Title: Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ
Author: Andre Holtslag

9
“All Prayer”      Text – Ephesians 6:18        OT Reading – Psalm 55

Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ,
Just 7 verses to go!  We’re almost there!  
And we have considered so many wonderful truths as we have moved through this book, most recently finishing with the armour of God.  
We understand that the belt, the breastplate, and the studded boots must be worn, while the shield, the helmet, and the sword must be wielded.  

1.	And you would think, having surveyed all of this, and having ended by pointing believers to truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the Word, which are theirs to possess and to use in Christ Jesus, that no more needs to be said.  Surely, this is the perfect place to end?  But it is not.  Before he makes his closing comments, there is one more thing that must be said.  
a.	And given what we have already seen within this Epistle, it should come as no surprise that his last command is a call to prayer.  
i.	For v18 completes what we might call the anchor point of every other command of these last three chapters.  
1.	Be humble, seek unity, put off falsehood, live a life of love, avoid all sexual immorality, speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, submit to one another, husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church, etc; do all of those things, yes, but do them all grounded in v18, bathed in v18, saturated with v18.  

b.	Let’s see, then, why this is so.  In terms of its local context, v18 is the second half of what we are called to do in vv10-14.  
i.	Looking back to all that has been said in Ephesians, vv10-14 alert us to the fact that we are engaged in a spiritual battle with the forces of the evil one.  
1.	All of the commands Paul has given need to be understood in that context; living the sanctified life is a spiritual battle.  
ii.	And because of this, in v10, believers are commanded to “be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power,” while the opening words of v14 call us to the same thing in different words: “Stand firm.”  
1.	And all of the words that come after “stand firm then” in v14 are the first half of how we do this; we “stand firm” by putting on the full armour of God.  
a.	It isn’t quite as obvious in our English translations, but from the Greek grammar, we see it like this: 
i.	The simple verb command of v14 is “stand firm.”  
ii.	Then come six explanatory participles that reveal how we stand firm in terms of the armour; by wrapping the belt of truth around ourselves, by putting on the breastplate of righteousness, by lashing the studded boots of the gospel of peace to our feet, and also by taking up the shield, by taking up the helmet and by taking up the sword.  
iii.	But, even having done all this, we are still not yet able to “stand firm.”  One crucial tool is still needed.  And that tool is seen in the participle of v18; “AND BY PRAYING.”  
iv.	Boiled down it looks like this: Stand firm by putting on the full armour of God AND by praying.  
2.	And congregation, there is such a danger that we stop at the armour of God or get so caught up in its wonderful imagery that we fail to go on to or skip over v18, which, because it is Paul’s last command, is so important.  
a.	We must put on the full armour of God AND pray.  
b.	Because we lack any resources of our own that will enable us to do all of these things, success comes only by prayer. 
c.	We might express it like this: One of the ways to measure Christianity is not by how much a person knows or how busy they are with this or that but how much time they spend in prayer with their God and Father.  

And we see this in v18 as the Apostle of prayer calls all believers to all prayer.  

And I describe this call to prayer as a call to ALL prayer because of his frequent use of the word “all”; “on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests … and always keep on praying for all the saints.”   

His command, as we have noted, is right there at the beginning of v18; “AND Pray.”  But what he reveals about the call to all prayer addresses the frequency of prayer, the variety of prayer, the manner of prayer, the objects of prayer, and lastly, the power of prayer; our five points.

Firstly then, in regards to the frequency of prayer, Paul says, “AND pray … on all occasions” or “at all times.”

1.	And this is the oft repeated message of the Apostle: 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray continually”; Romans 12:12, “Be … faithful in prayer”; Colossians 4:2, “Devote yourselves to prayer.”

2.	And not only is this the apostle’s command, it was also his own practice: 1 Thessalonians 3:10, “Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith”; 2 Thessalonians 1:11, “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you.”  
a.	And it was also the practice of all the disciples: Acts 1:14, “They all joined together constantly in prayer.”  
b.	The psalmist too reveals the constancy of his prayers as we read earlier: Psalm 55:16-17, “But I call to God, and the LORD saves me.  Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice.”

3.	And above and beyond all of these, consider also the Lord Jesus Christ: Mark 1:35, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed”; Luke 5:16, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed”; Luke 6:12, “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.”

