Pray like an Apostle - Weapons of Warfare

I wanted to share a story about a very special woman who is no longer with us. The picture you see on the screen is of my grandmother, Monica Guevara. If I were to describer her it would be selfless and faithful in prayer. She was a woman who at every meal would eat a quarter of what was on her plate and give the rest to whomever was on the corner asking for food. I would see her three times a day leave to her secret place to pray. I believe she is one of the many people in my life that prayed for me and that God would rescue me. She prayed for others. She prayed for the advancement of the kingdom. She prayed with perseverance. As we continue the series, Pray like an Apostle we will look at yet another prayer in the book of Ephesians by the Apostle Paul. A prayer that calls us to be praying in the Spirit, praying for the saints and for the gospel advancement. The title of the message is, Pray like an Apostle: Our weapon in warfare.

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Ephesians 6:18 - 20

praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 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.

Let me give you a whistle stop on each chapter in the book of Ephesians leading up to chapter 6.

He began by unfolding God’s purpose, before the foundation of the world, to create a single new human race through the death and resurrection of Christ and ultimately to unite the whole church and the whole creation under Christ’s headship. - John Stott

In God’s society we all stand on equal footing, both Jews and Gentiles. The old days of division and discrimination have gone.

So now the one Father has one family, the one Messiah-Saviour one people, and the one Spirit one body.

Christians must live a life that is ‘worthy’ of their calling and ‘fitting’ to their status as God’s new and reconciled society. They must demonstrate their unity in the Christian fellowship, while at the same time rejoicing in the diversity of their gifts and so of their ministries.

Unity, diversity, purity and harmony which are major characteristics of the new life and the new society in Christ.

Imagine this picture of God raising people from the dead. He is clothing them in garments of white. Everyone is from a different tribe, nation and tongue. He is building an army and reminding us that we are at war. Like William Wallace on his white horse going back and forth looking at His people in the eye looking at you in the eye. Telling us we are at war. A war for souls. You will have great trouble and tribulation but take heart I have overcome the world. So take up your armor. Be ready. Be vigilant. Get on your knees and pray. The very first thing that Paul tells us is to Pray not just pray but to pray in the Spirit.

Yes there is a kingdom, Yes there is a Savior. Yes there is an enemy. The Apostle is telling us there is a way to stand. To wear the armor of God our defense against the enemy. Our offense is picking up the sword of the spirit and prayer. It is a real battle and we have real weapons.

John Stott said,

the devil seldom attacks openly, preferring darkness to light, that when he transforms himself into ‘an angel of light’ we are caught unsuspecting. He is a dangerous wolf, but enters Christ’s flock in the disguise of a sheep. Sometimes he roars like a lion, but more often is as subtle as a serpent.3 We must not imagine, therefore, that open persecution and open temptation to sin are his only or even his commonest weapons; he prefers to seduce us into compromise and deceive us into error

The forces of evil. Demons are real. I grew up surrounded by it. My mother would take me to mediums with the hopes that they would channel the spirit of my deceased uncle instead I stood before a man who was filled with a demon speaking to me in tongues laying hands on me and praying over me.

My uncle was part of a cult who delved in witch craft where they would sacrifice animals and use their blood for rituals and on Sundays would go to church.

If you ever watched Saving Private Ryan or a war movie set in the 40s during world war 2 you would not need to tell those soldiers to stay vigilant. They were on constant alert. they were ready and would not go into the battle field without their weapon. Should we not act the same way? I am not talking about being paranoid. I am talking about being awake, alert and vigilant.

John Piper said You will never know what prayer is for until you know that life is war. The only aggressive weapon. No protection for the back. If we run away we will be a casualty.

Point number 1 is Pray in the Spirit.

Point 1: Pray in the Spirit

The Lord Jesus promised us that He will send the Spirit and will be great Help I will talk about one way that he is great help.

What is praying in the Spirit?

Praying in the Spirit is distinct from speaking in tongues. Yes, tongues is a gift of the Spirit. The gift of tongues according to Paul is for one purpose the edification of oneself.

1 Corinthians 14:4

The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church.

I am not saying that when you are praying in the Spirit you wont speak in tongues but that there is a distinction. t. We are asking Him what do you want me to pray at this moment? We wait on Him. I believe that Romans 8 gives a better picture of what that looks like.

