And so I want to speak tonight from really the last part of the whole armour of God.
And I'm not convinced it is really the armour of God, although I'm not treated that way.
! So verse 18, praying at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication.
To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.
And also for me the words may be given me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the Gospel.
For which I'm an ambassador in chains that I may declare it boldly as I ought to speak.
Praying at all times in the Spirit.
So is it armour or not?
Well, I think what I want to say is that as you think of this Christian warfare,
that in many ways this is the most important weapon of all.
If it's not a weapon, it's certainly the foundation of all the others.
And so each piece you put on with prayer.
So if you look at verse 14, you pray as you put on the belt of truth.
And you pray as you put on the breastplate of righteousness.
And you pray as you put those shoes on your feet that are given readiness by the Gospel of Peace.
And you pray as you grab hold of the shoes of faith.
You pray as you put on the helmet of salvation.
And you pray as you hold the sword of the Spirit.
Because if you don't, none of them will work.
None of them will work.
If the Christian life is a battle, which I want to maintain that it is, and I hope you do as well.
If the Christian life is a battle,
if we are soldiers,
it is of the utmost importance that the lines of communication
with our Captain, the Lord Jesus, who is the Captain of our salvation,
are upheld.
If communication breaks down in a war,
it ends in disorder and disaster.
And our communication line is prayer.
And again, we've seen, and we acted quite healthily,
that the Lord Jesus is the great example in all of these things.
And so we see the Lord Jesus, don't we, often in prayer.
Matthew's Gospel presents the Lord Jesus as a king who goes forth into battle.
And at every point, and particularly at the crisis points,
we see the king at prayer.
And so when the Lord Jesus is baptised,
he is praying.
He prays after works of healing.
He prays before choosing the twelve,
after the great achievement of feeding the five thousands.
We see him at prayer when he was very busy indeed,
at the very time when we usually need prayer out.
We see him pray in the transfiguration.
We see him in prayer in the upper room of his disciples.
We see him praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.
We see him praying at the cross.
And the Lord Jesus left us an example to follow in his steps.
This prayer is both defensive and attacking, isn't it?
And so when we pray defensively,
when we are asking the Lord to protect us,
or to protect our loved ones,
even that is an attack on Satan.
Even a defensive prayer is attacking.
It foils Satan's designs upon God's people.
Every defence is an attack.
Remember the Lord Jesus with Simon Peter.
Jesus said to him,
Simon, Simon, Satan has desired to have you,
that he may sift you as wheat,
but I have prayed for you,
that your faith may not fire.
And that is Christ, isn't it?
Making use of this weapon of all prayer.
I can see.
To protect Peter.
I can see.
I think what Paul has in mind
is a kind of attacking nature of prayer.
It's a positive thing.
I say that because of verse 19.
Because then he says,
pray for me.
Pray for me that words may be given to me
in opening my mouth boldly
to proclaim the mystery of the gospel
as I wield the sword of the spirit.
In other words,
he gives in verse 19
an instance of what it means
to pray as an integral part
of proclamation of the gospel.
Three points.
First of all,
the word always.
Can you see that?
Praying at all times.
Pray always.
That's something that Paul says again,
listening in 1 Thessalonians 5,
it's an echo of that passage,
pray without ceasing.
There's an echo again
of our Lord's words in New Chapter 80
that men ought always to pray
and not to give up.
You have a parable in view
of the unjust judge
in Luke 18.
And the widow goes to him
and goes to him again.
At the start of Luke 18,
Jesus says,
he tells that parable
so that you ought always to pray
and not to give up.
But it's interesting,
in Luke 17,
before that,
you have this pattern
of tribulation
and trouble
and distress
and difficult times.
That's the end of Luke 17.
And then straight away
in Chapter 18,
Jesus says,
I tell you this parable
that you ought always to pray
and not to give up.
But Paul is saying
exactly the same thing
in Ephesians 6.
He's saying,
in the midst of this battle,
can you see it?
The end of verse 13,
stand firm.
Start of verse 14,
stand therefore.
Keep standing.
In the midst of this battle,
stand,
and you are to pray
at all times.
Now, this can't mean,
can it,
that you and I tonight
think, right,
we've got to pray
a little bit more tomorrow.
It can't mean that.
That's a good thing to do,
if you want to do that.
But I don't think
it means that.
And I don't think
it means about us
going into our closet,
as Jesus would say,
and praying.
Jesus teaches us,
that all of us
should have a time
and a place
where we get along
with God.
Each of us
should have a time
of prayer
and a place of prayer.
But there is also
such a thing
as a spirit of prayer.
There's an attitude
of prayer.
And so,
some of you
have work tomorrow.
And some of you
have school tomorrow.
And some of you
have duties tomorrow
that you are unavoidable.
Some of you
have appointments tomorrow
that you can't get out on.
