Prayer - Why is it Necessary? Ephesians 6:18

Why is Prayer even necessary?

There are many possible directions to go in answering this question but one implied reason that I would like to look at can be found in Ephesians 6:18-20.

10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength.Ac 4:33 11 Put on uPr 31:25 the full armor vEph 6:11-17 of God so that you can stand against the tactics w Or schemes, or tricks of the Devil. 12 For our battle is not against flesh xPhp 3:3 and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,y1Pt 3:22 against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil zMt 6:13; Jn 17:15 in the heavens.aEph 1:3,20; 2:6; 3:10; Php 2:10
 

13 This is why you must take up the full armor b1Th 5:8 of God, so that you may be able to resist c2Tm 4:15; 1Pt 5:9 in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. 14 Stand,dPr 24:16; Php 1:27 therefore,

with truth eJn 14:6; 1Jn 5:20 like a belt around your waist, righteousness fMt 6:33; Rm 1:17; 2Pt 1:1 like armor on your chest,1Th

15 and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. Ready to go tell others about the gospel

16 In every situation take the shield iGen 15:1 of faith,jMt 8:10; Ac 3:16; Rm 1:8; 1Co 2:5; Gl 2:16; 1Tm 1:2; Heb 4:2 and with it you will be able to extinguish all the

flaming arrows of the evil one.2Th 3:3

17 Take the helmet l1Th 5:8 of salvation, and the sword mMk 14:47 of the Spirit,nPs 51:11; Jn 1:33; Ac 2:4; Rm 8:9; Gl 5:25; Tit 3:5; Rev 3:22 which is God’s word.

18 Pray oMt 5:44; Ac 12:12 at all times in the Spirit pJd 20 with every prayer and request, and stay alert qPr 6:4 in this with all perseverance and intercession for all the saintsrThe work of the Holy Spirit that separates believers in Jesus from the world. At the time of saving faith in Jesus, the believer is made a saint; therefore, all believers are saints. The believer participates with the Spirit in a process of transformation that continues until glorification. The goal of sanctification is progressive conformity to the image of Jesus Christ. .
19 Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness s2Co 3:12 the mysterytTransliteration of the Greek word mysterion; a secret hidden in the past but now revealed of the gospel.  20 For this I am an ambassador u2Co 5:20 in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough in Him to speak as I should.

Many of the translations include this passage as part of the larger section starting in vs. 10 reminding  us that we need empowering by the limitless strength of God.  But why is this necessary?

Because we are at war.

We have an enemy that is against us who uses many methods and tactics to accomplish his goals and victories.  It is coordinated and comes against us on many fronts at various levels.  The primary enemy is not the physical that we can see but the spiritual and the entities of control, influence and corruption that Satan has set up.

And Believers are called to stand against these tactics—to resist them, to oppose them.  And through the strength that God provides, to overcome them.

Prayer then becomes a vital part of this effort.

Ask any military commander what is are the most important elements of victory in battle and they will likely say, intelligence and communication.  The army that can get an accurate picture of the battlefield conditions and then direct and adjust their troops or tactics the fastest gives itself the best opportunity to achieve victory.

The troops are supposed to relay the conditions on the ground up the chain to their commanding officers.  These officers are typically given a higher vantage point of the battle so they can see the bigger picture—this is especially true in modern life with aerial and satellite imagery/video.  Those commanding officers in turn send orders and tactics back down to the troops and they are expected to act on those orders.

An effective strategy in warfare, especially modern, is to disrupt these lines of communication.  If the troops cannot relay their situation and/or the commanding officers cannot get their orders through, then the opposing army cannot act in a coordinated and effective way against your strategy and tactics.

Satan cannot prevent God from hearing our prayer.  But he can interfere with the orders coming to us—he can distract us, tempt us to the point that we do not listen. 

But really, he doesn’t have to try all that hard.  We disrupt our own lines of communication all too willingly.  Believers are great at relaying battleground updates—we call it prayer requests.  We list out those who have ailments, health concerns, job issues—in most cases we are praying for other people—especially when we are in a public or corporate setting.  We don’t pray for ourselves very well and we’re uncomfortable asking for prayer for ourselves.

But what’s more, we do all the talking—we give the battleground updates then hang up—turning off the lines of communication.  It’s like we’re not really interested in listening for the orders from our Commanding Officer. 

It’s no wonder that the Church is so often so powerless and ineffective.  The enemy is coordinated, they have a strategy.   

So does God, but His troops are often not listening.  Many times He works in spite of us. 

No force can work effectively if they are not getting orders from their commanding officer.

To fight these battles, we need Truth that holds us together—the truth of Jesus and the Word.  We need not our own righteousness but His protecting our heart, we need to have our shoes on ready to respond to the orders to Go with the message of the Gospel in much the same way the Israelites were supposed to have their shoes on when observing the Passover.  We need the shield of faith because our enemy is constantly shooting deadly arrows and testing our defenses.  We need the helmet of salvation that changes even the way we think with the transforming of our mind so we know the truth and are not deceived by fine sounding arguments. 