Romans 8:25–28

But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Alan Wright said, ““The beginning of understanding what it means to pray in the Spirit is accepting Paul’s words: ‘We do not know what we ought to pray for….’

It is this dependence on God.

The Spirit supplies direction and power in the lives of the children of God.

Also look how God does not leave us out to dry. The Spirit assists us in our ignorance about what to pray for. He intercedes for us. Praying on our behalf that prayer which is always in perfect accordance with Gods will. The advocacy of the Spirit was promised by Jesus in the gospels.

When we are going through trial and tribulation not knowing what to pray. He is interceding for us on our behalf. When my wife and I lost our first child. We had no idea what the will of the Lord was, why it was happening the Spirit is praying.

I have been in situations where I knew someone who is terminally ill. So I begin to pray. I remind God of His promises that through His stripes we are healed. He who forgives all sins heals all diseases. We see this person deteriorate further but we keep pressing on. You are confused. You are praying. God takes them. At that moment have we asked God. How do you want me to pray? I do not know how to pray right now. We ask the person who God sent to help us. To fill us. To seal us who knows the mind of God. Whose mission is to do the will of God. How should I pray right now? What is your will?

God is calling us to deeper unity with Him when we pray in the Spirit. One thing is true we are finite. God is not. God is not male or female. He is Spirit. He set a day where people would worship Him in Spirit and in truth. He is calling us to greater unity with him. We can only do this in the Spirit because He is Spirit. He has given us the person of the Holy Spirit and filled us.

I cant tell you how many times I was in a position and told God. I dont know what to do or what to say. For example, I along with other men at the church serve at a Mens homeless shelter where we lead bible studies. The week prior I am asking God what should I teach? What questions should I ask? I am nervous. I am anxious. I pray. I pray for the guys who will be attending. I pray for boldness. I pray that He will lead the conversation. The gospel will be preached and that He is glorified. I have been at the table where someone is talking struggling and wrestling with the bible. At that moment I am under my breath asking God for help. I will tell you that He always leads me in truth. He does not and has not steered me wrong.

Application: Do we pray? Do we take the direction of the Spirit when we pray? Ask Him, how should I pray? What is your will? Lets not assume. God has a plan. God is in control. Lets strive for what this letter calls us to be which is united with each other but first and foremost with God.

Point #1 – Pray in the Spirit

Point #2: Pray for the Saints with Perseverance

“To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.”In the age of instant communication, we send a message we receive an immediate response. It is not like that with prayer. The answer is not instant. God is not in our time zone. If we are to pray like an Apostle, we are to pray with perseverance.

George Mueller a well known evangelist and prayer warrior knew something about perseverance. He said, “In November 1844, I began to pray for the conversion of five individuals. I prayed everyday without a single intermission whether sick of in health on the land on the sea and whatever the pressure of my engagements might be. Eighteen months elapsed before 1 of the 5 was converted. Five years later then a second was converted.

36 years passed till all 5 of the people he set to pray for were all converted and born again. Mueller understood what Luke meant when he introduced the parable Jesus told about prayer saying, “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” Referring to the parable of the persistent widow.

  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened for you (Matt 7:7).  But it is important to note that the force of all those verbs is present and continuous – ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking, knock and keep on knocking!

·      In Lk 18, the writer records Jesus’ parable of the persistent widow and prefaces it with this comment, he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart

·      The early church,  gave themselves to the apostles’ doctrine, the breaking of bread, fellowship and prayer (Acts 2:47)

·      Paul, writing to the Thessalonians, urges them to pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17), and tells the Ephesians to stay alert and be persistent in your prayers (Eph 6:18)

He is inviting us to pray for the long haul. In luke 18:1 he told them to pray and not lose heart.

On August 13th will be 61 years since the then East German Government erected the Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart.  We know it better as the Berlin Wall and for 28 years it represented the East-West divide, cutting in two the great city of Berlin as well as separating thousands of families who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Over the next 28 years, 100,000 people tried to climb across, tunnel under, fly over or otherwise defeat the wall.  Most of them were unsuccessful, 600 even losing their lives in the attempt!  It seemed like the Berlin Wall – and the regime it represented – would never be beaten!