4.	Now, as we think about this command and the quotes and examples I have set before you, Paul cannot only be talking about what we might call formal prayer; as in close your eyes and fold your hands, and praying the pattern of the Lord’s Prayer.  We need to drive, for example, we need to use complex machinery at work, we need to pick groceries of the shelf, etc.  And all of these require our focused attention.  So what then does the call to constant prayer demand of us?  
a.	Well, firstly, it most certainly does include regular, sustained, ‘formal’ prayer.  
i.	This was how Jesus taught us to pray.  
ii.	Paul’s many prayers in his letters reveal his ‘formal’ prayers, as do the other prayers of the Bible.  
iii.	And so, if the Apostle Paul and King David were regularly and constantly in prayer, shouldn’t we be so, even more?  
iv.	If Jesus, the Son of God, who could not sin, needed, regularly and constantly to bow in prayer to His Father in heaven, even making use of the night hours just to pray, shouldn’t we?  

b.	But they too could not always bow in ‘formal’ prayer.  And so, we need to see that the call to constant prayer includes, also, the demand to a prayerful attitude; not just the folded hands, closed eyes ‘formal’ prayer, but also a constant attitude of prayer.  
i.	John Wesley described the always praying believer in this way, “His heart is ever lifted up to God, at all times and in all places.  In this he is never hindered, much less interrupted, by any person or thing.  [Alone or with] company, in leisure, business, or conversation, his heart is ever with the Lord.  Whether he lie down or rise up, God is in all his thoughts; he walks with God continually, having the loving eye of his mind fixed upon Him, and everywhere ‘seeing Him that is invisible.’”  

ii.	Brothers and sisters, young people, and boys and girls, is this you?  
1.	Is this an accurate description of your life of unceasing prayer?  
2.	As you mature in faith, are you spending more time in prayer, finding more to pray about, and praying for longer?  
3.	But are you also finding that your heart is ever lifted up to God, at all times and in all places, through a growing attitude of prayer?  

c.	Now, you might be thinking that what we have just spoken of sounds like the prayer life of a super Christian, not for we who are just ordinary, regular Christians.  The problem with that sort of thinking, however, is that Paul wrote this letter to all the saints in Ephesus, indeed, to all believers, everywhere.  
i.	And the Holy Spirit’s command, through Paul, to all believers, is “pray at all times.”  
ii.	And the warning, then, is this: If you do not pray all the time, the armour of God is less useful, and you will be easier pickings for the evil one; you will struggle to stand against him.  
1.	You might know the truth, inside and out.  You might be absolutely orthodox in your beliefs, and yet, because you are not always praying, you are living a defeated and unproductive life.  
2.	You might claim that a simple shield of faith is all you need, or repeat to yourself over and over again that I am saved, and yet, because you are not always praying be paralyzed by the devil.  

iii.	If you are to be an effective servant of God, a passionate evangelist, and a selfless member of the body of Christ; if you are to grow in godliness, you must imitate Jesus, and in the power of Jesus, pray always.

But secondly, we see that the Apostle’s call to all prayer also addresses the variety of prayer. 

He says, “And pray … with all kinds of prayers and requests.” 

1.	And very simply, the words “prayers and requests” are used by Paul to suggest every possible part of the content of prayer.  The first has in view prayer in general, while the second has in view the more specific aspects of prayer.  
a.	You see, if we are always praying, whether that be the constant attitude of prayer or more ‘formal prayer,’ there are thousands of possible scenarios and situations that will affect what we pray for.  Similarly, what we see, or are reading, or think about at any given moment will affect what we pray for.  
i.	In Psalm 8, David prayed, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?”  
1.	As he was looking up at the sky, David was prompted to a prayer of praise.  
ii.	Psalm 18 is a Psalm about David’s deliverance from Saul.  It says, “In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help.”  
iii.	After David’s sin with Bathsheba, initially, Psalm 32 tells us he kept silent and his bones wasted away.  But then, as he considered his sin and God’s holiness and love, David says, “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.  I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"-- and you forgave the guilt of my sin.”  
iv.	In 2 Samuel 12, as David’s child lay ill, we read, “David pleaded with God for the child.  He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground.”