The weapons at our disposal in fighting these battles are the Sword of the Spirit (God’s Word) and Prayer.  In prayer we engage in the battle and can receive our orders.

Because prayer is part of the front lines of the spiritual battle is why it is so important to “pray at all times in the Spirit”.  This implies that it is possible to not “pray in the Spirit”.  This works in the same way as worship from John 4.   

Jesus clearly states that the Father is seeking those who will worship Him in Spirit and in Truth—meaning there are many people engaged in worship of something but are lacking those important elements—Spirit & Truth.

We can pray things not in accord with the Spirit.  We can pray with the wrong motives, we can pray for things not in God’s will, we can pray our wants, we can pray with sin in our lives.  Men, even how you treat your wife can hinder your prayer (1 Peter 3:7).  This requires staying “alert” and “persevering” in this type of prayer—meaning that Prayer in the Spirit is not easy nor automatic.  It can be hard to focus during prayer, we can fall asleep (“Alert” more literally is not asleep), our mind can drift on to other things and issues.  It takes effort and perseverance to continue praying at all times in the Spirit.

When we are in the Spirit, we have the best opportunity to hear clearly from God.  We can receive our marching orders of what is the best course of action, what God wants to do next, His love for us, how we can serve Him and others.

God provides the Armor, the orders and the weapons in order for His Church to stand against the tactics of the Devil—to resist him and be prepared for the battle.   

Prayer is part of that preparation—it is where we get our orders.  It is a way in which we draw from His strength.

The Armor Fits!!!

I was thinking again about King David and his youthful days. Particularly the part where he is about to fight Goliath. In leading up to that moment, then King Saul wants to help out, even honor David by allowing him to wear the King’s armor. But unfortunately, the armor didn’t fit him well and he couldn’t really use them. So David declined and he was right to do so.

What about us? Are we ever given the King’s armor? Yes! Ephesians 6 talks about putting on the full armor of God. Now the big difference between the armor that God gives and the armor that someone like Saul gives is the fact that what God gives fits. Do you really think God would give you armor that didn’t fit?



Ephesians 6:13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

He won’t give you a belt for a 48 inch waist when you’re a 36—you’re still able to buckle it. Even though it’s His righteousness and not ours, the breastplate still fits snug and “in place”. Our feet have been “fitted” and we’re able to go for great distances as required by the gospel. The shield of faith is one that we can lift up and carry and still hide behind. It grows as our faith grows. Our head is covered with the helmet of salvation—it’s going to be better than anything the Army or Marines can hand out.

There is only one thing among God’s armor that may not fit properly. Can you guess what it is? It’s because it doesn’t depend on us. It is what it is.
The Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.

Our weapon, the sword, is one in which many people say—“it’s too big. I don’t understand it.” There are many reasons people give for why they are not more familiar with the Word--I'm sure you can think of or have heard many.

It’s like we’re a young David trying to wield the King’s sword. The problem is not with the Sword, the problem is with the one trying to wield the sword—we’re “not used to them” as David puts it.

David would have lost trying to fight a battle with a sword too big for him. I’ve held a few that weren’t too big, but just the weight and movement of them throw me off balance, and I would be quickly defeated by someone with even some ability with a sword (which may be why so many Christians are so easily swayed by cult groups who “explain” the Bible to them)

Of all the armor and weaponry we are given in Eph. 6—the Sword is the only thing that does not conform to us—we must conform to it—we can’t make it shorter or longer, we can’t take out the parts we don’t like. Instead, we must become more and more comfortable wielding it—through reading, study, memorization—familiarity. It’s just like a warrior training with his sword—or the old samurai who sees his spirit or fighting ability in his sword.

I remember hearing that during the filming of Lord of the Rings that “Aragorn” or Viggo Mortensen practically lived with “the sword of Elindil” and carried it with him wherever he went—even though it was a very large sword.



In the end of filming, apparently, they gave him the sword to keep. It had become his. The first day, it was awkward, the last day—he knew exactly what to do with it.

We must become more familiar with our sword, given by God, so we can know how to use it effectively and in the right circumstances. It is a gift, it is an honor to be given the sword of the King.

But when David was given the sword by Saul—he didn’t know how to fight with it. And just like him, we’re tempted to put those things aside and use our own weapons.

But there’s a problem…we’re not fighting against a giant or any other human being or institution or nation— Eph 6:12 “12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

Our weapons won’t work in the real battle—not the best gun, sword or tank. Jesus fought off the attacks of Satan with His knowledge of the Word of God. He wielded it effectively in the moments of temptation. It gave Him confidence in facing His execution. It gave Him words to share from the Cross—Psalm 22:1 “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

May we all put on the armor of God and may we all learn through diligence and training how to effectively wield the Sword of the Spirit.

Sermon 5/20/07-- Faith's Call to the Spiritual Battle-- 1 Peter 5:6-11

Faith’s Call to the Spiritual Battle

One of the more disturbing movies I remember growing up was the 1960 version of The Time Machine—where the peaceful, fruit munching Eloi were harvested by the underground Morlocks for food. The one group—the Eloi—were willing to put up with the occasional raids and kidnapping of their fellows because they had no other concerns—their food was provided, their survival ensured.

