Ephesians 6:18

And so I want to speak tonight from really the last part of the whole armour of God.

And I'm not convinced it is really the armour of God, although I'm not treated that way.

! So verse 18, 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 the words may be given me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the Gospel.

For which I'm an ambassador in chains that I may declare it boldly as I ought to speak.

Praying at all times in the Spirit.

So is it armour or not?

Well, I think what I want to say is that as you think of this Christian warfare,

that in many ways this is the most important weapon of all.

If it's not a weapon, it's certainly the foundation of all the others.

And so each piece you put on with prayer.

So if you look at verse 14, you pray as you put on the belt of truth.

And you pray as you put on the breastplate of righteousness.

And you pray as you put those shoes on your feet that are given readiness by the Gospel of Peace.

And you pray as you grab hold of the shoes of faith.

You pray as you put on the helmet of salvation.

And you pray as you hold the sword of the Spirit.

Because if you don't, none of them will work.

None of them will work.

If the Christian life is a battle, which I want to maintain that it is, and I hope you do as well.

If the Christian life is a battle,

if we are soldiers,

it is of the utmost importance that the lines of communication

with our Captain, the Lord Jesus, who is the Captain of our salvation,

are upheld.

If communication breaks down in a war,

it ends in disorder and disaster.

And our communication line is prayer.

And again, we've seen, and we acted quite healthily,

that the Lord Jesus is the great example in all of these things.

And so we see the Lord Jesus, don't we, often in prayer.

Matthew's Gospel presents the Lord Jesus as a king who goes forth into battle.

And at every point, and particularly at the crisis points,

we see the king at prayer.

And so when the Lord Jesus is baptised,

he is praying.

He prays after works of healing.

He prays before choosing the twelve,

after the great achievement of feeding the five thousands.

We see him at prayer when he was very busy indeed,

at the very time when we usually need prayer out.

We see him pray in the transfiguration.

We see him in prayer in the upper room of his disciples.

We see him praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.

We see him praying at the cross.

And the Lord Jesus left us an example to follow in his steps.

This prayer is both defensive and attacking, isn't it?

And so when we pray defensively,

when we are asking the Lord to protect us,

or to protect our loved ones,

even that is an attack on Satan.

Even a defensive prayer is attacking.

It foils Satan's designs upon God's people.

Every defence is an attack.

Remember the Lord Jesus with Simon Peter.

Jesus said to him,

Simon, Simon, Satan has desired to have you,

that he may sift you as wheat,

but I have prayed for you,

that your faith may not fire.

And that is Christ, isn't it?

Making use of this weapon of all prayer.

I can see.

To protect Peter.

I can see.

I think what Paul has in mind

is a kind of attacking nature of prayer.

It's a positive thing.

I say that because of verse 19.

Because then he says,

pray for me.

Pray for me that words may be given to me

in opening my mouth boldly

to proclaim the mystery of the gospel

as I wield the sword of the spirit.

In other words,

he gives in verse 19

an instance of what it means

to pray as an integral part

of proclamation of the gospel.

Three points.

First of all,

the word always.

Can you see that?

Praying at all times.

Pray always.

That's something that Paul says again,

listening in 1 Thessalonians 5,

it's an echo of that passage,

pray without ceasing.

There's an echo again

of our Lord's words in New Chapter 80

that men ought always to pray

and not to give up.

You have a parable in view

of the unjust judge

in Luke 18.

And the widow goes to him

and goes to him again.

At the start of Luke 18,

Jesus says,

he tells that parable

so that you ought always to pray

and not to give up.

But it's interesting,

in Luke 17,

before that,

you have this pattern

of tribulation

and trouble

and distress

and difficult times.

That's the end of Luke 17.

And then straight away

in Chapter 18,

Jesus says,

I tell you this parable

that you ought always to pray

and not to give up.

But Paul is saying

exactly the same thing

in Ephesians 6.

He's saying,

in the midst of this battle,

can you see it?

The end of verse 13,

stand firm.

Start of verse 14,

stand therefore.

Keep standing.

In the midst of this battle,

stand,

and you are to pray

at all times.

Now, this can't mean,

can it,

that you and I tonight

think, right,

we've got to pray

a little bit more tomorrow.

It can't mean that.

That's a good thing to do,

if you want to do that.

But I don't think

it means that.

And I don't think

it means about us

going into our closet,

as Jesus would say,

and praying.

Jesus teaches us,

that all of us

should have a time

and a place

where we get along

with God.

Each of us

should have a time

of prayer

and a place of prayer.

But there is also

such a thing

as a spirit of prayer.

There's an attitude

of prayer.

And so,

some of you

have work tomorrow.

And some of you

have school tomorrow.

And some of you

have duties tomorrow

that you are unavoidable.

Some of you

have appointments tomorrow

that you can't get out on.