b.	And in this brief selection of Bible verses, we are pointed to that very useful prayer guide in relation to the variety of prayer – ACTS.  
i.	A - we are to Adore God in our prayers; to praise Him for who He is, what He has done, and what He is doing.  
ii.	C – we are to confess our sins before God in prayer; to list them, specifically.  
iii.	T – we are to thank God in prayer; to “count His blessings and name them one by one, for it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”  
iv.	And lastly, S – we are to bring our supplications before God in prayer.  
1.	And boys and girls, supplication basically means requests; the things we ask for.  
a.	When you ask Mum for a glass of milk, you are making supplication.  
2.	But in Psalm 142:1-2, we see that supplication means much more than just asking for things.  There, David was in a cave.  And we read, “A prayer.  I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy.  I pour out my complaint before Him; before Him I tell my trouble.”  
3.	Thus, in our prayers; we are to ask God to do what He has promised to do; we are to ask Him to give that which He knows we need; but we may also cry to Him for mercy or comfort, complain to Him when we are troubled, and lift our voices to Him from the pit of despair and depression.  

c.	Because Jesus Christ has brought us into relationship with our Father in heaven, and because prayer is the heartbeat of that relationship, we must pray always and “with all kinds of prayers and requests.”

Thirdly though, we see that the Apostle’s call to all prayer also addresses the manner of prayer.

Looking back to his opening instructions about prayer in this verse, he says, “With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying.”

1.	And to begin with, there is a sense in which these words return us to the soldier imagery of vv14-17.  
a.	It doesn’t matter, you see, how well armoured a soldier is if he is lying on a hay bale enjoying 40 winks when the enemy approaches.  If you know you are in a battle, you must always be alert to danger.  
i.	Shortly before His trial and crucifixion, Jesus went with His disciples to the garden of Gethsemane.  He was deeply troubled by what He knew was about to happen, but He was also lovingly concerned for the spiritual well-being of His friends.  He knew that the devil would soon be launching a massive attack in regards to doubt and denial on the disciples as the events of the following hours unfolded.  And so, He said to His disciples, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.  The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”  
1.	Is there anyone here who agrees with Jesus’ summary of the human condition; anyone who knows what Jesus’ speaks of?  I know I do.  
a.	How often do our desires for godliness come to nothing because of the weakness of the flesh?  
i.	How often do our intentions to read His Word, or to not sin in this area, or to be fearless when it comes to evangelism melt like ice-cream on a hot day?  

2.	Well, again, looking to Jesus’ example and to His words of encouragement, we must learn to “watch and pray.”  
a.	We must carefully study His Word, so that we learn more and more about the schemes of the devil.  For then we learn why being alert in relation to prayer is necessary and will increasingly become alert in relation to prayer.  

2.	But we must “be alert and always keep on praying.”  
a.	And to see what is meant here, please turn with me for a moment to Luke 18.  “Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.  He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men.  And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'  For some time he refused.  But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!'  And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says.  And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night?  Will He keep putting them off?  I tell you, He will see that they get justice, and quickly.”  

i.	Congregation, what these words of Jesus reveal is that God honours persistent prayer.  And this is a repeated message of the Bible.  
1.	We probably all know Jesus’ words from Matthew 7, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”  
2.	Literally though, it is thus, “Ask repeatedly, over and over again, and it will be given to you, seek repeatedly … knock continuously, over and over again…”  
3.	God will honour persistent prayer.
a.	In the North African city of Hippo, in AD 354, a woman named Monica gave birth to a son, whom she and her husband named Augustine.  He was raised in the church but embraced an immoral lifestyle in his young teenage years.  For twenty years Monica constantly prayed for Augustine’s conversion and always lived near him.  Finally, in his early 30’s, Augustine came to faith in Christ in the Italian city of Milan.  After his baptism, he left with his mother for home.  Near Rome, Monica said to him, 

b.	 soon as that need is resolved, very quickly, our prayer life returns to the former dribble it once was.  
i.	Well, the Holy Spirit, who knows our needs, says, “Be alert and always keep on praying.”  
1.	Like Monica, keep praying for your wayward child or spouse or parent, keep praying for revival in the land and reformation in the church, keep praying for God to open doorways into our community, keep praying for more ministers and missionaries, keep praying for a closer walk with God, keep praying for a deeper assurance of salvation, keep praying for church planting opportunities, just keep praying…  

But let us note, fourthly, what this call to all prayer reveals about the object of prayer.

