“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always continue praying for all the Lord’s people.” Ephesians 6:18
On a daily basis, it is in our prayer lives where the battle for spiritual victory is won or lost. The absence of prayer makes putting on the armor of God nothing but an intellectual experience completely void of spiritual vitality. Remember, when Paul speaks of the armor of God, he is metaphorically speaking of the spiritual blessings we have in Christ. We unlock the divine truth of the gospel through prayer and constant communion with the Father.
We see this truth come alive in the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, where Paul lays out thirteen of the spiritual blessings we have in Christ. Let’s take a quick survey: We are chosen, made holy and blameless before God, and loved unconditionally (v. 4). We are spiritually adopted as children of God (v 5). We find complete acceptance in Christ (v. 6). We are redeemed through the blood of Christ, forgiven, and given all the riches of God’s grace (v. 7). We are lavished with all spiritual wisdom and understanding (v. 8). We understand the mystery of God’s will (v. 9). We are guaranteed an eternal inheritance (vs. 11, 14). We received the Word of truth and were sealed with the Holy Spirit (v. 13).
At the end of this robust list of blessings, Paul offers a prayer of enlightenment. Paul does not pray for us to receive these spiritual blessings because he knows we already have them as chosen children of God. Paul prays that we will experience the wonder and depth of what we already possess so that we will “know God better” (v. 17) and so that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened” (v. 18). God desires that we have an ever-expanding view of his infinite blessings so that Christ will transform our lives. He wants us to be people marked with hope and full of assurance. People with unlimited spiritual resources and heavenly confidence, and people marked with supernatural spiritual power and unstoppable strength (vs. 18–20). He wants to equip us to be the victorious warriors God intended.
Just like each piece of armor can be turned into an intellectual exercise void of spiritual power, spiritual blessings can become lifeless Christianity through prayerlessness. Oswald Chambers writes, “Prayer is the exercise of drawing on the grace of God.” Paul’s emphasis on the preeminence of prayer at the end of his study on the armor of God drives this point home.
If we are not regularly encountering God through meaningful prayer, the Devil is winning. He is out scheming us! He is outwitting us! He is robbing us of spiritual power and distracting us with trivial things. John Piper writes, “The devil hates prayer. Our flesh does not naturally love it. Therefore, it does not come full-born, complete and passionate from the womb of our heart. It takes ever-renewed discipline.”
A 21-Day Prayer Campaign is an excellent time to renew your discipline in prayer privately and corporately. During the 21-day Prayer Campaign we hope to strengthen the private prayer life of every pastor, staff member, lay leader, and believer in our churches and strengthen the corporate prayer life of every church throughout Converge MSC as together we seek to stand victoriously against the schemes of our arch enemy through Jesus Christ our victorious Savior.
Check out one of our 21-Day Campaigns for your church to do this Fall and join hundreds of churches and thousands of believers in prayer.