But in Jan 1984 Brother Andrew put out a prayer challenge to Christians all around the world to make a 7 year commitment to pray that the Berlin Wall would be pulled down.  After 1 year nothing had happened – same, so it seemed, after years 2, 3 and 4!  Yet, the effective siege engine of prayer was pounding away at this stronghold… and after 5 years, in 1989, the Berlin Wall came crashing down!  But things went further – for after 6 years Communism in Russia imploded, and after 7 years the USSR ceased to exist! 

Where military might had been powerless, the best diplomatic minds had failed and the demands of a US President had fallen on deaf ears, prayer prevailed. 

I will tell you that I need your prayers. I look at these men who have fallen. Men of the faith. Men mightier than I. Smarter than I. I am no different from them. We are no different from them. I am talking about men like Carl Lentz, Ravi Zacharias. We are at war. If you don’t think that Satan and his demons does not have a target on you and wants to destroy you, your children and marriage you have already been deceived.

Application: Plain and simple. Pray for the saints but with perseverance.

Point #1 – Pray in the Spirit

Point #2 – Pray for the Saints with Perseverance

Point #3 – Pray for boldness and advancement of the gospel

We need boldness. Not for the sake off being bold but more specifically for the gospel.

I do not want to put the cart in front of the horse. One thing has to happen before we even begin to Pray in the Spirit. You must be first filled with the Spirit. In other words you must be born again. At some point in your life you realized that you sinned against a Holy God. You realized that your sin is punishable by death not just your body but your soul as well. Upon that revelation you cried out to the Father and asked him to save you . You confessed with your mouth and believed in your heart that Jesus is Lord. The work of Jesus Christ on the cross is the only thing that can save you not your works not your deeds not because you were raised in a Christian home. Only the work of Jesus death on a cross. God would then fill you with His Spirit. He will baptize you with fire. The person of the Holy Spirit will come to dwell in you. Jesus said to the woman at the well in John 4:21–24

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Meaning we are to be born again, filled with the Spirit. We must come to God with a worship of who God truly is. The truth of His person. The God of the bible not Joseph Smiths version of God, not the Pope’s version of God but the God of the bible. Spirit and Truth.

I remember the story of Sabina Wurmbrand the wife of preacher and founder of the Voice of Martyrs, Richard Wurbrand. Both of them were attending a meeting where all of the religious leaders gathered together and present in that meeting were Russian Communist Military leaders. It was during the time of the height of the power of Stalin who was the dictator of Russia. One by one each pastor and preacher came forth and pledged allegiance to the Soviets. Listen to what Sabina said, “Richard, stand up and wash away this shame from the face of Christ! They are spitting in His face.” Richard replied, “If I do so, you lose your husband.” She replied, “I don’t wish to have a coward as a husband.”

At every corner we see more and more that evil and wickedness are being bold. At every corner there is a temptation to compromise. Look at the time we live in. Why should we be ashamed if we live in a society where they say that gender is a social construct. It has nothing to do with biology.

I remember at work during Pride Month they set aside a block of time where several employees were going to share their testimony their story on how they became an ally. I did not attend and remained at my desk to do my job. How much more should we testify for what Christ has done in our lives?!

We need to pray for boldness this is what Paul is calling us to do. Going through this passage really convicted me because I asked myself how often do I pray prior to sharing the gospel?

In those moments where I know that I am going to talk to this person about cross. Do I pray? I definitely pray before I serve at the mens homeless shelter, before I preach. How about when I am at the workplace? At the gym? At the grocery store?

We need boldness. We need God’s Spirit this is where we start to pray in the Spirit. You say God help me. What do I say? What do I pray about right now? Give me boldness to preach the gospel.

Can I tell you it is as easy as asking someone a simple question. How can I pray for you? If they tell you how. Can I pray for you right now?

You can be like the woman at the well who was the very first evangelist and all she did was bring people to Jesus. Invite someone to church.

Last but not least. The bible says that we conquer by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. Each and everyone us has a story. How we were dead in our sin. Living for ourselves. We had a revelation of who we are in light of who God is and we turned from our sin. By the grace of God choosing each day to live for him and die to self.

You don’t have to have a Masters in Apologetics, you don’t have to be Steve Fendley. The Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you. God raised you from the dead and world needs to hear your story of what God did in your life.

I have made up my mind that if someone asks me what are my pronouns I am going to tell them sinner/saint then preach the gospel.