You cannot always
be in the secret place.
You can't neglect
the duties that God
has given you,
whether they be at home
or whether they be at work.
There is a spirit of prayer
and an attitude of prayer.
And this verse
is telling us
that we can be praying
always.
So if that is so,
what does it apply to
and what does it imply?
And it implies this,
it is the quality
of our lives.
What we are
that will determine
our prayer
and our contact
with God.
And our ability
to draw
on the divine resources.
It is a moral reference.
So what I'm trying
to say is this,
if we are right people,
we will pray always.
And if we're not
right people
and the right with God,
we will not
and we cannot pray.
And so this isn't
giving you techniques
on how to pray
or what to pray for.
But what we are
when we pray
is decisive.
It's saying to you
and I,
very challengingly,
our life is our prayer.
And if our life
is not right,
neither will our prayer
be right.
And that's
the importance
of the first part
of Ephesians.
That Paul is so
concerned with me
that we should
enter into
all our wealth
in Christ
and make it our own.
So look at
chapter 1
and verse 3.
Blessed be the God
and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ
who has blessed us
in Christ
with every
spiritual blessing
in the heavenly realms.
and we are
to make
those blessings
of Christ
our own.
Because then
we will be right.
And so here is
a believer
who is living
close to God.
Here is a believer
who has exposed
her life
to the discipline
of the word of God
to the sword
of the spirit.
Here is a Christian
and she has let
God's word
do its work
and actually
it's been quite costly.
but she has responded
and been renewed
and been transformed
within
and God's word
continues
to shape
and to challenge her.
And she is
a crucified woman
day by day.
And that life
in practical terms
is a living sacrifice
to God
that is holy
and acceptable.
That life
that she lives
is a constant prayer.
God hears
that life.
It's a wonderful
thought isn't it?
It speaks
to God
that life.
And it speaks
with God
you see
and that is
the secret
to prayer.
He said
you would love me
and I would love
to find
10 great keys
to making prayer
easier.
You would love that
and I would love it.
If I could give you
top 10 tips
on prayer
have you heard that?
those kind of talks.
But actually
they're not very helpful.
What is the secret
of the prayer giants
in the Bible?
Men who move
the world
from God.
It's what they were
that really matters.
So you think
of Elijah
on Mount Carmel.
A simple
sentence of prayer
brings the fire
of God down.
but it wasn't
just a simple
sentence was it?
It was the prayer
of his life.
Elijah speaks
to God
in that way.
Moses,
Abraham,
a life.
And that is
what Paul means
by praying
always.
That if we are
living like that
we will be
praying always.
Our lives
will be
sending
signal
up to God.
what is
prayer?
Prayer is
being conformed
to the mind
of Christ.
So Philippians
to let this
mind be in you
which was
in Christ Jesus.
It is intimacy
and fellowship
with God.
And so
we'll never
pray
unless we're
a certain
type of person.
For you to go
home tonight
and think
well I'm just
going to pray
a little bit
more every day
you've missed
the point.
Praying more
has its place.
But God
is looking
on the life.
And it is
a life
that speaks
and not a
voice
like a
little
like that.
What we
are.
That prayer
really is
the end
product
of the
discipline
of our
souls
by the
word and
the
spirit of
God.
And so
if we are
willing to
open ourselves
unreservedly
to the
soul of
God's
spirit
in our
hearts
that will
make us
into praying
men and
women.
Paul goes
on to say
this and
secondly
we pray at
all times
in the
spirit
with all
prayer and
supplication
to that end
keep alert
of all
perseverance
making
supplications
for all
the saints.
The end
of that
verse I
want you
to see
that I
think it's
very very
helpful that
we are to
pray for
all the
saints.
I do
I despair
of emails
coming in
for prayer
letters.
There's a
great story of
John Chapman
the Australian
evangelist who
went all the
missionary magazines
were coming
and once a
month he'd
pick them all
up because
he'd sign up
them all and
he'd walk to
the bin and
he'd say
Lord bless
them all.
And I
do a great
work with
Barber's Fund
Release
International
and Open
Doors.
I just
can't pray
for all
of them.
And so
you read
the end of
verse 18
all the
saints.
Well there's
millions of
Christians.
How do I
do that?
I think it's
really striking.
Paul could
have talked
about what
was going
on in
Ephesus.
He could
have pointed
them to
the spiritual
battle that
they were
facing.
He could
have talked
about their
needs but
he doesn't
because Paul's
mind is on
something different.
His mind is
on outward
objective
prayer rather
than inward
subjective
prayer.
And what I
mean by that
is naturally
our prayers
focus on
ourselves
and on
our
personal
concerns.
And
prayer is
not to be
used exclusively
or primarily
for our
personal
battle.
I think
that's what
Paul is
getting at.