You cannot always

be in the secret place.

You can't neglect

the duties that God

has given you,

whether they be at home

or whether they be at work.

There is a spirit of prayer

and an attitude of prayer.

And this verse

is telling us

that we can be praying

always.

So if that is so,

what does it apply to

and what does it imply?

And it implies this,

it is the quality

of our lives.

What we are

that will determine

our prayer

and our contact

with God.

And our ability

to draw

on the divine resources.

It is a moral reference.

So what I'm trying

to say is this,

if we are right people,

we will pray always.

And if we're not

right people

and the right with God,

we will not

and we cannot pray.

And so this isn't

giving you techniques

on how to pray

or what to pray for.

But what we are

when we pray

is decisive.

It's saying to you

and I,

very challengingly,

our life is our prayer.

And if our life

is not right,

neither will our prayer

be right.

And that's

the importance

of the first part

of Ephesians.

That Paul is so

concerned with me

that we should

enter into

all our wealth

in Christ

and make it our own.

So look at

chapter 1

and verse 3.

Blessed be the God

and Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ

who has blessed us

in Christ

with every

spiritual blessing

in the heavenly realms.

and we are

to make

those blessings

of Christ

our own.

Because then

we will be right.

And so here is

a believer

who is living

close to God.

Here is a believer

who has exposed

her life

to the discipline

of the word of God

to the sword

of the spirit.

Here is a Christian

and she has let

God's word

do its work

and actually

it's been quite costly.

but she has responded

and been renewed

and been transformed

within

and God's word

continues

to shape

and to challenge her.

And she is

a crucified woman

day by day.

And that life

in practical terms

is a living sacrifice

to God

that is holy

and acceptable.

That life

that she lives

is a constant prayer.

God hears

that life.

It's a wonderful

thought isn't it?

It speaks

to God

that life.

And it speaks

with God

you see

and that is

the secret

to prayer.

He said

you would love me

and I would love

to find

10 great keys

to making prayer

easier.

You would love that

and I would love it.

If I could give you

top 10 tips

on prayer

have you heard that?

those kind of talks.

But actually

they're not very helpful.

What is the secret

of the prayer giants

in the Bible?

Men who move

the world

from God.

It's what they were

that really matters.

So you think

of Elijah

on Mount Carmel.

A simple

sentence of prayer

brings the fire

of God down.

but it wasn't

just a simple

sentence was it?

It was the prayer

of his life.

Elijah speaks

to God

in that way.

Moses,

Abraham,

a life.

And that is

what Paul means

by praying

always.

That if we are

living like that

we will be

praying always.

Our lives

will be

sending

signal

up to God.

what is

prayer?

Prayer is

being conformed

to the mind

of Christ.

So Philippians

to let this

mind be in you

which was

in Christ Jesus.

It is intimacy

and fellowship

with God.

And so

we'll never

pray

unless we're

a certain

type of person.

For you to go

home tonight

and think

well I'm just

going to pray

a little bit

more every day

you've missed

the point.

Praying more

has its place.

But God

is looking

on the life.

And it is

a life

that speaks

and not a

voice

like a

little

like that.

What we

are.

That prayer

really is

the end

product

of the

discipline

of our

souls

by the

word and

the

spirit of

God.

And so

if we are

willing to

open ourselves

unreservedly

to the

soul of

God's

spirit

in our

hearts

that will

make us

into praying

men and

women.

Paul goes

on to say

this and

secondly

we pray at

all times

in the

spirit

with all

prayer and

supplication

to that end

keep alert

of all

perseverance

making

supplications

for all

the saints.

The end

of that

verse I

want you

to see

that I

think it's

very very

helpful that

we are to

pray for

all the

saints.

I do

I despair

of emails

coming in

for prayer

letters.

There's a

great story of

John Chapman

the Australian

evangelist who

went all the

missionary magazines

were coming

and once a

month he'd

pick them all

up because

he'd sign up

them all and

he'd walk to

the bin and

he'd say

Lord bless

them all.

And I

do a great

work with

Barber's Fund

Release

International

and Open

Doors.

I just

can't pray

for all

of them.

And so

you read

the end of

verse 18

all the

saints.

Well there's

millions of

Christians.

How do I

do that?

I think it's

really striking.

Paul could

have talked

about what

was going

on in

Ephesus.

He could

have pointed

them to

the spiritual

battle that

they were

facing.

He could

have talked

about their

needs but

he doesn't

because Paul's

mind is on

something different.

His mind is

on outward

objective

prayer rather

than inward

subjective

prayer.

prayer.

And what I

mean by that

is naturally

our prayers

focus on

ourselves

and on

our

personal

concerns.

And

prayer is

not to be

used exclusively

or primarily

for our

personal

battle.

I think

that's what

Paul is

getting at.

I'm not

saying that

you don't

pray for

yourself.

