The Whole Armour of God
Ephesians 6:10-18
Communication with H.Q.
This morning we will conclude our look at the whole Armour of God. We have over the last several weeks looked at the individual components that make up the armour given to us as christians. The belt of truth which is Jesus Chrisr. He must be put on first, because with out Christ we are on the wrong side of the battle. The breatsplate of Righteousness, which is by Christ. it is God’s righteousness imputed to us through the work of Christ. The preperation of the Gospel of peace to shod our feet. Again, prepared by and provided by God for us. The peace comes when we reckognize it is based on the work of Christ, not us! We noted that all three of those were put upon us, and the next three we are told to take up. The shield of faith to extinguish the flaming darts of the enemy. This is not the faith that saves us, but is the faith we receive when we are saved. It is the faith required to win those daily battles. It is the faith that reminds us the God that saved us can also overcome any obstacle in our life! We are told to take the helmet of salvation. This is not saying that we have any part in saving ourselves, but that the salvation from God can guard our minds against the attacks of the enemy. Salvation is justification, sanctification, and glorification. When we put on the Helmet of Salvation we guard our minds against the attacks of the devil on our past, our present, and our future. And last week we talked about the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. Jesus used this weapon when tempted of Satan and so should we. We need to keep our weapon always ready to defend and attack when needed. We keep that weapon ready, when we hide God’s word in our heart!. Now we come to the last verse of our scripture verse 18 which has to do with prayer. It is not a peice of the armour, but what binds all the elements together. Let’s once again read our scripture...
"10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;"
You may remember back when we started this series, we talked about how important it was that as soldiers we listened and heard the commands given. And we talked briefly about verse 18. we said that it was important for the soldiers to maintain communications with headquarters. this is very true in a military application as wel as in our spiritual battle! The apostle Paul has a lot to say about the imporatance of prayer in his epistles, for example "Pray without ceasing." 1 Thess 5:17; "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." Phil 4:6; "Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;" Col 4:2; "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;" 1Tim 2:1. So let’s answer a few questions this morning about Prayer....
1. When should we pray?
I know this one. We pray when we need to. We pray when things are going bad and we have tried everything else first. No, well I know we pray every Sunday and on Wednesday night, during prayer time. We pray when we scratch off the lottery ticket we just bought! Well all of those might be ocassions for prayer but Paul tells us to pray when we need to and time is ...Always! "Praying always" Remember prayer is not just asking God to take care of your needs, it is communication with HQ! You can do it anywhere, and any time. That’s what is so amazing about what Jesus has given us! Now, this does not mean you have to go through life with your head bowed and your eyes closed, remember you can pray anywhere any time. I like to pray while I’m driving, and no I don’t close my eyes and bow my head! I pray when I’m getting ready for work, I pray when I’m eating lunch, when I’m resting, when I’m settling down for the night! You don’t have to assume the position. Some people think you can’t pray properly without getting on your knees, our laying prostrate on the floor. Some people feel like they have to be able to stretch out their arms and tip their face toward heaven, or maybe you were brought up to fold your hands a certain way? I heard a story about some ministers who were talking about this very subject...
One said the proper way to pray is down upon ones knees. The second seemd to disagree, the proper way is arms outsretched, palms up and eyes heaven turned. The third man said that is totally absurd, that is much too proud. A man should prayed with eyes tightly closed and head contritely bowed! The fourth man said this ""Last year I fell in Hodgkin’s well, with both my heels a-stickin’ up, my head a-pointing’ down; And I done prayed right then and there; best prayer I ever said, The prayin’est prayer I ever prayed, a-standin’ on my head!"
Paul says pray without ceasing, which means we should continually be ready to pray. The lines of communication must remain open at all times, because we don’t know when the next attack is coming!
2. What should we pray?
Again Paul answers this question for us " with all prayer and supplication" It says praying with all prayer and supplication, isn’t that redundant? No, praying is the actual action. When Paul says with all prayer and supplication, he is talking about what to pray. Prayer is talking to God, and recognizing who He is. Supplication is asking. It is mentioned again later in the verse concerning all saints. Paul gives us more instruction concerning prayer in Phil 4:6 " Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." He adds a new part there, thanksgiving. we should remember to thank God for all he does.
I know where we can get a really good example concerning prayer. Jesus said "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. " Matt 6:9-14
Here Jesus gives us an example, not that these are the exact words we should pray, but an example. He begins by acknowledging who God is. He is our heavenly Father, He is in heaven (we are not) His name is hallowed or Holy! It should be our desire that His kingdom should come not the kingdom of men, and that His will which is perfect will be done here as it is in heaven. Then comes the asking. Give us what we need. Give us forgiveness, contingent on the amount of forgiveness we give others! Help us when we are tempted, deliver us from evil. Give us the armour, the weapons we need that we won’t be delivered into the hands of the wicked one! Not only should we pray for our own needs, but for the needs of others. Tht is what Paul is speaking of when he mentions supplications for all saints. So pray, acknowledge God’s sovriegnty, ask for your needs and the needs of others, ask for deliverance, help in the battle!
3. How should we pray?
a. publicly & privately
Paul says "with All prayer and supplication" All speaks of how we pray. We pray privately. We pray Corporately (in Church), and we can pray publicly, among believers and non believers alike!
b. In the Spirit
How do we pray in the Spirit? Jesus says that the Father desires those to worship Him in spirit and in truth. This is the same word used in John 4. We have talked before about what in means to worship in spirit, the same applies to praying in the spirit. It means doing more than going through the motions. It means prayer comes from our hearts, from our very soul. Remember if you are saved, God’s Holy Spirit dwells in you. When we pray in the spirit it is a time of worship, blessing and honouring God.
c. Watching Thereunto
This means that we are looking for God’s answer to our prayers. we don’t merely pray without real hope. This isn’t like wishing upon a star, or rubbing a genies lamp. We have prayed to the God of the universe, our God. The one true God and we can expect to see an answer! Does that mean it’s always going to be the answer we want? No, but we should expect an answer!
d. With Perseverance
That means while you’re watching for God’s answer, keep praying! When the battles raging, keep praying! When times are tough, don’t give up, pray!
The battle is not of flesh and blood, it is a spiritual battle. We have been equipped with our spiritual armour and are given direct communication with our headquarters who have the winning battle plan! Remember the Victory belongs to the Lord!
