49-55 An 'All'-Out Commitment to Prayer
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Ephesians 6:18-20
Ephesians 6:18-20
Five college students spent a Sunday in London so they went to hear the famous Charles Spurgeon preach at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. While waiting for the doors of the church to open, the students were greeted by a man who said, “gentlemen, let me show you around. Would you like to see the heating plant of the church?” They weren't particularly interested as it was a hot day in July. But they didn't want to offend the stranger, so they consented. The men were taken down a stairway and in the basement, a door was quietly opened and their guide whispered, “this is our heating plant.” The students were surprised to see 700 people bowed in prayer, seeking a blessing on the service that would soon begin in the auditorium above. He softly closed the door and the man introduced himself. It was none other the Spurgeon himself.
There is no power, vitality, strength without prayer. S.D. Gordon Quiet Talks on Prayer "All Xian victory is won, in secret, beforehand by prayer." E.M. Bounds Purpose in Prayer "God shapes the world by prayer. . .It is true that the mightiest successes that come to God's cause are created and carried on by prayer. God's day of power; the angelic days of activity and power are when God's church comes into its mightiest inheritance of mightiest faith and mightiest prayer. .. prayer is the keynote of the most sanctified life, he does the most for God who is highest skilled in prayer."
Paul has called upon the church to consider the urgency of being prepared for spiritual warfare by taking up the full armor of God. While there are only technically 6 pieces of the armor that are mentioned by the apostle, spiritual war must be waged in the power of the HS and with complete dependency on Him which is expressed in prayer.
It is like the hymn says “put on the gospel armor…each piece put on with prayer.”
Prayer is an enormous privilege that belongs the people of the Lord.
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, But the prayer of the upright is His delight.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
“You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.
Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
pray without ceasing;
Jesus’ own life demonstrated priority of and dependency on prayer:
Before choosing the 12:
It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.
Following an exhausting day of ministry:
After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.
At the time of Transfiguration
Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming.
He quickly taught and established the pattern of true/righteous prayer (Mt 6:5-6, 9-13)
Persistence in prayer was emphasized (Lk 18:1-8)
Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;
They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Following on the heels of Paul’s instruction regarding spiritual war and knowing the believer’s complete dependency on Christ Paul urges us to not fall into the temptation where, having been prosperous and free, we become too dependent on our own resources. The end of Ephesians is an urgent appeal to pray—requiring and ‘All’-Out commitment on our part.
Before we look at our vv—let me ask you...
How committed are you to prayer? Is it your priority? Do you think you can wage effective spiritual war without prayer? Do you possess power gained thru some energy, polished skills or trusted methods? Do you think you are capable when saints before us have sensed the urgency to throw themselves on God? (EM Bounds was known to begin his day spending 3 hours each day in prayer). I’m not suggesting that is to be our practice…but what about 1 hour, 30 minutes, 10 minutes, 2 minutes?
Paul’s urgency is expressed in 5 emphases where he is drawing saints in Eph to grow in their individual prayer ministries.
1. Prayer Is for All Situations
1. Prayer Is for All Situations
Notice the repetition of the word “all.” Here is Paul’s challenge to pray on all occasions. It is more common for the saints to pray whenever there is difficulty. Its always right to pray on those occasions.
casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
So whether its anxiety (which is usually how we respond to the pressures of life) or any other challenging time we should go to the Father in prayer. Even the unbeliever (perhaps the atheist) will as a last ditch effort make an appeal to God for help.
Eph “with all prayer and petition” both terms, taken together indicate that all kinds of prayer should be directed to God. “prayer” is a general term where “petition” refers to specific requests. At any given moment, prayer is invited, encouraged and exhorted by God’s people in whatever situation they find themselves.
I think there’s a common misconception that prayer must be hands folded, eyes closed, kneeling… The Bible sanctions no one posture for prayer (examples):
Kneeling
Standing
Walking
Lying on one’s bed
Lying on one’s face
Inside the belly of a great fish
As a student, my youth pastor frequently expressed how prayer can be in any moment there is a need to speak to God—it could be at school with eyes open or in the bedroom with eyes closed. I don’t know if you’ve heard the poem by Sam Walter Foss (The Prayer of Cyrus Brown)
"The proper way for a man to pray,"
Said Deacon Lemuel Keyes,
"And the only proper attitude
Is down upon his knees."
"No, I should say the way to pray,"
Said Rev. Doctor Wise,
"Is standing straight with outstretched arms
And rapt and upturned eyes."
"Oh, no; no, no," said Elder Slow,
"Such posture is too proud:
A man should pray with eyes fast closed
And head contritely bowed."
"It seems to me his hands should be
Austerely clasped in front.
With both thumbs pointing toward the ground,"
Said Rev. Doctor Blunt.
"Las' year I fell in Hodgkin's well
Head first," said Cyrus Brown,
"With both my heels a-stickin' up,
My head a-pinting down;
"An' I made a prayer right then an' there -
Best prayer I ever said,
The prayingest prayer I ever prayed,
A-standing on my head."
Every situation in life is an opportunity for prayer. For help in times of need, for praise and thanksgiving for the manifold blessings of God, for direction, wisdom, the list goes on...
2. Prayer Is For All Seasons
2. Prayer Is For All Seasons
Paul next describes the frequency of prayer “at all times...” Scriptural examples of when saints prayed show us that there is no wrong time to pray to God.
Morning, noon, night
3x a day
7x a day
Seven times a day I praise You, Because of Your righteous ordinances.
Midnight
At midnight I shall rise to give thanks to You Because of Your righteous ordinances.
