Ephesians 6:18-24: Prayer
We are to be constant in prayer, both for our own needs as well as supplications for others in honor of those whose names we send up to the heavenly court of the Lord.
We must pray:
in the Spirit / being alert / persevering always.
We must proclaim:
asking for words from the Spirit / asking for courage to speak out.
We must remember:
we are ambassadors for Christ / appointed by God I
to serve others as Christ served / to spread the Gospel /
to love as He loved.
We have a partnership:
as a beloved brother or sister in Christ /
as a faithful brother or sister in Christ /
as a serving brother or sister in Christ /
as an encouraging brother or sister in Christ.
Finally, as we conclude our study of Paul's letter to Ephesus with proper focus on the last and best teaching, that we have the greatest spiritual gift of all which is to commune directly heart-to-heart with our Lord. He split the veil of the Temple from top to bottom just so that our access is from that moment forever direct to Him. Now we are to come BOLDLY to His throne.
Let us never forget that the purpose of all prayer is NOT to get our will done in heaven. It IS to get His will done on earth through us.
MATTHEW 6:10
" ... Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."
A PRAYING CHURCH
Now that we have studied each component of the armor of God, we understand that we cannot succeed against the devil if we rely only on ourselves. We need the belt of truth to keep the daggers of false doctrine from penetrating our body. The breastplate of righteousness allows us to have a Spirit developed character guarding against the powerful blows of sin that try to destroy our heart. The shoes of the gospel of peace give
us solid footing and ready us to stand for the battle. Faith acts as a shield that drives us to seek shelter in God against the flaming arrows of enticing temptation. Salvation, our helmet, protects our minds, enabling us to remain focused on the kingdom. God's Word, our mighty sword, a weapon that brings tb.e Lord's enemies ( demons of evil) to submission in defeat and keeps us on the narrow way by forcing us to use our knees in gratitude for salvation and in sorrow for sin.
Our ultimate reliance on Christ f9r success in spiritual warfare is highlighted in today's verses. The interesting phrase used in verse 18, " ... praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit...", covers everything that came before it in our study chapters. It indicates that we put on the armor of God, and we clothe ourselves in Christ Himself, by consistent and persistent prayer.
Prayerful dependence must be the consistent attitude of our heart, both in difficult times that seem to make us run to God and in prosperous times that sometimes seem to make us forget about our need for Him.
Now Paul closes his letter by naming his courier, Tychicus, who was a good friend and close companion. Acts 20 tells us he joined Paul in the Asia missionary journey. He was important as Paul mentions him in 2nd Timothy 4, Titus 3, and Colossians 4. As a note, the text of Colossians 4:7-8 and Ephesians 6:21-22 are almost identical in the Greek, leading us to think both letters were written at the same time or very close to each other.
Paul's final thought in the letter is "peace and love" coming to us from God the Father as well as Lord Jesus Christ. This conclusion reminds us that the letter was started with the theme of unity and that unity, when found, brings both peace and love. This peace and love is what unifies the people of the Lord who are to glorify God with their lives after salvation. We do that by full trust in the one who came to light our way and by understanding the gifts of grace that are the whole armor of God are our only means of defense against the strength of evil that surround us.
He has given us all we need to stand for Him and it is up to us use it well.
