BILLY MITCHELL! THE FATHER OF WHAT IS NOW KNOWN AS THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE. THE YEAR IS 1919, AND THIS WORLD WAR ONE HERO WAS CONVINCED THAT MASTERING THE SKIES WAS THE KEY TO VICTORY IN COMBAT.
ALTHOUGH IT COST HIM HIS CAREER, MITCHELL CONTINUED HIS ALL-OUT PUBLIC CAMPAIGN FOR AIRPOWER. HE SAID THE WORLD STOOD ON THE THRESHOLD OF AN “AERONAUTICAL ERA” AND THAT MILITARY AIRPOWER, INDEPENDENT OF GROUND AND SEA FORCES, SHOULD BE THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE.
THE SAME IS TRUE FOR THE CHRISTIAN. AIR POWER! NOTHING COMMANDS THE SPIRITUAL FORCES OF THE HEAVENLY REALMS THAN A CHRISTIAN WHO IS FOUND ON THEIR KNEES IN PRAYER.
EPHESIANS 6:12, “FOR WE ARE NOT FIGHTING AGAINST FLESH-AND-BLOOD ENEMIES, BUT AGAINST EVIL RULERS AND AUTHORITIES OF THE UNSEEN WORLD, AGAINST MIGHTY POWERS IN THIS DARK WORLD, AND AGAINST EVIL SPIRITS IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES.”
I HAVE HEARD, MANY TIMES, CHRISTIANS BEING CALLED “THE ARMY OF GOD.” I AM NEVER MORE CONVINCED, THAT THE CHURCH CAN ALSO BE DESCRIBED AS THE AIR FORCE OF GOD!
WHY? BECAUSE WE ARE NOT FIGHTING A CONVENTIONAL WAR TO GAIN CONTROL OF PEOPLE, LAND, AND WORLDY ASSETS. WE ARE MOST LIKE THE AIR FORCE OF GOD BECAUSE WE FIGHT SPIRITUAL BATTLES “IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES” TO OVERCOME EVIL, RESIST ALL FORMS OF TEMPTATION, TO LIVE HOLY LIVES SO THAT WE CAN LEAD PEOPLE TO THEIR FREEDOM AND SALVATION IN JESUS CHRIST.
ONE OF THE MAIN COMPONENTS THAT FUELS THIS STRATEGY OF BATTLE IS PRAYER. AS THE AIR FORCE OF GOD, IN PRAYER, WE CAN ADOPT WHAT I CALL “THE THEORY OF ORTHOPEDICS.”
YES, WE ARE THE “HANDS AND FEET” OF JESUS, BUT WE ARE MOST POWERFUL WHEN WE ARE ON OUR KNEES IN FERVENT PRAYER. JAMES 5:16, “THE PRAYER OF THE RIGHTEOUS IS POWERFUL AND EFFECTIVE.” GOD’S AIR FORCE ADVANCES ON ITS KNEES.
WHEN I SAY, “ON ITS KNEES,” I AM SPEAKING IN TERMS OF A METAPHOR AS MANY CANNOT PHYSICALLY BE ON THEIR KNEES NOR SHOULD IT BE ASSUMED THAT PRAYERS CAN ONLY BE SAID UPON THEM. THAT IS WHY OUR SCRIPTURE PASSAGE TODAY, SAYS “BE ALERT AND ALWAYS KEEP PRAYING.”
VIGILENCE. PERSISTENCE. RELENTLESS PURSUIT! MATTHEW 26:41, “KEEP WATCH AND PRAY, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT GIVE IN TO TEMPTATION. FOR THE SPIRIT IS WILLING, BUT THE BODY IS WEAK!”
WE SHOULD NEVER TIRE OR LOSE FOCUS. WE CANNOT ALLOW DAILY PURSUITS AND SCHEDULES TO ENTICE US INTO BECOMING COMPLACENT AND INCONSISTENT IN OUR PRAYERS.
WE CANNOT GO ABOUT OUR DAY FOCUSED ON OURSELVES WHILE OBLIVOUS TO WHAT IS GOING ON AROUND US. “PRAYER MOMENTS” ARE ALWAYS OCCURRING THAT REQUIRE A HEALTHY AND VIGILANT PRAYER LIFE EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.
IT’S NO COINCIDENCE THAT PAUL CONNECTS PRAYER TO HIS PREVIOUS LESSON ON THE “FULL ARMOR OF GOD” IN EPHESIAN 6:11-17. PAUL TELLS US THAT THE GREATEST WEAPON IN OUR ENTIRE ARSENAL IS PRAYER. WE MUST BE PASSIONATE ABOUT PRAYER AS A WAY TO FULLY ARM OURSELVES FOR SPIRITUAL BATTLE.
YES, HELMETS, SWORDS, BREASTPLATES, SHEILDS, BELTS, AND SHOES ARE ALL CRUCIAL AND EACH HAVE THEIR SPECIFIC ROLE IN SPIRITUAL BATTLE, BUT EACH PIECE IS PUT ON AND MAINTAINED WITH THE POWER OF PRAYER. THE ARMOR OF GOD, COMBINED WITH PRAYER, IS WHAT DESCRIBES THE CHARACTER OF A BELIEVER’S PRAYER LIFE AS BEING: CONSTANT, INTENSE, AND UNSELFISH.