I'm not

saying that

you don't

pray for

your loved

ones.

But I

am saying

that prayer

is not

to be used

exclusively

and primarily

for our

personal

battle.

Now where

do I get

that from?

I think

you get

that from

the Lord's

prayer.

So when

you pray

the Lord

Jesus says

say our

Father who

is in

heaven

hallowed

be your

name

your

kingdom

come

your

will be

done

on earth

as it

is in

heaven.

What is

the first

part of

that prayer

about?

The first

part of

that prayer

is about

God

isn't it?

And the

first part

of the

Lord's

prayer

are taken

up with

the things

of God

and the

concerns

of God

and their

concerns

with the

honour

and the

glory of

God's

great

name

and the

coming

of God's

kingdom

and God's

will being

done.

And it's

only then

when that

divine order

is established

that personal

needs come

in.

And so

then he

says give

us this

day our

daily bread.

Forgive us

our trespasses.

Deliver us

from evil.

And that

cuts across

doesn't it

by natural

heart.

Because when

there's a

time of

testing and

a time of

trouble or

a time of

pressure,

my

tendencies,

I become

preoccupied

with my

own battle.

When I'm

really struggling

with temptation,

I can so

easily just

concentrate on

my own

needs and

my own

pressures.

But don't

concentrate your

prayers on

that.

Pray not

just for

yourself,

but for

all the

saints.

And the

more I've

thought about

this week,

the more I

can understand

why.

I think

we can

hear Paul

saying that

self-preoccupying

prayer leads

to morbidity.

Leads to

morbidity.

So let me

tell you,

this is the

very worst

thing that you

can do

sometimes is

to pray

about your

temptations.

And the

very worst

thing that you

can do

sometimes is

to pray

about your

sins.

things.

Because when

you pray

about them,

you focus

your attention

on them,

and you

get bogged

down with

them.

And Paul's

advice here

is really

to say

this,

your personal

battle,

join your

personal battle

to the great

battle.

Strike a

blow for

the larger

cause.

Look at

the main

strategy of

what God

is doing,

not the

tiny little

bits.

That is

your problem,

isn't it?

So the

struggle in

my Christian

life,

and in

yours,

is very

real.

I look back

at this year,

and what

grand have

I gained?

Millimetres,

not even

inch by

inch.

What

progress

have I

made?

But I

must lift

my eyes

to the

kingdom of

Christ,

and I

see that

my struggle

is just

one tiny

little

cabbage patch

in the

field of

God's

war.

Paul's

advice is

to relate

your battle

to the

battle,

and strike

a blow

for the

larger

cause.

Look at

the main

strategy,

Paul says.

Relate,

says Paul,

your little

battle,

and they

are real,

I'm not

minimising

that,

your battle

to the

main

battle.

And ask

yourself,

why are you

under attack?

And ask

yourself,

why are you

struggling?

Why are you

under

pressure?

What

relation does

this attack

upon literally

you have

with the

great cosmic

battle in

the heavenly

places?

What does

this have to

do with the

larger purposes

of God?

And it may

be tonight that

you're in

really deep

waters,

we meet

here tonight

in different

states,

different

tunnels,

tunnels,

but they

can all

of them

be related

to a

larger

work

on a

bigger

canvas

and you're

part in

it.

And you

pray for

the larger

work that

it may go

forward and

be fulfilled

and when it

does,

we'll be

carried along

with it.

And we

will find

our little

problem dealt

with in the

larger victory.

Let me try

and illustrate it.

Let's say

that God

plans a

work of

grace in

a congregation.

He plans

to do a

work where

he'll bless

a church

family.

When God

begins a

work,

he's never

in a hurry

to do that,

we know

that,

don't we?

And Satan,

he sets out

to frustrate it.

Behind the

scenes,

that's what's

going on.

We don't

see that,

but that's

behind the

scenes what

is going

on.

And so

in the

concrete

situation,

what we

see,

we suddenly

see various

people come

under pressure

in different

ways.

One believer

suffers with

terrible

temptations.

is in

deep,

deep water

and another

believer has

got a

major

crisis in

her home.

Another

believer has

got terrible

trouble in

work.

One

Christian is

passing

through doubt

and difficulty.

One is just

being gripped by

a really

dark,

dark,

dark

discouragement.

There's one

believer and

they just

seem to slack

off completely

in their

commitment.

there's another

believer that

suddenly is

very,

very sick

and so

on.

And on

the surface

they bear

no relation

to each

other.

But that

is how

the enemy

works.

Well at

first they

don't know

that they're

not aware of

God's plans

of grace.

They're just

aware of their

own personal

problems and

they cry out

to God

about it.

please

sort this

out Lord

please

deal with

it.

Please

Lord

take it

away.

And Paul

says to

you look

up for a

moment and

see the

wider horizon

and ask

yourself why

is this

happening to

me?

