Prayer is Fundamental, Not Supplemental

For the last few weeks, we’ve been looking at our spiritual warfare. We have a terrible enemy, Satan. We’ve looked at our only strength, our shining armor, and our mighty weapon. Today, I want us to look at our secret resource in this spiritual warfare.

So, let’s read about our secret resource in Ephesians 6:18-20. For the sake of context, I‘ll read verses 10-20:

Ephesians 6:10–20 NKJV

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 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. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 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.

Prayer is important. As a matter of fact, “Prayer is fundamental, not supplemental.” So often we add prayer as a last resort or as an afterthought. But, prayer is fundamental and not supplemental in our spiritual warfare against our terrible enemy.

On Tuesday, March 30, 1858, Rev. Dudley Tyng, age twenty-nine, addressed a gathering of 5,000 men in Philadelphia at a noon time meeting at the YMCA, exhorting them to serve the Lord with all their hearts.

During the sermon he said, “I would rather that this right arm were amputated at the trunk, than that I should come short of my duty to you in delivering God’s message.”

At the conclusion of his message, 1,000 men committed themselves to Christ.

The next week, while visiting in the country and watching the operation of a corn thrasher in a barn, he accidentally caught his loose sleeve between the cogs; the arm was lacerated severely, the main artery was severed and the median nerve was injured.

Four days later infection developed. As a result of shock and a great loss of blood, Dudley Tyng died, on April 19, 1858. At his deathbed, when asked by a group of sorrowful friends and ministers for a final statement, he whispered, "Let us all stand up for Jesus."

The following Sunday, Tyng’s friend and fellow clergyman, George Duffield, preached from Ephesians 6:14, ending his sermon by reading a poem of six stanzas he’d written, inspired, as he told his people, by the dying words of his esteemed friend. The third stanza reads as follows:

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, stand in his strength alone;

The arm of flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own.

Put on the gospel armor, each piece put on with prayer;

Where duty calls or danger, be never wanting there.

After Paul described the six pieces of gospel armor, he then exhorted believers to pray. Prayer is our secret resource in our spiritual warfare against the schemes of the devil.

Ephesians 6:18-20 teaches us that our secret resource is prayer.

In Ephesians 6:18-20, we learn four truths about prayer:

1. Prayer Must Be Continual (6:18a)

2. Prayer Must Be Varied (6:18b)

3. Prayer Must Be Persistent (6:18c)

4. Prayer Must Be Intercessory (6:18d-20)

I. Prayer Must Be Continual (6:18a)

First, prayer must be continual.

Paul wrote in verse 18a,

Ephesians 6:18 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—

So what is prayer? Prayer has been defined in this way, “Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, in the name of Jesus, by the help of his Spirit; with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.” This definition of prayer covers the essential basics of prayer.

To be praying at all times does not mean that believers stop all activities in order to pray every waking moment of every day. Paul did not do that, nor did the apostles, nor did the believers, and, nor did Jesus.

John MacArthur writes, “To [be praying] at all times is to live in continual God consciousness, where everything we see and experience becomes a kind of prayer, lived in deep awareness of and surrender to our heavenly Father.”

It means that we are very conscious of the presence of our heavenly Father in our daily lives. And we are having an ongoing conversation with him.

So, for example, if we are tempted in some way, we ask our Father for his help to overcome the temptation. If we see something beautiful, we give thanks to our Father for his beautiful creation. If we see some evil, we ask our Father to make it right and even use us to that end. When we meet someone who is not a follower of Jesus, we ask God to draw that person to himself and to use us as a witness in that person’s life. And when we encounter trouble or difficulty, we ask God to give us the strength to overcome it.

Now, none of these prayers are necessarily offered in a formal time of prayer.

A great example of this is Nehemiah. Nehemiah was a cupbearer in the court of King Artaxerxes during the Jewish exile in Babylon. Nehemiah had learned from some of the returning Jews that Jerusalem was in ruins. He was very sad about this. Shortly after this he took up the wine and gave it to the king.

Now he had not been sad before in the king’s presence. And the king said to Nehemiah, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” Then Nehemiah was very much afraid. He said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” Then the king said to Nehemiah, “What are you requesting?”

The Bible records Nehemiah saying, “So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, ‘If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it’ ” (Nehemiah 2:1–5).

I love the way it is phrased, “So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king.” Clearly, Nehemiah did not stop, kneel, fold his hands, and pray. No. This is what some people call “an arrow prayer.” After the king’s question to Nehemiah, Nehemiah probably said in his mind, “Dear God, please help me,” and then spoke to the king.

Prayer must be continual.

II. Prayer Must Be Varied (6:18b)

Second, prayer must be varied.

Paul wrote in verse 18b,

Ephesians 6:18 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—

Some people may think that “prayer” and “supplication” essentially mean the same thing. But they don’t. A supplication is one kind of prayer.

Again, John MacArthur clarifies the difference, “Prayer (proseuche) refers to general requests, while supplication (deesis) refers to those that are specific.” He goes on to say, “The use of both words points to the idea that we are to be involved in all kinds of prayer, every form of prayer that is appropriate.”