PAUL’S INSISTENCE ON THIS DEGREE OF PRAYER INTENSITY WAS SO STRONG THAT HE REPEATS THE LESSON IN COLOSSIANS 4:2, “DEVOTE YOURSELVES TO PRAYER, BEING WATCHFUL AND THANKFUL.” WE CANNOT AFFORD TO DO ANY LESS. AGAIN, WE SHOW: VIGILENCE. PERSISTENCE. RELENTLESS PURSUIT!
PAUL URGES US TO “BE ALERT” AND IN COLOSSIANS, TO “BE WATCHFUL.” THE WORD FOR “ALERT” USED HERE IS A MILITARY TERM MEANING “TO KEEP AWAKE” OR “TO BE SLEEPLESS.” IT ALSO IMPLIES THAT ONE IS ATTENTIVE AND ALWAYS READY.
THE PURPOSE OF KEEPING ALERT IS SO THAT WE CAN, WITH PERSEVERANCE, PRAY CONSTANTLY AND GAIN STRENGTH IN OUR FAITH. LUKE 21:36, “BE ALERT AT ALL TIMES, PRAYING THAT YOU MAY HAVE THE STRENGTH TO ESCAPE ALL THESE THINGS THAT WILL TAKE PLACE, AND TO STAND BEFORE THE SON OF MAN.”
WE MUST MAKE THE EFFORT AND HAVE SELF-DISCIPLINE IN OUR PRAYER-LIFE IN ORDER TO AVOID COMPLACENCY AND SPIRITUAL FATIGUE THAT SO EASILY ENTANGLES AND ABSORBS US BACK INTO THE WORLD WITH DEVASTATING RESULTS OF SPIRITUAL FAILURE. 1 PETER 4:7, “THE END OF ALL THINGS IS NEAR; THEREFORE BE SERIOUS AND DISCIPLINE YOURSELVES FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR PRAYERS.” LET US NOT BECOME PREOCCUPIED WITH OTHER THINGS.
PAUL THEN CONCLUDES BY SAYING THAT DUE TO OUR INTENSE ALERTNESS, WE CAN “ALWAYS KEEP ON PRAYING.” WE MUST NEVER GIVE UP, LET UP, AND SLOW DOWN. THE WORD “PERSEVERE” MEANS “TO STICK TO IT AND NOT QUIT.”
I LIKE WHAT WARREN WIERSBE SAID, “PERSEVERENCE IN PRAYER DOES NOT MEAN WE ARE TRYING TO TWIST GOD’S ARM, BUT RATHER THAT WE ARE DEEPLY CONCERNED AND BURDENED AND CANNOT REST UNTIL WE GET GOD’S ANSWER.....PRAYER IS NOT GETTING MAN’S WILL DONE IN HEAVEN; IT IS GETTING GOD’S WILL DONE ON EARTH.” THEREFORE, PRAYER IS THE KEY INGREDIENT IN BEING STRONG AND ON THE ALERT.
WHEN WE PRAY, THE HOLY SPIRIT IS POWERFUL AND INTERACTIVE WITH US. AS A RESULT, WE ARE EMPOWERED TO KEEP ON THE ALERT, ON COURSE, AND IN LINE WITH GOD’S WILL AND HIS PURPOSES FOR WHAT WE ARE PRAYING ABOUT.
PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT INVOLVES ENGAGEMENT WITH GOD AND ASSISTANCE FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT THAT TAKES US BEYOND OUR IMMEDIATE CONCERNS AND OPENS OUR HEART TO A WORLD OF NEEDS AND CONCERNS AROUND US. THE POINT IS: ALL OF LIFE IS TO BE PRAYED, NOT JUST LIVED!” WE CAN GET THERE IF WE MAKE THE EFFORT AND DEVOTE OURSELVES TO LIVING THIS WAY.
BY WELCOMING THE HOLY SPIRIT TO WORK WITHIN US, IT IS POSSIBLE TO LIVE OUR LIVES IN CONTINUAL COMMUNION WITH GOD. WE SHOULD ALWAYS BE IN DIALOGUE WITH GOD. PRAYER, THEN, CAN BE SEEN AS A KIND OF SPIRITUAL BREATHING. A CRITICAL NECESSITY!
LAST, BUT NOT LEAST, REMEMBER, AS I SAID EARLIER, A BELIEVER’S PRAYER LIFE IS CONSTANT, INTENSE, AND UNSELFISH. WE ARE NOT SELFISH IN PRAYER BECAUSE WE LIVE IN FULL AWARENESS OF THE ENTIRE WORLD AND OUR FELLOW BELIEVERS IN BOTH OUR OWN COMMUNITIES AND AROUND THE GLOBE.
ROMANS 12:4-5, “FOR AS IN ONE BODY WE HAVE MANY MEMBERS … SO WE, WHO ARE MANY, ARE ONE BODY IN CHRIST, AND INDIVIDUALLY WE ARE MEMBERS ONE OF ANOTHER.”
JUST REMEMBER THE “LORD’S PRAYER” BEGINS WITH “OUR FATHER,” NOT “MY FATHER.” WE PRAY AS MEMBERS OF A GREATER GLOBAL FAMILY THAT IS ALSO IN PRAYER WITH GOD.
THEREFORE, KNOWING SATAN WISHES OUR DEFEAT AND DESTRUCTION, AND WITH SO MANY YET TO COME TO KNOW CHRIST, BE ALERT AND ALWAYS PRAYING. I CLOSE REPEATING THE WORDS OF 1 PETER 4:7, “…THEREFORE BE SERIOUS AND DISCIPLINE YOURSELVES FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR PRAYERS.”
