“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
saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, 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” (Ephesians
6:18-20).
Paul has just finished a description of putting on the whole
armor of God for strength to fight the wiles of the devil. He finishes with
taking up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Now he turns to
prayer and praying at all times for all things continuously. This is one of the concepts, principles or
commands in scripture that seems to be beyond human capability. I can’t do anything
continuously. For quite a while in my
life it seemed that I could complain and grumble. Thanks be to God, I no longer do this. But, to continuously pray? Paul takes this even further in 1 Thessalonians
5:16 by saying, “Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” Being joyful and giving thanks for
all things also seem impossible without God’s help.
Paul’s teaching on God’s behalf is throughout his writings.
In Romans 1:9-10 he says, “God, whom I serve with my whole heart in
preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in
my prayers at all times…” Paul
says in 1 Thessalonians 2:13 that “we also thank God continually.” This theme continues to the
Colossians in 1:3, “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray
for you…” Paul gives a clear
indication of how important this is by teaching his protégé Timothy, “I
thank God, who I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as
night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.” (2 Timothy
1:3).
So perhaps for this admonition we need to ask the Holy
Spirit for strength. This is what it means to pray in the Holy Spirit using the
Scripture or the sword of the Spirit. Praying in the Scripture gives us the
power of God’s Word through the Holy Spirit. So, we can praise God as the
Psalmist saying, “My praise shall continually be of thee…” (Ps 71:6). Or as Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through
Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the
fruit of lips that confess his name.”
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts.