesus told him to watch and pray.

Peter slept again.

And when the moment came, Peter fought the people standing in front of him because he could not see the spiritual battle happening around him.

Church, we cannot afford to make the same mistake.

Before we go, we pray.

Before we speak, we pray.

Before we react, we pray.

Before we decide who the enemy is, we pray.

Because:

“We do not wrestle against flesh and blood.”

HIS STRENGTH.

HIS ARMOR.

OUR STAND.

Before the church is sent, the church must kneel.

But when the church rises from prayer, it must be ready to speak.

Sometimes the strongest stand you will ever take begins when you kneel.