Put On Each Piece With Prayer
Ephesians 6:10-13, 18
“Stand up, stand up for Jesus, Stand in His strength alone;
The arm of flesh will fail you, You dare not trust your own.
Put on the gospel armor, Each piece put on with prayer;
Where duty calls or danger, Be never wanting there.”
Prayer is the final component to the Armor of God. It is the source of power that is necessary to enable us not only to stand but to engage the enemy to ultimate victory in Christ. Prayer directs, equips, and empowers us.
I. Prayer is the Communications Link between us and Headquarters
A. Verse 18 – “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”
B. Someone has said that “"Pray can be defined as that spiritual activity in which the child of God engages the Heavenly Father in two-way dialogue.”
C. Prayer is communicating with God.
D. A contributor to Reader’s Digest wrote “During an important military exercise, another Air Force member and I were working in a radar van under a simulated attack. We were under strict orders not to open the door unless we received the secret code, which we had been given at the morning briefing. Later in the day, we heard knocking at the door. Remembering our orders, I yelled out ‘Fort’ and waited for the correct response, ‘Knox.’ It never came. Several minutes later we heard more knocking, but again we didn’t receive the proper response. Over the course of the afternoon, various others came to the door and knocked, but no one gave us the correct password. Proud of ourselves for not being tricked into opening up to the enemy, we later received a phone call from a furious superior officer who told us to open the door immediately. After we explained that we were simply following orders, he informed us that the code was not ‘Fort Knox,’ but ‘four knocks’.” – Contributed by Ssgt. Lynda C. Lovell, Reader’s Digest, July 1997, p. 139
E. While we may laugh at the illustration just mentioned, clear and concise communication is essential to any successful military engagement. When communication has broken down battles have been lost.
F. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
G. Matthew 9:29 tells us that there are certain victories that can never be won without prayer – “So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."
H. Edwin Roy Stuart wrote in The International Military Digest Annual, "Without a good system of communication it is admitted that a commanding officer in battle must resign himself to the role of passive spectator. Hence the importance of this matter in the modern battle." – Cornélis De Witt Willcox, p 447
I. When we do not pray we resign God to the role of Passive Spectator in our lives.
J. Verse 18 (HCSB) - With every prayer and request, pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your intercession for all Christians.
K. On-going prayer is part of the Armor of God! It’s part of God’s plan for us so that we can resist the Devil and the trials of life that would bring us down. The last part of Epesians 6:18 talks about being alert. It is helpful in understanding why God asks us to pray continually. The Greek word used for ‘watchful’ or ’alert’ is gregoreuo , which means vigilance and expectancy. It is the opposite of laxity and indifference - copied.
L. James 1:5 – “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”
II. Prayer is the Supply-Line that brings the necessary frontline provisions
A. Logistics is the lifeblood of any Army. It is the science of planning and carrying out the movement and maintenance of forces. Logistics organize and manage activities that provide goods or services. Logistics means having the right thing, at the right place, at the right time."
B. Logistical prayer is God’s way for us to obtain what we need from Him.
C. There are different divisions of prayers
1. Adoration – Psalm 134:2 “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless (praise) the Lord.”
2. Confession – 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
3. Thanksgiving – Psalm 116:17 “I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, And will call upon the name of the Lord.
4. Supplication - 1Kings 8:59 “And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the Lord, be near the Lord our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day may require.”
D. Philippians 4:6, 19 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God… And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
E. Children’s prayers…
Dear God: Please send a new baby for Mommy. The new baby you sent last week cries too much. - Debie, 7
Dear God: Who did you make smarter? Boys or girls? My sister and I want to know. - Jimmy, 6
Dear God: How many angels are there in heaven? I would like to be the first kid in my class to know the answer. - Norma, 8
Dear God: This is my prayer. Could you please give my brother some brains. So far he doesn’t have any. - Angela, 8
Dear Lord: Thank you for the nice day today. You even fooled the TV weather man. - Hank, 7
Dear God: Please bring me a new brother. The one I got socks me all the time. - Agnes, 6
Dear God: Please help me is school. I need help in spelling, adding, history, geography and writing. I don’t need help in anything else. - Lois, 9
Dear God: Do you have any helpers in Heaven? I would like to be one of Your helpers in Heaven when I have summer vacation. - Natalie, 7
Dear Lord: Tomorrow is my birthday. Could you please put a rainbow in the sky? - Susan, 9
Dear God: I need a raise in my allowance. Could you have one of your angels tell my father. Thank you. David, 7
Dear God: I am saying my prayers for me and my brother, Billy, because Billy is six months old and he can’t do anything but sleep and wet his diapers. Diane, 8 - Source unknown
F. Logistical prayer should be as other focused as it is self oriented.
G. James 5:16 “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
III. Prayer. is the Ultimate Secret Weapon defeats the onslaught of evil
A. Keep praying for those who are sick, out of work, and for your personal needs, but do not stop at logistical prayer. Pray strategically and tactically. This is praying for the power of God to rest on each member of the body of Christ enabling them to stand firm in the conflict against Satan. Pray that each would be equipped to engage in the battle. Pray for Satan’s defeat and for the church to be victorious.
B. Prayer is the single greatest force ever unleashed on the earth, and it is the single most powerful weapon at the saint’s disposal. This world may find a way to close our churches and take away our Bibles, but no one will ever be able to stop God’s people from calling on the name of their Heavenly Father! – copied
C. Exodus 17: 9-13 “And Moses said unto Joshua, ‘Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.”
D. "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" (James 5:16). Prayer has power. We are to "continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant" (Colossians 4:2).
E. Since prayer is God’s most gracious plan
Whereby He links Himself with man,
Should not His own more often say
To one another, "Let us pray"? – Sterling
