“In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 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, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I gam an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”– Eph. 6:16-20
We all know this passage as the one that describes the Armor of God given to all of us who believe because of the on-going battle in the world around us. This will be the subject of the Men of Valor’s book study staring in September as we scrutinize each of these as necessary equipment in our fight to glorify God, keep evil at bay and be a strong witness for Christ to those around us.
However, I only want to focus on one of these today…Prayer. This is the one we don’t ofte think about when we think about the Armor of God and yet it is at the center of the equipment that we must use to be able to ward off the enemy and to support one another.
Prayer is essential. Prayer is vital …prayer based on the truth of Scripture. We have an obligation to use the equipment given to us by God properly and prayer is a vital part of that equipment.
The Scriptures seem to include at least 5 distinct categories of prayer. All 5 are to be practiced by the children of God. To keep our times with the Lord fresh and free from routine, we should use all of these approaches on a regular basis as we talk to our heavenly Father.
1. Adoration- Worship or praise– I Chron. 29:11-13; Ps. 146:1-2; Rom. 11:33-36; Rev. 4:10-11; Rev. 5:12-14 (and many others like these)- Worship expresses worth adoration/praise and honor to God.
2. Confession-Ps. 32:5; Ps. 38:18; Ps. 51:1-3; Ps. 66:18; Prov. 28:13- Declaring openly, honestly and as specifically as possible our disobedience, claiming God’s forgiveness and mercy not because we deserve it, earned it, or are entitled to it but only on the merits of Christ alone.
3. Thanksgiving- Ps. 138; Rom. 1:8; Eph. 5:20; I Thess. 5:18- Acknowledging our gratitude to God for all His blessings and provisions as well as His disciplines and tests.
4. Supplications/ Intercession– I Sam. 12:23; Eph. 6:18; I Tim. 2:1-2; James 5:14-16—Supporting others in prayer…remembering their special needs.
5. Petition– Phil. 4:6-7; I Thess. 5:17; Heb. 4:14-16; James I:5- Expressing our own needs and requests to God.
Of course, we are to end out prayers acknowledging the One to whom we pray and acknowledging that we can only come before the LORD because of Jesus so we pray in Jesus’ name.
The war rages on with powers and principalities and we must be equipped to fight on. God in His mercy and grace gives us what we need in the fight and prayer is an essential piece of that equipment.
Pray on these things.
God bless y’all today.
In His Grip,
Pastor Mike