I'm not
saying that
you don't
pray for
yourself.
I'm not
saying that
you don't
pray for
your loved
ones.
But I
am saying
that prayer
is not
to be used
exclusively
and primarily
for our
personal
battle.
Now where
do I get
that from?
I think
you get
that from
the Lord's
prayer.
So when
you pray
the Lord
Jesus says
say our
Father who
is in
heaven
hallowed
be your
name
your
kingdom
come
your
will be
done
on earth
as it
is in
heaven.
What is
the first
part of
that prayer
about?
The first
part of
that prayer
is about
God
isn't it?
And the
first part
of the
Lord's
prayer
are taken
up with
the things
of God
and the
concerns
of God
and their
concerns
with the
honour
and the
glory of
God's
great
name
and the
coming
of God's
kingdom
and God's
will being
done.
And it's
only then
when that
divine order
is established
that personal
needs come
in.
And so
then he
says give
us this
day our
daily bread.
Forgive us
our trespasses.
Deliver us
from evil.
And that
cuts across
doesn't it
by natural
heart.
Because when
there's a
time of
testing and
a time of
trouble or
a time of
pressure,
my
tendencies,
I become
preoccupied
with my
own battle.
When I'm
really struggling
with temptation,
I can so
easily just
concentrate on
my own
needs and
my own
pressures.
But don't
concentrate your
prayers on
that.
Pray not
just for
yourself,
but for
all the
saints.
And the
more I've
thought about
this week,
the more I
can understand
why.
I think
we can
hear Paul
saying that
self-preoccupying
prayer leads
to morbidity.
Leads to
morbidity.
So let me
tell you,
this is the
very worst
thing that you
can do
sometimes is
to pray
about your
temptations.
And the
very worst
thing that you
can do
sometimes is
to pray
about your
sins.
things.
Because when
you pray
about them,
you focus
your attention
on them,
and you
get bogged
down with
them.
And Paul's
advice here
is really
to say
this,
your personal
battle,
join your
personal battle
to the great
battle.
Strike a
blow for
the larger
cause.
Look at
the main
strategy of
what God
is doing,
not the
tiny little
bits.
That is
your problem,
isn't it?
So the
struggle in
my Christian
life,
and in
yours,
is very
real.
I look back
at this year,
and what
grand have
I gained?
Millimetres,
not even
inch by
inch.
What
progress
have I
made?
But I
must lift
my eyes
to the
kingdom of
Christ,
and I
see that
my struggle
is just
one tiny
little
cabbage patch
in the
field of
God's
war.
Paul's
advice is
to relate
your battle
to the
battle,
and strike
a blow
for the
larger
cause.
Look at
the main
strategy,
Paul says.
Relate,
says Paul,
your little
battle,
and they
are real,
I'm not
minimising
that,
your battle
to the
main
battle.
And ask
yourself,
why are you
under attack?
And ask
yourself,
why are you
struggling?
Why are you
under
pressure?
What
relation does
this attack
upon literally
you have
with the
great cosmic
battle in
the heavenly
places?
What does
this have to
do with the
larger purposes
of God?
And it may
be tonight that
you're in
really deep
waters,
we meet
here tonight
in different
states,
different
tunnels,
but they
can all
of them
be related
to a
larger
work
on a
bigger
canvas
and you're
part in
it.
And you
pray for
the larger
work that
it may go
forward and
be fulfilled
and when it
does,
we'll be
carried along
with it.
And we
will find
our little
problem dealt
with in the
larger victory.
Let me try
and illustrate it.
Let's say
that God
plans a
work of
grace in
a congregation.
He plans
to do a
work where
he'll bless
a church
family.
When God
begins a
work,
he's never
in a hurry
to do that,
we know
that,
don't we?
And Satan,
he sets out
to frustrate it.
Behind the
scenes,
that's what's
going on.
We don't
see that,
but that's
behind the
scenes what
is going
on.
And so
in the
concrete
situation,
what we
see,
we suddenly
see various
people come
under pressure
in different
ways.
One believer
suffers with
terrible
temptations.
is in
deep,
deep water
and another
believer has
got a
major
crisis in
her home.
Another
believer has
got terrible
trouble in
work.
One
Christian is
passing
through doubt
and difficulty.
One is just
being gripped by
a really
dark,
dark
discouragement.
There's one
believer and
they just
seem to slack
off completely
in their
commitment.
there's another
believer that
suddenly is
very,
very sick
and so
on.
And on
the surface
they bear
no relation
to each
other.
But that
is how
the enemy
works.
Well at
first they
don't know
that they're
not aware of
God's plans
of grace.
They're just
aware of their
own personal
problems and
they cry out
to God
about it.
please
sort this
out Lord
please
deal with
it.
Please
Lord
take it
away.
And Paul
says to
you look
up for a
moment and
see the
wider horizon
and ask
yourself why
is this
happening to
me?
