06PM May 21 Ephesians 6 18_24
May 21, 2006—Evening Worship
“The Glorious Grace of God” Series – Part 18
Final Requests
The Vitally Important Aspects of Prayer
Ephesians 6:18-24
Intro: Early last summer, 2 groups of our people spent time studying through “A Fresh Encounter.” In early fall of last year, our whole church spent 6 weeks on Sunday evenings working through the video segments of that same study. In early spring of this year we held joint revival meetings w/Ridgeview of Mt. Holly. 2 months ago, I began a study on prayer on Wednesday evenings & just 2 weeks ago, the Men’s Conference focused on how to have a Biblical prayer life. Coming up the last week of August of this year, I’ve planned for our church to have 5 days of fervent prayer. & just this morning in our worship service, we added at least 3 more opportunities for you to pray during the service.
I’ve said all that to say, prayer is vitally important in our relationship w/God. & yet, somehow, prayer is delegated a very small amount of our time in worship & in life. From our text tonight in Ephesians 6:18-24, as we conclude this series, Paul instructs us in the vitally important aspects of prayer & he says that believers should be…
Ephesians 6 18 praying always w/all prayer & supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end w/all perseverance & supplication for all the saints- 19 & 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. 21 But that you also may know my affairs & how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother & faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you; 22 whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, & that he may comfort your hearts. 23 Peace to the brethren, & love w/faith, from God the Father & the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be w/all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.
- Very quickly tonight I want to point out from v. 18…
1. Your Priority of Prayer. (v. 18a) 18a praying always….
- We are welcomed into the throne room of God at any time of the day or night!
- It’s God’s desire that you make your requests known to Him.
- It’s His will that you spend time w/Him in quality conversation or prayer.
- “Praying always” is an interesting phrase b/c 3 Greek words were translated into 1 English word.
- “always” literally means, “in, by, with, due measure, right time, period of time, & all.”
- IOW in all seasons, by all due measure, with all urgency – pray!
- It should be our 1st response to consciousness in the morning; it should be our last act of each day.
- It’s our privilege to come to the Creator, our Father in heaven & to share w/Him & to hear from Him!
- There should not be anything that you would not take to God in prayer!
- Nothing is too small & nothing is too complex for Him!
- But v. 18 also points out…
2. Your Position in Prayer. (v. 18b) 18b …in the Spirit….
- This is the key to having an effective prayer life. You must pray in the Spirit.
- That means you are lead by the Spirit in the things for which you pray.
- “There is nothing more vital in the Christian Life than the ability to pray!”
- & if you are to pray in the Spirit, then you must 1st be filled w/the Spirit.
- IOW you are to be controlled by the Spirit & not in some mystical, mysterious way.
- Being controlled by the Spirit means you have totally surrendered your will to His.
- You are praying in His power & under His direction.
- That does not mean praying in some un-understandable speech, but it means that the Holy Spirit of God prompts the prayers w/in you through His leadership.
- He directs your particular prayers through His perfect guidance.
- During our Men’s Conference, Ed Lacy put it this way; “The prayer that gets to heaven is the prayer that starts in heaven.”
- God is the only one who can search our hearts & know our thoughts before we ask.
- & its God’s will that we pray in the Spirit, according to the Spirit, by the Spirit.
- So far in v. 18 we’ve seen your priority of prayer & your position in prayer, but it also gives the details of…
3. Your Power through Prayer. (v. 18c) 18c …w/all prayer & supplication…being watchful to this end w/all perseverance & supplication for all the saints-
- You have power through prayer 1st of all b/c of the One to whom you pray.
- God is the Creator, the Almighty God, the Everlasting Father. He has always been & always will be. He is the Great I AM!
- & this loving, gracious, powerful, living God asks you to spend time w/Him in prayer!
- There are many examples in Scripture but look at Jeremiah 33 1 Moreover the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the prison, saying, 2 "Thus says the Lord who made it, the Lord who formed it to establish it (the Lord is His name): 3 Call to Me, & I will answer you, & show you great & mighty things, which you do not know.
- God wants to answer your prayers! He delights in hearing from you! He covets the time you spend w/Him!
- & our text says that w/all prayer & supplication you are to spend time w/Him.
- The word “prayer” is a general term meaning to address your prayers to God in an appropriate manner, time & place.
