EPHESIANS 6:18-24 TO WIN THE BATTLE YOU HAVE TO PRAY

2015-03-04

Eph 6:18 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. 21 But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you; 22 whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts. 23 Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

PRAYER, the means by which we remain "watchful"

Now the fact that it is climactic in the Book of Ephesians is planned by God's Holy Spirit, it is not by accident. Our Lord urged men always to pray and not to faint in Luke 18:1. And He knows that in the battle when it gets hot you can faint, you can get weary, you can give up, you can abandon the fight if you don't pray. You really only have two alternatives, you either pray or faint, there's no middle ground. And so in the warfare that he's just talked about prayer becomes vital. But it's more than just that context. The reason prayer comes here is because it fits the ending of the total book, the whole letter of Ephesians comes to a climax and a peak and a pinnacle at this point in the great anthem of praise that is the book of Ephesians.

We should understand spiritual warfare as influencing life within the church, not just as a personal matter. "Satan trembles when he sees The weakest saint upon his knees."

I want you to see the general instruction in verse 18, and you'll notice there are four all’s.

First of all let's look first of all at the frequency of prayer; When are we to pray? Always

Secondly, we see not only the frequency of prayer but the second “all” shows us the variety of prayer. "Praying always with all prayer and supplication." Now what does he mean by all prayer and all supplication? He means there are general areas of prayer, we pray more generally, and then we also pray specifically

Thirdly, we see the manner of prayer. He says, "Watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication." In other words we are to watch with all perseverance, and again you see the idea of perseverance meaning to stick to it, to stay at it, to hang in there, to continue, to persevere, praying continuously while watching. Prayer is to be alert to the issues, alert to what's happening. Jesus said, "Watch and pray" many times. First Peter 4:7, "Watch unto prayer."

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus taught that we must "watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation" - Mt 26:36-45, 26:51-54, 58, 69-75; Mark 8:29-33, Peter; 1Peter 5:4;

You see God answers prayer to put His power on display; if you don't pray specifically then He can't display Himself.

What Paul is saying is this, “here is the war and it is about the war that you must pray.” It's not easy for you to fight the battle and so I pray for you. Oh, I pray now and then for people's physical things but more than that I pray that God will give you victory, I pray that you'll win the battle against the enemy. I don't really care what happens to my physical body or yours as long as we gain the victory for the glory of God, amen? That's the battle, that's the real issue.

Lose yourselves in the real things that matter, the spiritual battles of other people. Lose yourselves in consuming prayer for the Kingdom of God and you won't have trouble with your little petty anxieties.

There's one final thought in this verse 18, and it's this that when you've said it all, the frequency of prayer, always. The pervasive thought is in the middle of the verse, we are to pray in the Spirit. This does not have anything to do with speaking in tongues, you cannot introduce tongues into this verse.

In Jude 20 it says, "Praying in the Holy Spirit." It is not talking about some ecstasy; it is not talking about some ecstatic language. Praying in the Spirit is the same as praying in the name of Christ, it is praying in consistency with who He is and what His will is. Learn to pray in harmony with the Spirit’s desires.

Then Paul closes with a specific illustration, if you want something specific to pray for, here it is. Verse 19, "Pray for me," what should I pray for Paul? "That utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds; that in this I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." He says, I'm the illustration, pray for me, not my physical needs but my battle, my warfare, pray that God will allow me to be bold and courageous and straight forward and give me utterance.

CONCLUSION

1. When we arm ourselves with;

a. Truth

b. Righteousness

c. The gospel of peace

d. Faith

e. The hope of salvation

f. The word of God

g. Prayer

...then we are "strong in the Lord and in the power of His might"!

- Ep 6:10

2. With such strength, we are able to resist and stand firm against anything Satan might throw against us