And of

course that's

where the

advantage of

the real

fellowship

comes in.

Fellowship

means sharing

it is

certainly

not the

will of

God that

in a time

of trouble

we should

lock up our

problems in

our own

hearts and

share them

with nobody.

Now what

is fellowship?

Fellowship is

bearing one

another's

burdens.

It is

opening up

to your

brothers and

sisters.

And when

they are

shared it

is there

isn't there

that there

is the

possibility

of people

putting two

and two

together

so and

so is

under fire.

She is

really struggling.

Why are all

these things

happening?

Well this is

the enemy's

strategy.

And Paul

says ask

these questions

and see

where your

problems fit

into the

wider strategy

of God.

And pray

for all

the saints.

Get into

gear for the

main battle

the real

battle.

play your

part in it.

Let your

own victory

be won

by looking

to the

greater

victory.

Play your

part in

the big

battle.

It's a

great way

to think.

It's a

great way

to live

next time

you're under

pressure

related to

the work

of the

church.

Think of

the church

as a

unit.

God

has unified

us into

a

working

fighting

force.

So no

attack

comes to

you

personally

out of

relation

to

anything

else.

It is

all in

relation to

what we're

committed

to and we

pray for

the larger

work.

Remember

what God

is doing

in the

world.

Thirdly

and lastly

pray for

me.

Paul says

to his name.

Jesus

actually focuses

in pray

for me

that words

may be

given to

me

opening

my

mouth

boldly

to

proclaim

the

mystery

of

the

gospel.

He gives

a particular

instance

and a

particular

example.

Focus

your

prayers.

Here he

says

and this

will give

the gospel

word

power to

make inroads

into the

kingdom

of darkness

and it

will help

you.

So see

the pattern.

Paul is

gently

and firmly

lifting the

Ephesian

hearts and

minds

from their

own woes

but related

he says

to the

greater

work.

Here is

the

spearhead

the

preaching

of the

gospel.

He writes

from

Corinth

he's up

against it

in Corinth.

Do you

remember

what he

says

in

Thessalonians

pray for

me

that I

may be

given

boldness

sorry

two

Thessalonians

chapter

three

verses

one

and two

finally

brothers

pray for

us

that the

word of

the

Lord

may

speed

ahead

and be

honored

as

happened

among

you

and that

we may

be

delivered

from

wicked

and

evil

men

but not

all

have

faith.

What's

he praying

there?

He's

praying

that the

word of

the

Lord

may

run.

It's

the kind

of prayer

that will

set the

gospel

word

word

like a

fire

blazing

through

the

place.

He said

I want

you to

pray that

the

word of

the

gospel

might

have

free

course

like

wild

fire.

Remains

true

after

20

centuries

doesn't

it?

there is

one

effectual

way

for the

work of

God

to be

done.

You can

have

the

finest

orator

you can

have

the

greatest

rhetorician

but if

there isn't

prayer

behind the

preaching

it will

fall to

the

ground.

Every

preacher

is entitled

as of

right to

plead with

his people

and say

pray for

me that

I may

speak

as I

ought

to.

2 Corinthians

4 that

great

passage

talks

about

the

gospel

being

veiled.

He

says

even if

our

gospel

is

veiled

it is

veiled

to those

who are

perishing

in their

case the

God of

this world

has blinded

the minds

of unbelievers

to keep

them from

seeing the

light of

the gospel

of the

glory of

Christ

who is

the

image

of

God.

For

what we

proclaim

is not

ourselves

but

Jesus

Christ

as

Lord

and

ourselves

as

your

savants

for

Jesus

sake.

For

God

who

said

let

light

shine

out of

darkness

that

shone

in our

hearts

to give

the

light

and

the

glory

of

God

in the

face

of

Jesus

Christ.

So

what's

Paul

saying

there?

He's

saying

will

you

pray

that

eyes

would

be

opened

that

the

veil

would

be

withdrawn.

It's

the

weapon

of

all

prayer.

Pray

always.

Pray

for all

the

saints.

Pray

for

me.

Pray

always.

It's

a

challenge

for

what

we

are

that

matters.

Not

just

more

prayer.

Pray

for

all

the

saints

which

means

relating

our

battle

to

the

great

battle.

And

then

that

focal

point

pray

for

the

preaching

of

the

gospel.

He

doesn't

mean

utterance.

He

doesn't

mean

eloquence.

You

as

people of

God

here

are

responsible

!

My

responsibility

is to

preach

the word

and to

dig

it.

And

your

responsibility

is to

thrust

the

preacher

of

the

gospel

forward

like

a

sword.

That

preachers

would

speak

boldly.

And

I

cannot

fulfill

my

responsibility

before

God

unless

you

fulfill

yours.

Let's

pray.

Thank you.