Prayer Warrior Series

Ephesians 6:18 [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, (ESV)

A report out of North Korea this week tells of a 17 year old girl, Sookyung Kang, who took a 3,000 mile journey from North Korea to freedom because she wanted to worship and pray to God. Kang lived in North Korea’s Ryanggang province, on the country’s northern border with China. She took this dangerous journey because of the active effort of spiritual oppression from North Korea’s Communist Party, which tries to keep control people by convincing them its leaders are gods. Sookyung said I am so thankful for the freedom (to worship and pray). My heart is full of gratitude,”. “I came to South Korea with this purpose.”(https://www.christianpost.com/news/17-year-old-north-korean-defector-travelled-3000-miles-to-pray.html?fbclid=IwAR0vZp2UxkqYIDH-I8nNxCjdGXs64UtMTDuffq3sYZlyxqZcOifSGJD3UCY)

The great spiritual warfare in which we are engaged demands unceasing and diligent commitment to prayer. That is exactly what the apostle Paul says as he closes his appeal for Christians to put on the full armor of God. Putting on, taking up, and receiving God’s armor all require an attitude of dependence on God. Prayer for strengthening from God can be seen as a major way in which believers appropriate the divine armor and are enabled to stand (Lincoln, A. T. (1990). Ephesians (Vol. 42, p. 452). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.).

It is especially easy for Christians who live in a free and prosperous society to feel secure just as they are, presuming on instead of depending on God’s grace. It is easy to become so satisfied with physical blessings that we have little desire for spiritual blessings, and to become so dependent on our physical resources that we feel little need for spiritual resources. A happy marriage, where children are well behaved and all are enjoying a church that is growing, tends to make people smug and self–satisfied. They can even become practical humanists, living as if God were not necessary. When that happens, passionate longing for God and yearning for His help will be missing—along with God’s empowerment. It is because of this great and common danger that Paul closes this epistle with an urgent call to prayer. Equipping ourselves with God’s armour is not a mechanical operation; it is itself an expression of our dependence on God, in other words of prayer (Stott, J. R. W. (1979). God’s new society: the message of Ephesians (p. 283). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.).

Focusing on Ephesians 6:18, as representative of verses 18-24, the Apostle Paul calls for believers to be Prayer Warrior’s , in the fight of faith. In this he specifies the 1) Frequency (Ephesians 6:18a) , 2), Power (Ephesians 6:18b) 3) Variety (Ephesians 6:18c) , 4) Manner (Ephesians 6:18d), and the 5) Objects of prayer (Ephesians 6:18e).

To be a Prayer Warrior in the fight of faith, believers must understand:

1) The Frequency of Prayer (Ephesians 6:18a)

Ephesians 6:18a [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), (ESV)

Please turn to Matthew 6

For one to be praying at all times obviously does not mean we are to pray in formal or noticeable ways every waking moment of our lives. Jesus did not do that, nor did the apostles. And it certainly does not mean we are to devote ourselves to ritualistic patterns and forms of prayer that are recited mechanically from a prayer book or while counting beads. That amounts to no more than the “meaningless repetition”. To be praying “praying at all times/On all occasions” (en panti kairo) suggests that the believer will be in constant prayer in preparation for the battle as well as in the engagement itself. But it is in the critical hour of encounter that such support is most required (cf. “the day of evil” in v. 13). ( Wood, A. S. (1981). Ephesians. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Ephesians through Philemon (Vol. 11, p. 89). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)

Jesus directed warned against mindless prayer:

Matthew 6:5-8 [5]"And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. [6] But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. [7]"And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. [8] Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (ESV)