Pray, pray, pray and pray
We're picking up this series from before Easter where we were listening to and learning from Paul's prayers that he shares in his letters. We come to the end of Ephesians today. Having picked up prayers of Paul from chapter 1 and chapter 3, prayer gets a focus in chapter 6.
It's the passage about the armour of God. The reminder that we are in a spiritual battle.
Today in your home that spiritual battle is raging... have you let your guard down? Are you making use of the armour?
Well after reminding us of the armour and weapons that we have at our disposal, Paul says this:
Ephesians 6:18-20
"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 Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."
1. Pray for all the Lord's people
We don't just stand in the spiritual battle alone. We are to pray for each other. That's one of the privileges of belonging to a local church. How could you do this systematically for your church family? It's a great way to make use of the church directory: to pray through the names. What about splitting the names from your growth group up over different days of the week so that you pray for them regularly? A prayer journal or prayer list makes this possible as a prompt, as does the helpful App PrayerMate:
2. Pray for the gospel to be declared "fearlessly"
Paul makes this point twice in quick succession. It is obviously a concern for him. We often think that he was already fearless and brave. But he clearly wasn't. He depended on the Lord's strength for his ministry. And so he knew that he needed people to pray for him. Who might we pray for this week to declare the gospel fearlessly? Someone we have sent abroad? Our brothers and sisters in Moldova? The preachers this coming Sunday?
Pray, pray, pray and pray...
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