After admonishing every believer as Christian soldiers to put on the whole armor of God and identifying each piece of that armor in Ephesians 6:10–17, Paul commands us to be, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:18). Prayer must be our attitude and action in our battle with Satan, the flesh, and the world.
Prayer is the energy that allows us as Christian soldiers to wear the armor and defeat our foes. We must not rely on our own power, abilities, or talents. We must find our strength in Him and we must access His help and intervention through prayer.
Prayer is our opportunity to get God’s supply on the front lines of spiritual battle. Satan never feels more threatened than when a believer prays. It is not the weak or strong Christian that he fears, nor the inadequate prayer that we make. It is the fact that as children of God we are appealing to our Heavenly Father and Almighty God which alarms Satan. He will do all he can to keep us from praying.
The instruction to pray always does not mean to be always saying prayers. Rather, it means to be in constant and consistent communion with the Lord. At any moment, a surprise attack can come against us and we need to be in communication with headquarters.
Prayer may be the most pure spiritual exercise in which we can participate. We should pray “in the Spirit” and seek His enablement to gain victory over wicked and worldly thoughts as we pray. He will bring to mind passages of Scripture to claim, and give us assurance that God hears and understands us.
As we pray, we must be watchful and persevering as we beseech His intervention in the battle. The word watching means “keeping on the alert.” Satan loves to lull us into spiritual sleep and stupor.
The Lord Jesus exhorted us to “watch and pray” and showed us that this is the key to victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil (Mark 13:33; 14:38). Watching sights the enemy, and praying fights the enemy. Our enemies are seeking to destroy our lives, our homes, and our church, so, we must stay alert.
A good definition of perseverance is “to stick to it and not quit.” We may give up, but Satan never quits.
Many of us quit praying just before the Lord answers. Let me encourage you to keep on praying until the Holy Spirit stops you or the Father answers you. Let us pray and keep on praying.
