His Armor For Prayers and Supplication in Spirit

Eph.6:18, ‘….praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints….’.

Ephesians 6 is a beautiful chapter on the armor of God. It presents the pieces of the whole armor one by one and at the end of it all, the apostle presents the main purpose of it all….i.e praying always with all prayer and supplication. When we read the whole passage, it seems that even prayer is a part of the armor. But we don’t see a physical expression for it as for other pieces of the armor. Truth is like belt while gospel of peace like shoes, righteousness is the breastplate while the Word of God the sword. All the pieces has its own place. But when it comes to prayers and supplication, it’s the ultimate calling which can be done faithfully only with the whole armor on. Each of us have been called, chosen and appointed by God for a certain purpose. Some for preaching the gospel, some for encouraging others, some for lending out helping hand but as for prayers, all of us have been called for praying and make supplications for all saints. Apostle Paul was an apostle, a preacher, a prophet but he was also one of the most prayerful person in this world. All his epistles are literally rooted in his prayerfulness.

As we ponder on this passage, let us realize that each piece of the armor of God is equally important to fulfill this great calling of praying for others. If one of them is missing, the consequence is seen in our prayers. In other words, we can measure, examine and identify as to which piece of the armor of God is missing by our own prayers.

Eph.6:14, ‘ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,..’ Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’. (Jn.14:6). Paul, who was earlier called as Saul was a staunch Jew before he met Christ. He was zealous for the law of Moses and hence, persecuted the church. He was a Benjamite, circumcised on 8^th day as per the law and had every reason to be a proud Jew. (Phil.3:5-6) But as soon as he encountered Christ on his way to Damascus, his life got transformed. Acts 9:11, ‘So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying.’ Saul started off his faith life with prayers and the truth of Christ changed him into a prayerful man. If the truth of Christ, His Word is around our lives as belt around our waist, so much so that we feel its grip on our lives, it enables us to  pray and to make supplications for others around us. But if that’s not so, we might have a vague prayer life. Paul was a religious person before he met Christ, but later when relation with God replaced religion, prayers replaced traditions.

Lk.15:21, ‘ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ The breastplate covers our heart. The prodigal son could talk to his dad and ask for his inheritance, but he could not pray or plead to him with a humble heart until he was convicted of his sinfulness and decided to repent. Repentance cleanses us from all unrighteousness and establishes our hearts in His righteousness. Prayerfulness is the character of the righteous God which gets instilled in us through His Spirit. The prodigal son prayed about forgiveness and his own unworthiness. He did not speak anything about inheritance of the worldly goods. When a righteous prays for anyone, the focus is more on divine blessings and all the other blessings follows. Unrighteous works can pull anyone back from prayers, but righteousness that comes through repentance makes the person overcome.

Eph.6: 15, ‘…and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace…’ Gospel is the gospel of peace i.e. its acceptance brings a person at peace with God and simultaneously it causes us to be at peace with all men. Mt.5:23-24, ‘Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.’ If any unresolved issue remains between two persons, the prayers of the concerned person gets affected. To be at peace with all men, the gospel which preaches unconditional forgiveness always need to be practiced. It’s important to check the peace with every person in order to sustain in life of prayerfulness.

Eph.6:16, ‘…above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. Faith is the base of prayers. When we pray we believe that God exists and is a rewarder of those who seek Him (Hebr.11:6). But its amazing to see the weapon against this which can abruptly stop prayers. Prophet Elijah whose effective prayerfulness have been quoted by James in the New Testament, found himself  stopped from prayers as soon as he was clogged up with fear (1 Kings 19). Faith which comes from His Word is the shield that quenches all the darts of fear which in turn aims to block the prayers from arising from our hearts.

Eph.6:17, ‘And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;’ A helmet protects the head and the mind. Salvation is the lordship of Christ over our lives in all aspects. If we allow Him to rule our minds at all times, prayers will continue to flow from our hearts unhindered.  Dan.6:10, ‘Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.’ Daniel knew well that nothing would happen in his life without God’s knowledge and permission. This realization enabled God to continue His Lordship over Daniel’s prayers. Even when he knew that the writing was signed, his prayers of thrice a day continued unhindered.

During the days of Nehemiah, the walls of Jerusalem were broken due to which the remnants there were much afflicted. The broken walls spiritually point out to the broken prayer life of the church or the people of God. The Lord used Nehemiah to build up the broken walls and later it was realized that the people were far away from the Word of God. They had not heard it being read out to them since years. The absence of His Word caused the people to go astray from the holiness of God, which in turn caused them to move into prayerlessness. Neh.8:9, ‘And Nehemiah, who was the ^[b]governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.’ Revival happened when the people heard the law of God. Bible scholars mention that this was after a long time of almost 200 years when King Josiah had brought about a similar revival by making the people hear the Word of God. We see a weak prayer life when the Word of God is not rooted in our lives. The more we meditate His Word, the more we are able to pray. The more He talks to us through His Word, the more we are encouraged to talk to God through prayers. 

Thus we see how the armor of God equips us to fulfil the great calling to pray for all saints. Let us be watchful over  own souls so that we do not miss a single piece of it and be a victim of the schemes of the evil one. May God strengthen us to be strong in the Lord and to put on the whole armor of God to remain strong in Him till He returns in glory. 

God bless us all

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