HOW I STAND 4. Prayer on the Battlefield Ephesians 6:10-20 For those of you joining us for the first time or the first time in a long time tonight is the 33 rd and the final installment in our study of a letter written in the mid-1 st century by a man named Paul from a prison in the city of Rome to a group of Christians living in the city of Ephesus. I pray that the Lord has used this book to transform the way all of us understand the Gospel that we see the Gospel as being bigger than we ever dreamed it to be; that the we would see how the Gospel speaks to, shapes and transforms every area of our lives, every moment of every day, every circumstance we encounter, as we live between the already and the not yet. Until we step into eternity everything that Jesus has done for us, every element of our NEW IDENTITY in Jesus, every moment of our NEW WAY OF LIVING for Jesus, is going to be contested and opposed. QUOTE: Warren Wiersbe The Christian life is a battleground and not a playground. Life between the already and the not yet is a battlefield. Tonight we re going to take one last look at the subject of our warfare. Ephesians 6 contains the great warfare passage written by the apostle Paul from a Roman prison. We have come as far as verse 18 in Ephesians 6. Let s listen to the passage one more time from start to finish. Ephesians 6:10-20 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 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 1
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 am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. At the core of this final section of the letter is Paul s instruction about the whole armor of God and how is essential it is. We simply cannot stand in our new identity and we cannot stand in mission without the panoplia. He says that we must appropriate it; we must take it to ourselves; we must put it on. He could have put a period at the end of Ephesians 6:18 and started his final greeting in verse 21 but he didn t! Inspired by the Holy Spirit Paul made it clear that it s not enough to have the belt of truth, the breastplate of the righteousness, the gospel of peace providing traction in battle, the shield of the faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Now, be praying always. When you read the Bible, you learn that first things and last words are really important. First things, first mentions, are important in Scripture. They set precedence. They frame truth. They help explain things that follow in the course of the Bible. Last words are really important too. They bear such weight; they re loaded with important truth. I hope you learn to take note of them and come to love them. Here s a great example of the weight and importance of last words. Acts 1 Jesus standing with the disciples just before ascending into heaven. His parting, earthly, instruction: Acts 1:4-5; 8-9.he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now... 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight THAT is so interesting! Jesus had been with them for three years. These guys had the ultimate seminary course! They had been with Jesus day in and day out for three years. Jesus taught them they sat under His teaching in the lecture hall AND in the lab. At the end of busy days, they had private seminar classes with Jesus He tutored them. Jesus had invested in them. They had been eyewitness of miracles. As they listened to His words and watched His actions they heard the tone of His voice and they saw the look in his eyes they saw the 2
very heart of God revealed to them. In Acts 1 Jesus had been with them for 40 days after his resurrection. They saw Jesus killed, they saw Jesus alive again. We would think that by Acts 1 the only one thing left for Jesus to do before ascending into heaven was to rally them together have them put their hands together in the middle and say, Okay guys, on three God Rules! 1-2-3 GOD RULES! And then He s taken up into heaven! But Jesus doesn't do that. Instead of saying GO Jesus says WAIT. You need to wait because you still lack one thing. You know Me. You believe everything correctly. But all of that needs to be set on fire. It needs to have life. It needs to have power. Jesus knew what was in front of them. Jesus knew that all but one of them are going to be martyred. Jesus knew infinitely more than them the opposition they would face. Jesus knew infinitely more than them the wickedness and power of their adversary the devil. Jesus knew infinitely more than them the tsunami of fallen culture that they are marching into. This really struck me: Jesus could supply any and every resource even resources that were being their imagination (Here s technology to use here s transportation to get you anywhere). Yet His parting words He says Here s the one thing you need now you need to wait for the power of the Holy Spirit so that all that you know, all you believe, and all that you have in Me can be set on fire and energized! That s pretty much what Paul is doing here. He says, You have all this; you have the truth, the faith, the righteousness, the peace, the Word you need to you must lay hold of all of that. But it needs to be bathed in prayer. Check this out Paul begins this warfare passage with Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Literally, be strengthened allow the Lord to strengthen you. Verses 11 through 17 are almost parenthetical. You could put those verses within a parenthesis. You can read verse 10 and then read verse 18. That gives you the sense of what Jesus said in Acts 1. 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 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, This exhortation to pray the necessity of prayer is found everywhere in the New Testament. The night before Jesus died on the cross He went to the Garden of Gethsemane where Judas would betray Him. As they entered the Garden of Gethsemene Jesus 3
said, Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation (Matthew 26:41). Jesus understood that prayer brings us to a place of heart and mind where we are less likely to succumb to temptation. Paul closed his second letter to the Thessalonians with 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2 1 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: 2 And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: Paul knew the necessity of prayer in the great enterprise of evangelism. So he said, "Pray for us THAT the word of God may have free course, THAT we might be delivered and unreasonable men." In Acts 1 we see what the disciples did in response to the parting words of Jesus. Acts 1:14 NLT 14 They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus. We read in Acts 2:42 Acts 2:42 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. In Acts 6 the Holy Spirit was directing the church in Jerusalem to distribute the work load in the fledgling church to best meet needs and allow the leaders of the church to continue teaching of the Word. Acts 6:4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. Paul closed his letter to the Christians in Colossae by saying, Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving (Colossians 4:2). From Jesus and from the apostles, the exhortation to pray is stamped on the whole of the New Testament. But in Ephesians 6 the exhortation to pray is in the context warfare. PRAYER ON THE BATTLEFIELD Think back to the Old Testament Exodus 17. Joshua was leading the army of Israel against the Amalekites. While Joshua was on the battlefield, Moses was up on a mountain praying. Joshua had the sword, he had the shield, he had all of the 4
armor but intercessory prayer was essential to the victory. Moses had Aaron and Hur on either side strengthening him, supporting him as he prayed. We are on a battlefield. We have Armor provided by God. It's our responsibility to take up the armor of God and put it on. But we need to be strengthened. We need power for this battle that we don't possess. God clothes us with that power as we continue in prayer, continue in fellowship with Him. Let s walk through prayer on the battlefield 18 praying at all times A lifestyle of prayer. A lot of Christians see prayer framed in the context of devotions. Devotions are great. I do my best to carve out a time for devotions every day. Reading the Bible every day is a big deal. Reading through the Bible in a year is a big deal. Finding time to just sit with the Lord is a big deal. But that's not all God wants from me. God doesn't want devotions He wants devotion. All day, every waking hour that is what the Lord wants from us. Devotions are great but sometimes we can treat them like an item on our spiritual to-do list that we get through and check off. That can become routine and even become legalistic. Jesus devoted His divine being to rescue us. He poured out His soul unto death (Isaiah 53:12). He didn't give a bit of blood at the blood bank for us. Jesus didn't tithe His blood. He bought us with His blood. He wants devotion. HERE S THE POINT If we're going to be on the battlefield and stand, we have to be in constant communication with our commanding officer. Communication on any battlefield is essential to victory. Paul says we should be "praying at all times and then he describes what that should look like. 18 praying at all times.with all prayer That phrase means all kinds of prayer. Some of your Bibles might read it as in all seasons of prayer. But idea is all kinds of prayer. Without knowing it we can diminish the true scope of prayer by thinking of prayer in terms of getting on our knees, eyes closed, hands folded. That is one way to pray. Private prayer is wonderful. Public prayer praying with other believers is wonderful. But there s silent prayer with eyes open in the office, in the classroom, in the car (definitely eyes open when praying in the car). There are those seasons of prayer when the moment, the circumstance is so intense that we have no words and the Bible promises us that the Holy Spirit involves 5
Himself in those moments and in a divine way turns our groanings into intercession. Praise is a type of prayer. Thanksgiving is a type of prayer. Worship is a type of prayer bowing our hearts before the Lord. We do that corporately every time we gather. You can pray like that in your car, doing housework, yard work. We are to pray as a lifestyle communicating, staying in touch with our Savior being able to say Lord, what do I do with this situation? You re driving and you here sirens, you see the aftermath of an automobile accident. Lord, I don't know what went on, but Lord, You know! Please involve yourself give the responders wisdom if one of them is a Christian please use them in that mess. A lifestyle of prayer is crucial on the battlefield because it reminds us that we are with the Lord and the Lord is with us in every situation. When we forget that we re headed for hurt. David wrote in Psalm 51, "Before You, and You alone have I sinned and done this great evil in Your sight." That was in hindsight! He wasn t thinking about, or sensitive to, the presence of the Lord when he committed adultery with Bathsheba and carried out the plan to murder her husband. Prayer fosters the awareness of God s presence and His involvement in our life reminds us that He s watching and listening. We should always understand that we can communicate with Him all the time and in every possible form of prayer. A lifestyle of prayer is crucial on the battlefield because of the shear fatiguing nature of our warfare. Luke 18:1 men ought always to pray and not lose heart. Paul is echoing that reality. He s saying we have two options: pray or faint. Metro I believe God has been speaking to us in a profound way through this series, and especially so concerning the reality of our warfare. This evening is a great time to ask diagnostic questions. Start in the first person. What does my prayer life like? Do I pray all the time? Do I pray at any time, any season all kinds of prayers? It's challenging for me as I read through this. The answer to those questions shapes and the prayer life of a church! On the battlefield we should always be praying first of all with all kinds of prayers then Paul says 18.. and supplication Supplication is a term for specific requests. There is nothing wrong with being very specific in regard to how we pray for ourselves, 6