And of
course that's
where the
advantage of
the real
fellowship
comes in.
Fellowship
means sharing
it is
certainly
not the
will of
God that
in a time
of trouble
we should
lock up our
problems in
our own
hearts and
share them
with nobody.
Now what
is fellowship?
Fellowship is
bearing one
another's
burdens.
It is
opening up
to your
brothers and
sisters.
And when
they are
shared it
is there
isn't there
that there
is the
possibility
of people
putting two
and two
together
so and
so is
under fire.
She is
really struggling.
Why are all
these things
happening?
Well this is
the enemy's
strategy.
And Paul
says ask
these questions
and see
where your
problems fit
into the
wider strategy
of God.
And pray
for all
the saints.
Get into
gear for the
main battle
the real
battle.
play your
part in it.
Let your
own victory
be won
by looking
to the
greater
victory.
Play your
part in
the big
battle.
It's a
great way
to think.
It's a
great way
to live
next time
you're under
pressure
related to
the work
of the
church.
Think of
the church
as a
unit.
God
has unified
us into
a
working
fighting
force.
So no
attack
comes to
you
personally
out of
relation
to
anything
else.
It is
all in
relation to
what we're
committed
to and we
pray for
the larger
work.
Remember
what God
is doing
in the
world.
Thirdly
and lastly
pray for
me.
Paul says
to his name.
Jesus
actually focuses
in pray
for me
that words
may be
given to
me
opening
my
mouth
boldly
to
proclaim
the
mystery
of
the
gospel.
He gives
a particular
instance
and a
particular
example.
Focus
your
prayers.
Here he
says
and this
will give
the gospel
word
power to
make inroads
into the
kingdom
of darkness
and it
will help
you.
So see
the pattern.
Paul is
gently
and firmly
lifting the
Ephesian
hearts and
minds
from their
own woes
but related
he says
to the
greater
work.
Here is
the
spearhead
the
preaching
of the
gospel.
He writes
from
Corinth
he's up
against it
in Corinth.
Do you
remember
what he
says
in
Thessalonians
pray for
me
that I
may be
given
boldness
sorry
two
Thessalonians
chapter
three
verses
one
and two
finally
brothers
pray for
us
that the
word of
the
Lord
may
speed
ahead
and be
honored
as
happened
among
you
and that
we may
be
delivered
from
wicked
and
evil
men
but not
all
have
faith.
What's
he praying
there?
He's
praying
that the
word of
the
Lord
may
run.
It's
the kind
of prayer
that will
set the
gospel
word
like a
fire
blazing
through
the
place.
He said
I want
you to
pray that
the
word of
the
gospel
might
have
free
course
like
wild
fire.
Remains
true
after
20
centuries
doesn't
it?
there is
one
effectual
way
for the
work of
God
to be
done.
You can
have
the
finest
orator
you can
have
the
greatest
rhetorician
but if
there isn't
prayer
behind the
preaching
it will
fall to
the
ground.
Every
preacher
is entitled
as of
right to
plead with
his people
and say
pray for
me that
I may
speak
as I
ought
to.
2 Corinthians
4 that
great
passage
talks
about
the
gospel
being
veiled.
He
says
even if
our
gospel
is
veiled
it is
veiled
to those
who are
perishing
in their
case the
God of
this world
has blinded
the minds
of unbelievers
to keep
them from
seeing the
light of
the gospel
of the
glory of
Christ
who is
the
image
of
God.
For
what we
proclaim
is not
ourselves
but
Jesus
Christ
as
Lord
and
ourselves
as
your
savants
for
Jesus
sake.
For
God
who
said
let
light
shine
out of
darkness
that
shone
in our
hearts
to give
the
light
and
the
glory
of
God
in the
face
of
Jesus
Christ.
So
what's
Paul
saying
there?
He's
saying
will
you
pray
that
eyes
would
be
opened
that
the
veil
would
be
withdrawn.
It's
the
weapon
of
all
prayer.
Pray
always.
Pray
for all
the
saints.
Pray
for
me.
Pray
always.
It's
a
challenge
for
what
we
are
that
matters.
Not
just
more
prayer.
Pray
for
all
the
saints
which
means
relating
our
battle
to
the
great
battle.
And
then
that
focal
point
pray
for
the
preaching
of
the
gospel.
He
doesn't
mean
utterance.
He
doesn't
mean
eloquence.
You
as
people of
God
here
are
responsible
!
My
responsibility
is to
preach
the word
and to
dig
it.
And
your
responsibility
is to
thrust
the
preacher
of
the
gospel
forward
like
a
sword.
That
preachers
would
speak
boldly.
And
I
cannot
fulfill
my
responsibility
before
God
unless
you
fulfill
yours.
Let's
pray.
Thank you.