Life is War: Let's Fight

Introduction

The past two weeks we have talked about spiritual warfare. When we are saved by faith and put our trust in Jesus we enter into a spiritual war. We are shielded by the attributes of our savior that we put on and we fight back against the powers of darkness and Satan through prayer. We highlighted the importance of prayer two weeks ago and we are going to stress it again today. Remember: IF YOU AREN’T PRAYING YOU ARE ALREADY LOSING THE BATTLE. Don’t underestimate the power of prayer, perseverance in prayer, and the purpose of prayer. God desires for you to be in communion with Him at all times. So let’s talk and practice prayer.

Pray Comprehensively (v.18)

Paul mentions four “alls” to express how we should pray.

We should pray “at all times” so everywhere, all the time, we can pray. Now we cannot constantly be verbally talking to God out loud if we are to ever share the gospel with others or interact with others around us, but Paul is telling us to be in constant communion with God. We talk about our faith being a walk with the Lord. This walk is part of our prayer life. If we are walking with God we are familiar with Him, we talk with him, we bread with Him, we see His purposes around us, we start to be transformed by His presence with us.

Have you guys ever noticed when somebody hangs around a certain person or group they start to adopt their sayings, their mannerisms, they start to become interested in what those people are interested in, etc. It’s the same way with Christ. The longer you realize that your life is to be lived by His side in all things that you do…your life changes, your purposes change, you talk different, you walk different.

We are also supposed to pray with all prayer and supplication. We aren’t supposed to only pray to receive things. We are supposed to intercede for others in prayer and give thanks through prayer.

You miss out on the full blessings of prayer when you only see prayer as a place where you ask for things from God. Prayers of thanksgiving is a great prayer weapon for defeating Satan. When you are GLAD IN God you don’t GIVE IN to Satan and your sin. Praise changes things (READ 2 Chronicles 20:12-24). Also, intercession for others will actually bless you and bring victory in your own life! Read Job 42:10

We are supposed to pray with all perseverance. Like good soldiers, we need to keep alert and not fall asleep. This idea appeared in Jesus’ ministry when He encouraged the disciples to “stay awake and pray” in light of temptation and the weakness of the flesh (Mark 14:38). We need to persist in prayer to overcome fatigue, discouragement, and hardship, and for boldness in our witness!

We are to pray for all the saints. We pray for unity within the church. We pray for all other Christians as we pray for ourselves. We have to understand that since all of life is a war against darkness and we are fighting against it, our lives must be lived in prayer.

Pray for Gospel Boldness

We see the that Paul is asking that the Ephesians would pray for Paul that words will be given to him while opening his mouth to boldly proclaim this mystery of the gospel that Jesus Christ came to this earth, lived a perfect life, died a sinners death, and rose from the grave so that whoever believes in Him will have their sins forgiven and would walk in Him forever. Paul understood the weight of his message that he was preaching. DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE WEIGHT OF THE MESSAGE YOU POSSESS?

Why should we pray for others as they share the gospel? Satan does not want us to have the right words to say or to be bold in the face of conflict. EVANGELISM IS SPIRITUAL WARFARE. The culture opposes it. So we need God’s power to do it faithfully.

You must know and understand that sharing the gospel is fighting the fight. We must realize God’s purposes and faithfulness when we share the gospel with others. Until you understand the importance of sharing the gospel with others in regard to your own personal growth in faith you will cap out. God grows you as He uses you.

Conclusion