We are called out from the world to live in faith and obedience to Jesus Christ, to a life that stands apart from the ways of the world, that might even be considered the exact opposite of what the world believes. Our enemies—the devil, his fallen angels and sin living in our flesh—are hell-bent on keeping us from trusting God and living in His ways. We must stand firm and hold fast to all God teaches and all He wants us to be. He has given us His power and spiritual armor to hold fast to God and His ways, to hold His ground. There is one more piece of equipment He has given for our success: Prayer. It is a powerful tool for our good and the advancement of God’s mission. From Ephesians 6:18-24.
Prayer
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Prayer is like our radio, tied directly to headquarters: God’s throne room. Prayer is Nehemiah’s trumpet, when the Jews were rebuilding Jerusalem and the nations around them threatened to attack. The work was spread across the whole city, but the laborers were few. So Nehemiah kept a trumpeter with him, so that if their enemies attacked, he could call the rest of the people to come and join the defense. But ours is a spiritual battle and our enemies are spirit. Prayer sounds the trumpet of need in heaven and God sends angelic reinforcements as He determines.
Paul calls us to pray at all times, “on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” Whatever the need, we can and should bring it to God. It may be physical or financial or spiritual. It may be for healing; it may be for a new pastor to lead this outpost of God’s truth. Paul sets no limit to what we can ask. We share all kinds of requests during service. We have a printed list you can take home. We should be praying for one another all the time, as regularly as possible, for whatever requests we may have.
Paul calls us to pray in the Spirit, but I don’t want you to be bogged down by what that means. When talking about the gift of tongues and praying in a tongue that he himself may not understand, he writes, “So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind (1 Corinthians 14:15, NIV). Prayer begins with us deliberately calling out to God and speaking with Him about whatever concerns we know about. We speak from our hearts and from our minds, with a specific list like the one we produce every week.
The Spirit steps in to join us, as He sees fit (Romans 8:26-27). We may not know what is best to pray, but we pray as we think best. The Spirit prays alongside us, “interced[ing] for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” That’s why many of our prayers do not get answered as we pray. But they do get answered as God wills. The more we understand and live out the teachings of God’s word, the more we understand God’s will for believers and unbelievers in general. The more we understand God’s general will for all people, the more we’ll pray in accordance with that will—and the more we’ll see our prayers answered as we asked!
As you set aside time to talk with God, as you turn your attention to the Lord and to seeking His will as you pray for people, an amazing thing can happen: You sense the presence of the Spirit right with you as you pray. And He speaks to you and leads you in the direction He wants you to pray. And you find yourself praying in the Spirit!
It does not require emptying your mind—that’s an invitation to the devil! It does require quieting your heart and directing your focus to the Lord, His Word and the needs of those around you. It helps if you spend some time meditating on God’s Word, some instruction or some truth recorded there, especially as it relates to how we ought to be living in this world. Talk with God about that instruction, ask Him how it would look to put it into practice. “Would it look like this?” “What if I did that?” You may “sense” some very definite answers. You’ll be engaging with God and can dialogue with Him both about His Word and about the needs of those who need prayer. He may direct you to pray differently than you’ve been asked, and He’ll remind you of passages in His Word to confirm that direction. Follow His lead, even if it seems the opposite of what the person wanted. You’re praying in step with the Spirit.
If you give yourself sufficient time and genuinely seek to engage with the Lord, you will find Him “showing up” every time you pray. Indeed, the more you do so, the more you give yourself to do His will, to seek His will and to pray His will, the more you’ll find yourself regularly aware of being in His presence, and all your praying, whether short or long, will be in the Spirit. But it takes time and discipline and practice to build that kind of relationship with the Lord.
It begins with a determination to keep alert, to understand the times, to understand the needs of those around us, and to understand the heart of God for every individual. “Always keep on praying for the saints!” Take these prayer lists home with you. Set aside a time every day to read a chapter of God’s word and talk to God about what He is teaching you from that chapter. Ask about what it means and talk about how you can put it into practice. Then talk to Him about the needs of others that you’re aware of, that are recorded on this list. Ask Him how you ought to pray, and if you don’t know anything else, ask as the individuals asked you to pray. God won’t accidentally do the wrong thing because of how you prayed. He’ll do exactly as He intends, even if it’s the opposite of what you asked. He knows best, far better than you and me, what others need.
Pray for Ambassadors
19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
If a prayer is recorded in Scripture, we can be sure it is God’s will and we should have complete confidence to pray it for anyone and everyone!
Paul asks prayer specifically that he would have words to fearlessly make know the mystery of the Gospel whenever he opens his mouth. You can’t pray that for Paul anymore. His race is won; his task complete (2 Timothy 4:6-7). But that’s a fantastic prayer to pray for any other brother or sister in Christ! Even for ourselves!
