Prayerful Protection || Underneath the Armor #7

I wasn’t expecting to do this. Yet, the Spirit talked to me during my studies for “Manna for the Mind,” and I came across Ephesians 6:18, which talks about the power of prayer. This follows Paul’s discussion about the Armor of God, leading me to think: “Prayer is a part of the armor, isn’t it?”  I sat there and resonated with that belief for a while and started feeling more confident. So, I thought that it should be added to my “Underneath the Armor” series. Here we are!

Welcome to the bonus blog of our “Underneath the Armor” series! This series is about the Armor of God, as discussed by Paul in Ephesians 6:10-20. Each week is about a different piece of armor, what it represents, and how the Bible discusses the themes of the armor. I break down the original Greek that Paul wrote to create a clear understanding of what he said. Today’s passage is Ephesians 6:18-20, which centers around prayer. It says:

18         Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

19         And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike.

20         I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.

You might wonder, “How can I pray at all times, every time?” One way of doing that is to make quick, brief prayers a habit. Prayers don’t have to be elaborate, eloquent, wordy, etc. A typical prayer I have comes when I’m out walking, I see someone who looks like they’re struggling, or a driver goes by me intensely or makes crazy maneuvers. I’ll say, “God, be with that person.” That’s it. God knows what’s going on with that person. It could be nothing, or it could be something. I wanted to pray for them to know that someone out there is looking out for them. These prayers are a habit, though I struggle with it. These prayers are where you can simply request God’s help or celebrate the world around you. You can also use these prayers to order your life around God’s wants and teachings. Doing this makes your life a constant prayer.

You don’t have to isolate yourself from others and from your daily routines to pray consistently. You find ways to do it alongside your routines. You do it because of your routines, too. You can make prayer your life, and your life is a prayer. We need to pray for all people, for the church (both little “c” and capital “c”), and for the world at large. Paul was doing that, though, from prison. Paul didn’t ask the Ephesians to pray for his chains to be removed. Paul wanted prayers to continue his ministry, speaking fearlessly for Christ. God uses us in any circumstance, just like he used Paul from prison. Even as we pray for a change in our circumstances, we must pray that God will accomplish his will through us in whatever season we’re in. Knowing that God calls us to a specific purpose for growing the Kingdom, we can look at our situations through his loving lens and help us through difficult times.

A couple of the series I’ll be doing (as of writing this) will be on topics that I struggle with: lustful thinking and sexual immorality. The series will be out and finished, I believe, by the time you’re reading, so I don’t want you to panic and think, “Oh my gosh! He has something wrong with him.” I’ve been recognizing lately that those terms are thrown around haphazardly in Christian culture, allowing everything to fit under one umbrella. However, the Bible speaks in definitiveness and in generalizations, which has made me question: “What is considered lustful thinking? What is considered sexual immorality? Is the context those are taught in lost in our culture today? How do they apply in our culture today?” Not knowing the answers to these questions has caused me to question, panic, and feel anxious about today. However, we can understand how to live with it once we know. We don’t have to fearmonger those topics but help people embrace what they are and how they apply to their lives. I say all this as an affirmation of God using us in our situations and our struggles to find solidarity and community with God and each other.

That solidarity will be found through the Holy Spirit, which Paul talks about in Romans 8:26-27:

26         And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed into words.

27         And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.

As believers, we’re not left to our resources to cope with problems. We don’t have to fear and worry about trying to solve our problems alone. Even when we don’t know what to say in our prayers, the Holy Spirit can speak on our behalf to pray with and for us, and God will respond. With God helping us pray, there’s no need to be afraid to go before him. When you’re struggling to pray, ask the Holy Spirit to intercede for you “in harmony with God’s own will.” Then, when you bring your requests to God, trust that he will always do what’s best. You may wonder, ” Why must I do all that? Doesn’t God know what’s on my heart?” The answers are you don’t and yes. No one forces you to do all that. However, God wants you to do that. God wants to hear from you to help strengthen your relationship. That’s why we shouldn’t rely on what’s on our hearts. While God does know what’s there, God wants to hear from you directly. He wants to hear from you what you want to celebrate and what you need to request. What’s directly said from your lips is what’s directly responded to by God, just on his own time.

Philippians 4:6-7 talks about what you should say. We’ll focus on verse 6, but verse 7 provides context. It says:

6            Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

7            Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Imagine never having to worry about everything. It sounds like a dream, but we all have worries. We worry about our jobs, our homes, our schools, etc. Paul’s advice for us is to turn our worries into prayers. So, if you want to worry less, then pray more. Whenever you begin worrying, pray. Listen to what God says to you, and thank him for all his excellent work. The simple way I try to do this is to share at least one piece of gratitude and share at least one request. Then pause for a bit (whatever makes sense in your situation) and listen for that still, small voice.

Colossians 4:2-4 talks about how our prayer life should be:

2            Devote yourselves to pray with an alert mind and a thankful heart.

3            Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains.

4            Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should.

Prayer may be something that feels tiring, boring, worthless, etc. Paul wants us to devote ourselves to prayer and be alert and ready to pray. Our prayer life often reflects our faith that God answers them. Faith shouldn’t fade if the answers come slowly, for God’s time may be the way of working out his will for us. When you feel tired of praying, remember that God sees you, knows what you need, always listens, and wants to do great work through you. He will always respond. It may not be how you thought it would, but it’ll be in ways that he knows are best for you. Prayer works as much as your faith believes it’ll work. There have been many prayers, both spoken and not, that have been answered in my life. Job situations, relationships, health concerns, etc. Sometimes, it was immediate; sometimes, it took months to years. However, the answered prayers come with reflection and trust that if God did it before, he will do it again.

The ”mysterious plan” mentioned in verse three refers to Christ’s Good News of salvation, the Gospel. Paul’s whole focus was sharing that news about Christ with others, explaining and preaching this wonderful mystery. The comparisons between Paul and me may be more accurate than I thought. Anyway!

Paul prayed that he could share the Good News about Christ clearly. We can request and ask ourselves to do the same. Paul was in chains, making him unable to travel or preach from prison. However, he still shared the Gospel with the guards and wrote letters of encouragement to the other churches. We might not preach or write theological letters like Paul, but we can use other ways to share God’s love. We can befriend neighbors, greet guests at church, and share meals with those around us. This can feel crazy difficult for us at times, especially when it comes to sharing our faith. Yet, Paul gives us the formula to do this.

First, start with something easy. Ask, “What’s your name?”, “How was your day?” or “Can I help you with that? Then, listen for answers that reveal more about the person’s needs than the surface answer to your questions. They may be open to discussing your beliefs and why as you share your compassion with them. Before any of that can occur, pray that God can bring people to you who are interested in learning about Jesus.

I hope you enjoyed this bonus message! I’ll be back to our regularly schedule blogs starting tomorrow. Until then, stay blessed!