Now, I know some of you wake up in the middle of the night (you just can’t sleep)—what do you do?
thru the night/all night
Before dawn
3 weeks of prayer
God is unlimited in His capacity to hear and answer our prayers. Its been suggested that God created time zones to space out prayer requests—as if He needed some quite time for Himself. That’s horrible theology! God, who is spirit, being omnipresent, omniscient is not limited in His relationship to each and every saint. And I’d go as far as to say if the entire world called upon the name of the Lord at the same time…it would be no difficulty with God to answer prayer.
Paul told Timothy...
I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day,
Paul told the Thessalonian church--”pray without ceasing” which can only happen when you are conscious of the continual communion and companionship you have b/c you’re always in the presence of God—so you can go to Him for any reason at any time.
3. Prayer Is All In the Spirit
3. Prayer Is All In the Spirit
“in the Spirit...” this is referring to the HS not the human spirit. It is so important to recognize the HS’s relationship to the saint. He is the one who indwells you and is YOUR...
strengthener (Rom 8:26)
access to mind of God (Rom 8:6)
intercessor in prayer (Rom 8:26-27)
teacher (1 Cor 2:13; Heb 9:8; 1 Jn 2:20,27)
source of illumination (1 Cor 2:10-13)
source of God-given gifts (1 Cor 12:4-11)
source of liberty (2 Cor 3:17-18)
source of fruit (Gal 5:22)
channel for worship (Phil 3:3)
director and strength to walk in this life (Rom 8:4,13; Gal 5:16,18,25)
So…the spiritual life requires resources that are found in the HS (especially spiritual war) which makes praying in the Spirit essential. It is essential b/c we are to pray always desiring the will of God and trusting Him to answer. It is the HS that always leads us to pray according to His will or simply put—to pray in the name of LJC.
Remember, the HS prays for us and as we pray we join our requests to His in order to see God’s will accomplished. HS will never direct us to ask contrary to Scripture or to lead us into sin.
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
4. Prayer Is In All Steadfastness
4. Prayer Is In All Steadfastness
“be on the alert with all perseverance”—2 words really express the idea of steadfastness in prayer: alert, perseverance.
“alert” means:
The term agrypneō means ‘keeping careful attention to something’, being aware of what is happening (1 Cor. 16:13).166
“But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
“perseverance” refers to endurance, to devote oneself to prayer would carry the idea of steadfastness, persistence in prayer.
Luke 18:1-8;
Being alert and persistent are necessary for every saint when it comes to prayer. Basically means do what you have to do to remain steadfast.
Early American cowboys took drastic measures to keep alert and hold fast to their work wile guarding cattle at night. They would often rub tobacco juice in their eyes to make them stay open. It would make them sharp and help the riders stay vigilant even when exhausted. Of course they did this in the interest of their bosses but also for the sake of the safety of the animals.
How much more should the believer remain steadfast in prayer—something infinitely and eternally greater?
5. Prayer Is Given For All the Saints
5. Prayer Is Given For All the Saints
Scripture calls us to pray for the unsaved (1 Tim 2:1), for government leaders (1 Tim 2:2)…but here and most importantly—prayer is to be given on behalf of saints (holy ones, the redeemed, the church). How many saints are there? we can never know. There are millions of them in the hundreds of countries around this world. We could never possibly pray for each of them by name…but we can pray in general sense for all the saints (around the world, persecuted church, etc.) and then specifically when we become aware of direct needs.
Sometimes we pray for ourselves (which is not inappropriate). But Paul is calling us to pray primarily for one another over ourselves.
It is really the greatest thing you could do for each other is to pray for one another. If there is one thing that will strengthen ad preserve the unity of the church (see Eph 4:3) it is being bound together in prayer for one another. You’re whom you love you’re going to pray for. It is one of clear assurances of your faith (that you belong to God) b/c you love the brethren (esp. those you gather together to worship the Lord with).
Paul knows each believer is dependent on and strengthened by the prayers of other saints.
and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,
Paul didn’t ask for healing (though at times this is urgent). He didn’t pray for release from prison. He asked for prayer for boldness to make known the glory of the gospel to the lost. It was certainly on his heart
Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, that I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints;
you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.
for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.
Brethren, pray for us.
Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you;
Can you imagine Paul asking for boldness? In my mind, if there was anyone bold it was the apostle. He demonstrated that during the rioting mobs of Ephesus, the beatings in Philippi, the stoning at Lystra (who gets dragged outside the city, stoned, left for half dead, and when he recovers enough goes right back into the city?)—yet what is Paul asking for? Boldness (term has the idea of freedom of speech—that freedom you have to speak without consequences). Even though there were often consequences in terms of resistance to the gospel, Paul want to speak as though there were none—even in the face of physical harm.
That kind of prayer is essential for all those who preach the Word, who share the gospel, who teach—to have God’s help in delivering His Word to those who must hear it (no wonder Spurgeon had a church full of prayer warriors).
And if you’re still not quite sure how to pray for one another:
For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
Think about what God will do to answer that prayer when each saint prays for one another within the local church.
Spurgeon once said “prayer pulls the rope below, and the great bell rings above in the ears of God. Some scarcely stir the bell for they pray so languidly, others give but an occasional pluck at the rope, but he who wins in heaven is the man who grasps the rope boldly and pulls continuously, with all his might.”
Now, don’t think prayer is all about human effort—prayer must be “in the Spirit.” The Spirit is given as helper, and not least for the task of prayer so let us strive for steadfastness as we make prayer an urgent priority.