Paul says, “And pray … for all the saints.”  

1.	Congregation, there is nothing wrong with praying for ourselves.  Many of David’s prayers in the psalms are about himself.  But just as our prayers ought to be weighted with spiritual things rather than physical things, so our prayers also ought to be weighted towards others rather than ourselves.  
a.	Consider Paul, in prison, chained to his guard, soon to die.  And who is that fills his prayers?  Not himself, but the saints in Ephesus, Corinth, Colossae, Thessalonica, and Philippi.  
b.	Think also of Jesus on the eve of His crucifixion, and His High priestly prayer of John 17.  Where are His thoughts? with His disciples and with all believers; with you and with me:  “Father … I pray for them … Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name-- the name you gave me-- so that they may be one as we are one … My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one … May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.  Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.”  

c.	John Macarthur says, “The spiritually healthy person is devoted to the welfare of others, especially fellow believers.  On the other hand, the root of both psychological and spiritual sickness is a preoccupation with self.”  
i.	Isn’t it true, for instance, that our attitude to our illness or injury changes when we start to think about others who are far worse off than we? 
ii.	If then, you are well and all is good, pray “for all the saints”; pray for others.  
iii.	But if you are troubled, needy, or hurting, especially pray for others.  If your circumstances are grim, whatever they might be, especially pray for others.  
iv.	And you will see how richly the Lord blesses you through devoted prayer for others.

d.	Now congregation, given that we have been called to continual prayer, of every variety, alert and persistent prayer, and prayer for all the saints, there is one point of application that simply must be touched on.  
i.	On the second Friday of every Lord’s Supper month, and the first Sunday of every month in between, a prayer meeting is held in the church.  And with the words of this text fresh in our minds, barring unusual circumstances or ill-health, etc, we ought to be there.  
1.	Yes, we must pray as individuals, as families, as districts, and as a congregation in worship.  But it is in prayer meetings that we gather solely to pray.  And everything else in the life of the church begins with and is sustained by prayer.  
2.	If you’re uncomfortable with the idea of praying in public, fear not, no one has to pray out loud.  But your silent prayers, and your amen, add to the prayers of this small congregation of the Lord’s people.  

The frequency of prayer is to be “on all occasions.”  The variety of prayer is to be “all kinds of prayers and requests.”  The manner of prayer is to be alert and to keeping on praying.  And the object of prayer is to be “for all the saints.”  
Lastly though, the power of prayer is seen in that we are to “pray in the Spirit.”

Congregation, there is a whole sermon series on this subject alone.  
1.	Today though, let’s simply note that to pray in the Spirit does not mean ecstatic speech or speaking in tongues or Holy laughter or any other of the dangerous unbiblical excesses of Pentecostalism.  
2.	To pray in the Spirit is not some extraordinary gift given to a few super Christians.  As we have noted, this letter is written to all the saints in Ephesus, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, to all believers.  Thus, we are all commanded to pray in the Spirit.  

3.	In John 14, Jesus said the following to His disciples, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things.”  It is the Holy Spirit who gives us new birth in Christ.  He opens our dead ears and hearts to be able to hear and believe the truth.  
a.	And how does He do that?  He does it through the Bible.  
b.	Jesus continues in John 16, The Holy Spirit “will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears … He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine [my words] and making it known to you.”  
4.	To pray in the Spirit, then, is to pray for the things that the Holy Spirit convicts us of as in line with God’s will, which we find in here (hold up the Bible).  
a.	It is the Holy Spirit who brings to mind what we have learned about God in the Bible as things to pray for.  
b.	It is the Holy Spirit who brings to mind what we have learned about salvation in Jesus Christ from the Bible as things to pray for.  
c.	It is the Holy Spirit who brings to mind all of the spiritual blessings that are as ours in Christ that we have learned in Ephesians 1-3 as things to pray for.  

5.	But to pray in the Spirit means also what we find in Romans 8:26, “The Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.  And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.”  

Brothers and Sisters, young people, and boys and girls, Ephesians 6:18 is a daunting verse.
Praise God, then, that we pray looking to Jesus who said, “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.”  
Praise God that our feeble efforts at prayer, and our frequent selfishness in prayer, and even our prayerlessness is covered by Jesus who “is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.”  
And praise God that we pray in the Spirit, because “the Spirit helps us in our weakness.”  Amen.