- The word “supplication” is synonymous w/prayer & means, ”a need or a want you have or experience.”
- You also have power through prayer b/c of persistence or perseverance.
- God tells us in His word to keep on asking; keep on seeking & to keep on knocking.
- Never give up in prayer! Persistent prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance; it’s laying hold of God’s willingness.
- Sometimes God manifests His character by answering your prayer immediately.
- Sometimes God chooses to delay His answer – but it’s always for your good & His glory!
- Paul then moves to…
4. Your Purpose behind Prayer. (vv. 19-20) 19 & 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.
- There are several purposes here behind prayer.
- 1 is intercession for others. Paul requests prayer for himself.
- We are to pray for others; to lift up others; to encourage others as we pray for them!
- But notice 2ndly that Paul had a specific request. He asked the he may speak boldly the mystery of the gospel.
- We are to intercede for others but also to pray that God would use others for the purpose of evangelizing the lost.
- Every time you spend time praying that God’s word would go forth in power through the mouth of a missionary of preacher or godly witness, you take part in world evangelization!
- & 3rdly, Paul prays that he might be obedient to the call of God on his life.
- He was suffering for the gospel & he didn’t want to wimp out – he wanted to strong in the Lord & to boldly, w/compassion & urgency, preach the truths of the gospel!
- That can happen through you as you pray for others & as you seek to follow the leadership of the Lord for your life.
- Now in all this talk about prayer, vv. 21-22 seem out of place, but they are designed to remind you of…
5. Your Participation in Prayer. (vv. 21-22) 21 But that you also may know my affairs & how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother & faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you; 22 whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, & that he may comfort your hearts.
- Paul’s stated purpose in sending Tychicus to Ephesus was that the believers might know – from 1st hand accounts – exactly what was happening to Paul & how they could best pray for him.
- That’s why we try to keep you informed about the latest news from Romania. We want you to know how to pray for the village people & Pastor Tet & his family.
- That’s why we share w/one another on Sunday nights—that we may each know how to pray for our other brothers & sisters.
- Notice that Tychicus was a beloved brother & faithful minister in the Lord.
- Paul gave this mission trip to the capable hands of another brother who had proven himself to be a faithful minister.
- As you participate w/others in prayer, you are learning from the Lord how to pray & how to be effective in ministry b/c you are gaining the Master’s heart for others.
- You can take all the classes you want on prayer. You can go to every seminar; you can listen to every tape or CD on the subject of prayer.
- You can listen to others who have been prayer warriors for many generations – but unless you spend time in prayer, YOU will NEVER learn how to pray effectively!
- & that brings us to Paul’s final point on prayer in these verse. & that is…
6. Your Practice of Prayer. (vv. 23-24) 23 Peace to the brethren, & love w/faith, from God the Father & the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be w/all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.
- Paul closes his letter w/a prayer for the believers, not just at Ephesus, but to, the brethren…all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.
- Paul prayed for peace, unity, love, faith & grace from God to be poured out on all believers.
- Peace & unity among the brethren would demonstrate to the world that Jesus was sent by the Father to save the world of believers.
- Love for others would demonstrate to the world that these were disciples of Jesus Christ.
- Faith would demonstrate a zeal & determination & power to accomplish the Lord’s will.
- & grace would demonstrate the nature of God to every man.
- Paul knew that w/o all these, the believers could not stand against the onslaught of persecution they would face.
- Ladies & gentlemen, we must lift up one another in prayer b/c we never know the extent to which the enemy will attack us!
- As a vital part of our relationship w/God, we must pray!
- Prayer is our privilege & honor & we dare not take it for granted!
Conclusion: As I said during the introduction, we have spent a lot of time in recent months talking about & teaching prayer. & we will continue to talk about & teach prayer b/c it is so vitally important to our daily walk w/God.
But for right now, that’s enough talk about prayer! What we need to do now is pray! & so what I’m asking you to do right now, is to find a partner w/whom you can pray & to spread out all over this building & pray in every room.
Ask the Lord to fill this place w/those who need Him. Ask Him to convert them from their sin to His salvation. Ask Him to use each one of us to go & to care & to give & to be the church of the Lord Jesus Christ in this place & all around the world!
Invitation: When you have finished praying you are free to go. But as we pair up, let’s ask the Lord to use us for His glory even as we pray!
Hymn 278 Make Me a Captive Lord