How could someone live so content, that they did nothing to protect themselves from a dangerous hunter? If you knew that a pride of lions was hanging around outside for church to be out, would you do anything different? If you knew that you there was a good chance for you to be taken down between the door and your car, would you try to change your odds or would you be content with the thought that hopefully, they’ll just get someone else.

We are more like the Eloi than we realize. We casually go about our daily lives as if there is not threat to our lives or our souls. But there is one, and our enemy is one that those of us in this room rarely see face to face—he is so well camouflaged and hidden that we could walk right by it and never see it.

Know Your Enemy—1 Peter 5:8

The Nature of Our Enemy

Ø Enemy—you adversary in a lawsuit—the one that wants to find you guilty, the one who wants to see you punished, the one that takes joy in your defeat.

Ø Lion—not something tame, not something harmless, but something that is dangerous and menacing.

Ø Prowling—searching & hunting—not a passive, lie in wait and hope you foolishly stumble into it’s mouth—but one that ambushes, one that seeks out it’s prey, one that is hunting with the intent to kill—stalking, observing, finding weaknesses and weaker targets.

Leaders, many times you are given special attention—your weaknesses are examined so that this adversary can exploit them and accuse you. And what’s worse—this is not an ethical enemy that targets only combatants. There is no distinction in Satan’s mind—to get to you, he will target those closest to you that will have weaknesses of their own.

There is only one letter difference between the words “Pray” and “Prey”—they phonetically sound the same, but they have remarkably different meanings. However, in this context, they are linked by the fact that if you are one who does not Pray, you will easily become Prey.

Ø Roaring—when a lion is trying to make a show of himself, he makes a lot of noise—there are times when Satan likes to draw attention to himself—when he’s trying to impress some gullible person to follow him. Similarly, lions likes to scare and unnerve from a distance. A roaring lion is announcing ownership—this is my territory. I’m not sure it is still believed to be such among lions, but the belief used to be that the roaring was also a way of gathering the troops for a hunting party. At these moments, announcing ownership—scaring off rivals, making others nervous and gathering the pride for a hunt—noise is good—but during the hunt itself, there is very little noise—you very rarely hear a hungry lion announce her presence when she’s just about to pounce on you.

Ø Devouring—desiring to steal, kill and destroy—there is nothing for those who turn away from God. Satan has nothing to get from you than to nourish his own appetites—he will never share any perks with those who follow him. there is no truth to the phrase “Better to rule in hell than serve in heaven”?

Ø It is said by Satan in Milton’s classic “Paradise Lost” but I’ve heard people parrot that statement as if it would apply to them.

Ø If you accept the premise that Satan is in charge of Hell—which he is not, God is—He’s the one who Created it for Satan and His angels, and He’s the one who will put Satan there—but if you believe that Satan is in charge, then you must realize that Satan will never share his toys with the likes of you, because you are the toys.

Notice who’s not on this list. Not people, not places that your enemy is, not listed as the world, as unbelievers, criminals, your neighbors, your parents, your siblings, the police, the government—all of these may at times act and behave like your enemy, but ultimately your enemy is Satan. He despises you and the God you serve.

Facing Your Enemy—5:6, 9

Remember this is coming on the heels of talking about and to leaders. As shepherds and leaders, we must remember that our sheep have many enemies and predators. It is part of our role to protect and recognize those threats.

Ø Humility—under God’s Hand—

o place yourself under His protection and leadership—

o accept Him as your commanding officer—the one who will lead you into battle—

o one definition implies that you should--to assign a lower rank or place to yourself—

o place yourself under God’s command and He will lift you up—he will promote you in due time.

Ø Casting Anxieties--to separate into parts, cut into pieces--to divide into parties, i.e. be split into factions—Casting means to deliberately throw something at your object, your target—you are throwing it and you don’t want it back. This is not a game of catch—you throw and you expect God to keep them—but not just keep them, but do something about them.

Ø Self-Controlled & Alert—just as Satan is active, we are not to be inactive and passive, just letting our enemy control the battle—we are to be self-controlled(disciplined)& Alert.

o Guard on Guard Duty—is not allowed to fall asleep at their post.

o Alertness & Awareness--to take heed lest through remission and indolence some destructive calamity suddenly overtake one—to awaken from sleep

Victory over the Enemy—6b,

Resistance—James tells us that we must resist the devil and he will flee

Standing Firm--to set one's self against, to withstand, resist, oppose—firm--strong, firm, immovable, solid, hard, rigid

Not Alone

God will restore, God will make strong firm and steadfast.

Luke 10:17-20

Ephesians 6:10—18—God supplies the Armor

God Supplies the Spirit

God Supplies the Wounds

You may have an enemy looking to devour you, but you have a Savior looking to defend you.

You may have a lion chasing after you, but you have the Lion of Judah to rescue you

You may have all kinds of fiery arrows shot in your direction, but you have a Defender who provides all the armor you need.

WE have the Victory of the enemy.