Don’t get tripped up by his use of the word “mystery.” Remember, the Gospel is not a confusing or difficult message to understand. It is an amazingly powerful message that can transform a sinner into a saint. It can save the lost from an eternity in Hell and grant them a place in God’s eternal home. We can share the plain and simple facts of the Gospel, but its ability to save and transform is beyond our understanding. It is a work that God alone does and can do. It is mysterious in that we have no idea whom God will choose to save when we declare the Gospel. He does! But He doesn’t tell us beforehand.
So we speak, and God does a mysterious work. Or He doesn’t. But still, we must speak.
Even Paul needed boldness. Keep in mind, he’s in prison, “an ambassador in chains,” which makes the Gospel even more powerful and confounding! Who would want to believe a message that landed Paul in jail? But prison doesn’t dampen Paul’s hope in it or conviction to preach it. The Gospel is a message that imparts such hope, that even the threat of death cannot silence it!
If this imprisonment is the one recorded at the end of Acts, then Paul is in his own rented quarters with a regular rotation of Roman soldiers to guard him. He is free to entertain anyone who comes to visit him. He can preach to the guards and he can preach to visitors.
Yet it is because of the Gospel that Paul is in prison! How would that affect you if it was you? Would you think there’s nothing left to lose, so go out in a blaze of glory, preaching the Gospel to everyone and anyone who comes near? Or would you be tempted to think, if you but lay low for a season, keep quiet, maybe everything will blow over and you’ll be set free and then can go on—carefully—sharing the Gospel, doing your best not to stir up any more trouble?
How tempting—and how common it seems—that we choose the latter. If trouble comes because of the Gospel, we’re more careful about who we share it with and about how vocally we share it. Perhaps Paul felt that himself! So he asked these believers to pray that he would “fearlessly make known the mystery of the Gospel”—the very reason he’s in prison!—whenever he opens his mouth! In other words, whenever he went to say anything, he wanted the Gospel to come out!
Is that not the best prayer we could ask for ourselves and for any other believe in Jesus Christ? How often does our mouth open and no Gospel comes out? Can you imagine how different it would be if every time we spoke, it was the Gospel? How annoying we’d be!
Paul may be speaking a bit of hyperbole, but the point is important. We should be praying for one another and for anyone we have sent out for the sake of the Gospel that we would explain the Gospel to as many people as possible. It should be uppermost in all our desires, that we tell everyone we possibly can about Jesus.
You don’t know what to pray for someone not on our prayer list? Pray this! You don’t know what to pray for the messengers we’ve sent out from this congregation? Pray this! You don’t know what to ask for yourself? Pray this!
Our greatest temptation is to give way to fear so as to silence our Gospel witness. We need to pray for ourselves and for one another that we would not be afraid to speak up for Jesus! And may our lives affirm our message, as Paul’s boldness in prison gave credence to his message!
Share Needs
21 Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. 22 I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you.
Paul’s personal and specific circumstances at the time of writing his letters do not get recorded in Scripture, because they’re not necessary for our salvation and sanctification. But they are meaningful to those who would be praying for him. We need to be informed accurately of the things those servants sent out from us are facing so we can be in prayer for them—and so that we can praise God with them when He answers and delivers them (2 Corinthians 1:3-11).
More than that. We need to be sharing our specific requests with one another—because we were just commanded to pray for one another! If we don’t know what is going on in each other’s lives—what needs, challenges and victories—how can we meaningfully show our care and concern for one another? Sure, we can pray the basics, that God would show Himself to each one of us, that God would fill us with His love, that we would be overflowing with love for one another and for the lost so as to speak the Gospel every time we open our mouths. But we grow no closer to each other, because we refuse to open our lives to each other.
To be vulnerable is frightening. We don’t want others to think we’re weak. We don’t want others to know our imperfections, our fears and our real struggles. We don’t want others to know where we’re wrong and stubbornly unrepentant. We think we can hide the truth about ourselves. Perhaps specifics remain hidden, but our weaknesses and sins are on full display to anyone who interacts with us regularly. If we only expose our lives to unbelievers, they’ll leave us alone. But if we open our lives to the scrutiny of fellow believers, they will hopefully love us enough to rebuke us, correct us, and pray for our growth and change—in humility and graciousness and love—not condemnation—knowing their own weaknesses and struggles.
There are some among us who have never shared a prayer request. That’s not to your glory, but your loss. We know you have needs. We know you have difficulties. We know you have problems. We know you need help. But you keep your problems to yourself, as if you are completely capable of solving them on your own. Or, you look to others outside this fellowship to help you and rob us of the opportunity to knit our lives together with yours, to help carry your burden and help you grow in Christlikeness. We’re not really much of a family or a body or interconnected and interdependent if we don’t know what’s really happening in each other’s lives. If we’re not open both for prayer and perhaps for correction.
Peace and Love
23 Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.
Paul closes this letter with a blessing of peace, love and grace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus. You’ll notice it’s not an unconditional promise, but one for the brothers, for all who love the Lord Jesus with an undying love.