There are different kinds of prayers we might pray.

The first kind of prayer is Adoration. We approach God by adoring him for his person and his work. It is an affirmation of the greatness and supremacy of our Triune God. We begin our prayer by directing our attention to God and not to ourselves, as we are so often wont to do.

Then we turn to God in Confession. We have come into the presence of God who is completely holy and pure, and we recognize that we have sinned against him in thought, word, and deed, both in what we have done and also by what we have left undone. We will not get far in prayer if we do not deal with the sin in our lives, as Isaiah says, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear” (Isaiah 59:1–2).

The third kind of prayer is Thanksgiving. It is much easier for us to ask God for things than it is for us to thank God for his mercies and blessings. Let us not be like the nine lepers who did not thank Jesus for healing them (cf. Luke 17:11-19).

Finally, we offer prayers of Supplication. One commentator wisely says, “Our prayer life will be poor if this is all we do, but it will also be less than it can be if we do not ask God for what we want and lay our needs before him.” Jesus taught us to ask God for our needs in the so-called “Lord’s Prayer”: “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11).

If you don’t have a good pattern for prayer, let me encourage you to use this pattern as a guide for your prayers. The important thing is to use a variety of prayers and not just one kind of prayer.

So, prayer must be continual, that is, it must be offered on all occasions or situations. Prayer must be also be varied, that is, there must be different kinds of prayer suitable to the occasion or situation.

III. Prayer Must Be Persistent (6:18c)

Paul wrote in verse 18c,

Ephesians 6:18 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—

It means that we are to pray “earnestly, courageously, and persistently bring everything in our lives before God.”

Another commentator says, “We are also to pray always, that is, at all times of the day and sometimes in the night. Paul does not mean that we are to do nothing but pray, of course; we would not get anything else done. Paul himself did not do it. He means that prayer is to be a natural and consistent part of our lives. It is not to be regulated just to special seasons or special days. We are to be people of prayer.”

Luke records that Jesus once told his disciples a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming’ ” (Luke 18:1–5). Jesus wanted his disciples to be persistent in prayer. In our spiritual warfare we must be persistent if we are to experience any victory.

So, prayer must be continual, varied, and persistent.

IV. Prayer Must Be Intercessory (6:18d-20)

And finally, prayer must be intercessory.

Paul wrote in verse 18d,

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.

Surely, we are to pray for those without Christ and for their salvation. However, Paul wanted believers to pray for one another as well. The author, E.M. Bounds records the following story in his book titled Purpose in Prayer:

Some years ago the record of a wonderful work of grace in connection with one of the stations of the China Inland Mission attracted a good deal of attention. Both the number and spiritual character of the converts had been far greater than at other stations where the consecration of the missionaries had been just as great. This rich harvest of souls remained a mystery until Hudson Taylor, on a visit to England, discovered the secret. At the close of one of his addresses a gentleman came forward to make his acquaintance. In the conversation which followed, Mr. Taylor was surprised at the accurate knowledge the man possessed concerning this China Inland Mission station. “But how is it,” Mr. Taylor asked, “that you are so conversant with the conditions of that work?” “Oh!” he replied, “the missionary there and I are old college mates; for years we have regularly corresponded; he has sent me names of enquirers and converts, and these I have daily taken to God in prayer.” At last the secret was found—a praying man, praying definitely, praying daily.

Paul went on to ask for prayer for himself, when he wrote, “…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.” Paul gave himself as one for whom the believers in Ephesus should pray. Pray for those who share God’s Word with you. Paul expected the Ephesian believers to pray for him.

It’s a tremendous encouragement knowing that someone is praying for me and my ministry every day. That is the kind of intercessory prayer that Paul calls us to.

So, prayer must be continual, varied, persistent, and intercessory.

Conclusion

Having looked at prayer in Ephesians 6:18-20, let us pray diligently in our spiritual warfare against the schemes of the devil.

John Piper writes the following in his book titled The Pleasures of God:

Prayer is the walkie-talkie on the battlefield of the world. It calls on God for courage (Ephesians 6:19). It calls in for troop deployment and target location (Acts 13:1–3). It calls in for protection and air cover (Matthew 6:13; Luke 21:36). It calls in for firepower to blast open a way for the Word (Colossians 4:3). It calls in for the miracle of healing for the wounded soldiers (James 5:16). It calls in for supplies for the forces (Matthew 6:11; Philippians 4:6). And it calls in for needed reinforcements (Matthew 9:38). This is the place of prayer—on the battlefield of the world. It is a wartime walkie-talkie for spiritual warfare, not a domestic intercom to increase the comforts of the saints. And one of the reasons it malfunctions in the hands of so many Christian soldiers is that they have gone AWOL.

We often treat prayer like the intercom in the office to call an assistant down the hall to order dinner for your late meeting. But, as Piper says, prayer “is a wartime walkie-talkie for spiritual warfare.”

Dear brothers and sisters, let our prayers be continual, varied, persistent, and intercessory so that we may be victorious in our spiritual warfare.