Last time I left you with this thought – we have a weapon for every tool of the devil, but he has no weapon for the one weapon we have – the word of God!
William Gurnall said, “We must not confide in the armor of God, but in the God of the armor, because all our weapons are only mighty through God.”
Michael Godard is a SBC Medic Missionary to Africa for 12 years. From time to time he would get on his bike and travel through the jungle to a nearby city to get more supplies. It was a 2 day trip so he would sleep in the jungle. During one of his trips, he came across 2 men fighting and one was hurt very badly, so he took care of his wounds the best he could, and then shared the gospel before traveling on.
The next time Michael took this trip to the city, the man he had treated approached him and said, “I know you carry money and medicine me and my friends followed you into the jungle that night after you treated me. We waited for you to make camp and go to sleep, because we were planning to kill you for your money and medicine. As we moved in on your site we saw 26 armed guards surrounding you, and only 6 of us so we left.”
Then Michael said to the man, “But that’s impossible because I always travel the jungle alone and there were not 26 men with me that night.” The tribesman said, “But we were only 5 feet from the campsite in the bushes and we know what we saw!”
When Michael was back at his home church in Michigan he told the church of his experience. A man in the congregation interrupted Michael during his presentation and said, “We were with you in spirit! On that night in Africa it was morning here. I stopped here at church to load up my car with some supplies and then I sensed the Lord leading me to pray for you and so I called other leaders and in minutes we were praying for you!” Then this man turned to the congregation and asks, “Men, those of you that prayed with me, please stand right now.” One by one they stood and it was 26 men standing!
James 4:7 “Resist (stand) the devil and he will flee (escape) from you”
Why is this so important? Remember in the “wiles of the devil” in Ephesians 6:11 – without the armor we can’t stand and without prayer we won’t endure on the battlefield!
2 Timothy 2:3, 4 “You must endure hardships (methods) as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engages himself in warfare entangles (weaves) himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please Him who enlisted him as a soldier.”
“Entangles” = the domination of the affairs of this world over the domination of kingdom of God first and foremost!
Folks, if you haven’t figured it out by now, God wants us complete in His weaponry, competent on the battlefield and conquering the enemy!
That brings us to our verses today! This is key - between verse 17 and 18 there is no break! If we take the punctuation out then it says, “Take up the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit praying always...”
Prayer’s 5 Keys That We Must Use In Warfare:
1. Prayer’s Vigilance. Vs. 18a
“Praying always” “Being watchful”
A fisherman who was out of fellowship with the Lord was at sea with his heathen buddies when a huge storm came out of nowhere and was close to destroying their small ship. His friends begged him to do anything, even pray, but he said to his buddies, “It’s been a long time since I’ve done that or even gone to church”. Finally they were desperate for anything, so he said O.K. and prayed, “O Lord, I haven’t asked anything for you for 15 years, and if you help us now and bring us to safety, I promise I won’t bother you for another 15 years!”
In times of war every soldier must be alert for the enemy!
“Always” = (kairos) has a fascinating meaning “a decisive and crucial season or time”
Esther 4:14 “…Who knows whether you have come into the kingdom for such a time as this?”
For every person, every people, every nation and in every age, Satan tries to alter God’s timing and plans so that we come up short again and again!
Vigilant prayers are what bust the yoke of bondage, break the bonds of brokenness, crush the confusion surrounding your life and looses the lies Satan has wrapped your life up in!
Luke 22:31, 32 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you…that your faith may not fail...” NASB
Folks - if we are not battling through prayer over our children or our spouse, we’re doing a serious disservice to them and ourselves!
2. Prayer’s Variety. Vs. 18b
“With all prayer and supplication” (we have a full arsenal of weaponry just in prayer alone)
“Supplication”= special times of needs. It originated with slavery, as a slave would make a special request for freedom or favor.
Hebrews 5:7 “In the days of His flesh, He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears...”
In life, we need to know what the best and most effective prayer is in order to protect us and our family - our marriage and spiritual walk.
Deliverance prayers… Mark 9:14-19 – Prayer stops demonic activity!
Healing prayers…
Intercessory prayer…
3. Prayer’s Vitality. Vs. 18c
“In the Spirit”
Jude 20 “Beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.”
When we pray, that’s when the energy and power comes to wear the armor and use the sword! How many of us treat pray as a hobby, or favorite sport that is done on the weekend? Many Christians treat their walk with Jesus that way?
Elizabeth Elliot wrote, “Seldom do we consider the nature of our opponent, and that is to his advantage. When we do not recognize him for who he is, we have an inkling as to why prayer is never easy. It’s the weapon that the unseen powers dread the most, and if he can get us to treat it as casually as we treat a pair of skis, or a tennis racquet, he can keep his hold.”
“But Pastor, I feel bad when I don’t know what to pray for sometimes?” Listen, you are not at your weakest you are at your strongest…
Romans 8:26 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” NIV
4. Prayer’s Voice. Vs. 19a
“That utterance may be given to me”
When we are prayed up look out! Christians must have a voice in society! When we are prayed up then we will speak up!
Luke 21:15 “For I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to reply.” NLT
It’s a sin for God fearing people to remain silent when God forgetting people are trying to take captive a nation with lies and deception!
Dietrich Bonhoeffer said this about the Nazi regime before he was killed at the orders of Hitler, “The deceit, the lie of the devil, consists of this; that he wishes to make man believe that he can live without God’s word.”
5. Prayer’s Victory. Vs. 19b, 20
“Open my mouth boldly to make known the mysteries of the gospel.”
What good is a soldier with all his gear but is still gutless? Our armor is only as good as our fearlessness!
Acts 4:23-31
So you say, “But that’s for the apostles, not me!” Think again!
Acts 12:3-16
When was the last time we prayed to bring victory to someone else’s life?
2 Corinthians 5:20 “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” NIV
John Bunyan (Pilgrim’s Progress) said, “Prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God and a scourge to Satan.”
