Ephesians 6:18-20
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Many commentators end the armor of God section of Paul’s letter at verse 17, because Paul then begins to talk about prayer. But Paul’s request for prayer follows closely on his description of the armor showing that, at least in his own mind, the two are closely connected.
And that makes sense. Prayer is the thermonuclear weapon in the Christian’s arsenal, tearing down strongholds, facilitating miracles, and opening the floodgates of heaven. No wonder that he urged the Ephesians to pray constantly with all kinds of prayers and requests! To fail to do so would be to leave untouched God’s great resources at a time when thy were sorely needed.
Paul also urges that those prayers be made “in the Spirit.” This doesn’t mean to pray passionately or in some kind of trance. It means to pray while in communion with God through the presence of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, with a direct line of communication existing between the pray-er and Him.
Some people, then as now, tended to recite prayers without the mind or the heart being involved (Matthew 6:7-8). But for those who pray in the Spirit, the mind is powerfully focused, the heart moves the prayer strongly forward, and the faith of the pray-er lays hold of what he or she is praying for, especially since the Holy Spirit can actively guide the one praying so that they pray in accordance with God’s will. He can even take up the prayer on the believer’s behalf when words fail them (Romans 8:26).
While they are busy praying in the Spirit, Paul asks that the Ephesians include him and his situation. Due to the upbeat tone of this letter, it is easy to forget that Paul wrote it while he was under house arrest in Rome, chained to guards while he waited for his hearing before the emperor Nero. His prayer request was not for safety, but for boldness in preaching the gospel to everyone with whom he had contact.
Father, I’m afraid that far too many of us have grown used to our prayers going unanswered, so we begin to see prayer, not as the powerful and effective weapon of spiritual warfare that Paul describes, but as something that we all try to do, but that very few do effectively. Lord, break that image in our minds. Shake us out of our complacent prayers, and move us toward lifting up powerful and effective prayers in the Spirit – prayers that open the floodgates of all your power and infinite supply, so that we can do Your kingdom work powerfully and effectively, to Your eternal glory. Amen.