Interesting that this would follow on the heels of this passage about spiritual warfare. There is peace even in the midst of such a life of turmoil—for those who belong to the Father through Jesus, for those who have confidence in their own salvation as evidenced by their humble submission to all God teaches. They are truly brothers and sisters in Christ, who ever share openly with one another, bear one another’s burdens, speak the truth to each other and encourage each other to walk ever more perfectly in Christ’s ways. These are the people whom God loves, not just in a general “God so loved the world” sense, but in a personal and delighted love.
Grace—God’s favor and kindness and love—is extended to those who truly love Jesus with an undying love. Not to those who love in word, but those who love in word and deed. Not to those who love with some kind of feeling, but those who love with an entrusting of self to the wisdom and instruction of the Lord such that they do what He teaches.
As an undeserved curse will not come to rest on the innocent (Proverbs 26:2), so also God’s peace, love and grace will not come to rest on those who do not merit it (Deuteronomy 29:18-21). Ah, but grace is God’s unmerited favor, yes? Sure, we don’t earn His grace by our deeds (Ephesians 2:8-9); we are gifted with it by our faith, but a faith that changes the one who possesses it, a faith that works itself out in love (Galatians 5:6). If we do not have such a transforming faith, we will not enjoy God’s unmerited and unlimited favor.
God cannot be deceived. He knows who loves Him and who just claims to.
The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. (Isaiah 29:13, NIV)
My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice. (Ezekiel 33:31-32, NIV)
I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! (Amos 5:21-24, NIV)
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians 6:7-10, NIV)
We have talked about many instructions in these last three chapters of Ephesians, some of which we agree are good and right, though we may not put much effort to discipline ourselves to adopt these changes. Other commands we’ve discussed, we’re sure they no longer apply to us in this day and age, emboldened as we are by the many false teachers who argue for our freedom to do as we wish. And still we claim to love Jesus. We could not be further from the truth.
In one teaching spread across two chapters of John’s Gospel, Jesus says the same thing in almost the same way at least five times:
Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” (John 14:23-24, NIV)
Last week we saw that those who love the truth will arrive at Jesus. If someone does not accept and believe in Jesus, they do not love or seek truth, as much as they claim otherwise. Likewise, only those who truly love Jesus will humble themselves and accept Him as true God and Lord of their lives, and trust and obey all He instructs. That doesn’t mean they’ll do it perfectly all at once, but it does mean they are determined with all their heart, soul, mind and strength to learn and conform their lives to the instructions of Jesus. Those who pick and choose what they’ll obey or who don’t bother to obey anything He teaches, they have no real love for Him, as much as they claim otherwise. They may deceive some who attend church, but they won’t fool Jesus.
Those who want to enjoy God’s peace, love and grace must love Jesus with an unquenchable love. A love that doesn’t grow cold (Revelation 2:2-5; Revelation 3:15-19; Matthew 24:12-13). A love that doesn’t shrink back from His commands, even when obedience seems to threaten everything we hold dear (John 14:28-31; Revelation 12:11; Revelation 14:12).
As the writer of Hebrews says,
We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.” Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief. (Hebrews 3:14-19, NIV)
Belief produces obedience (Acts 26:20; Romans 1:5); disobedience comes from unbelief. A love and a faith that endure to the end are the only love and faith that actually save. And they produce an obedience that likewise has no limits.
Conclusion
- We need to pray for all saints, especially for those who take the Gospel to new places
- We need to stay informed of each others needs to pray accurately and to be encouraged by each other
- True favor from God is for all those who love Him with an eternal love
Prayer is not an optional add-on to the Christian life. It’s not given only to certain Christians as a special tool to help everyone else stand firm and succeed in Christ’s mission for His church. It is one last vital piece of the whole armor of God. We all need to be praying for one another, for ourselves and for those who go out from us to take the Gospel beyond its current borders.
There’s no limit to what we can pray about, but certainly we all need greater boldness to speak the Gospel as often and to as many people as possible. We need to know one another’s needs so as to pray meaningfully for each other. But there is a humbling in sharing needs and requests with one another. The more honest and personal the request, the more vulnerable and “real” we are with each other. But yes, there is a risk in that. How will others use the information we share? Perhaps they will use it against us. But we will be rewarded with discovering who truly loves us and by receiving the benefit of their genuine care for us.
If we are a body of believers that walks in obedience to all God has commanded, the kind of love we’ll have for one another will bring peace to us, security and confidence, and an acceptance that helps us “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18, NIV). Since we all desire to enjoy peace and love and grace from God Himself and our Lord Jesus, we should all be eager to receive help in walking ever more perfectly in Christ’s commands and ways. We love Jesus, therefore let us walk in all He has commanded us, so that we can receive the promises He offers us. Please do not miss the grace of God that “teaches us … to live … godly lives in this present age” (Titus 2:12, NIV).