for others, for a situation. When we were looking at the book of Isaiah in our ROUTE 66 series we saw how king Hezekiah took the written threats of the Assyrian army and went into the house of the Lord and spread them before the Lord. Sometimes there's not a lot of time to articulate all of the details! Remember how Jesus said that the religious hypocrites think that they will be heard because their prayers are long! Sometimes long, detailed prayers are perfect. Sometimes you don't have that luxury. Sometimes all you have time to pray is Dear Jesus! And he fills in the blanks! Remember when Peter and the guys were on the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 14)? They were in a huge storm. And Jesus was coming to them not in another boat He was coming to them walking on the water. Peter said, Lord, if that's you bid me to come to you on the waters. Jesus said, Come. Peter stepped out of the boat and was walking on water. This was a moment of amazing faith and courage. No one else in the boat made that request. Peter asked permission. Jesus gave permission. Once Peter had marching orders he didn't hesitate to step out into that mission. But mid-mission he faltered. As do all of us at times. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out. He doesn't start praying the Our Father. He prays 3 words! Lord, save me. There are going to be times when you re sinking in the storm and that s about all you ve got time to pray! Jesus wasn t offended by the brevity of the prayer. Jesus didn t say After all I taught you this is the best you ve got three words? Jesus didn t say I can't believe you blew this mission. I thought you had faith. No! It says that 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him. Save me! That s a very specific very targeted supplication. I think the big lesson for us in Peter s short but specific supplication is that Peter called on the Lord with all of his heart. QUOTE: John Bunyan "I would rather have a heart without words than words without heart." 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance Keep alert = go sleepless keep yourself awake. Soldiers know what it's like to be on guard duty through the night. Watching without sleep. I think there are times when God let s us experience a bit of divine 7
insomnia. Most of us know that feeling of wanting to go to sleep but we just can t get to sleep. Or, you wake up and can t get back to sleep. At some point in your sleepless frustration it might be a good thing to ask the Lord what to pray about or simply begin to pray for people or circumstances that need prayer. There are other times that call for us to stand guard in prayer. That might mean losing sleep so you can get up early to pray or losing sleep by staying up late to pray. I think keeping alert speaks to staying watchful and alert when praying with others listening carefully to what they are praying for, saying amen to their prayers. Paul wrote to Timothy and said 2 Timothy 2:3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 2:3 KJV Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. By and large the average Christian in America doesn t have a clue about that. We think we do we think it's so hard to be a Christian in America! We think it's so hard to be a Christian in America! As a rule, American Christians are soft! I don t believe that s by accident! REMEMBER Our adversary the devil formulates and dictates the course of fallen culture (The course of this world Ephesians 2:2). The whole point in modern church culture is to create comfort and avoid hardship. For a lot of church-goers enduring hardness as a good soldier of Jesus is a long drive to church, or crowded parking lot, or a slow line dropping your kids of in children s church. Christian If the past few weeks in the Word have sunk in to any degree you know that the Christian life is not a playground; you know that there are heavy things going on in the spiritual realm. Listen, sometimes we are sleepless because we re in the thick of spiritual warfare. We can't sleep because of things a brother or sister in Christ is dealing with. There are times when we are called to be sleepless on behalf of others. Prayer for them at that moment means something to them. Prayer engages you in mission and battle anywhere in the world. Think about this In verse 19 Paul is going to ask for prayer. He was in Rome. Christians 8
were reading this letter in Ephesus 5,080 miles east of Rome. He's letting them know that their prayers in Ephesus would be effective in Rome. And sometimes God will wake us up to engage in that mission and that battle on our knees. Sometimes we re sleepless because of the warfare waged against the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Perhaps you find yourself lying awake in bed with bitterness towards someone gnawing away in your heart. We re to watch in prayer. I read several versions of a story that paints a great picture of dealing with the attack of the enemy and the deeds of the flesh that can gnaw away at us. I ll give you this version. A pilot in World War II had landed to refuel and re-arm before taking off on another mission. He took off on his next mission and after he had leveled off he began to hear a noise in the cockpit that sounded like something gnawing. It dawned on him that perhaps a rat got on the plane between missions. He thought If this thing chews through the wrong wire I'm in a mess. So he puts on his oxygen mask and started to climb. He climbed until he reached altitude the required a supply of oxygen. As he held at that altitude the sound of gnawing slowed down and finally stopped. When he finished the mission and landed they searched the plane and they found the dead rat. The rat couldn t survive in that altitude. Sometimes, as we live on mission, we will discover a rat, so-to-speak, gnawing away at places in our heart. I know that a lot of us if not all of us know what I m talking about. That s when we need to get above all of the things of this life to where we're sustained by the Spirit of God that gnawing rat can't survive there. Because it s in that place of communion with God in prayer that we see that thing that s gnawing at us in the light of eternity, we see it in the light of Jesus, we see it for what it is in the light of the cross. with all perseverance Sticking it out, praying through! making supplication for all the saints not just for the Christian Soldiers at Metro. Praying for all the troops in our city, in our country because we win together or we lose together. I believe that we are in a time when Christians better start praying like a single army. I don't mean that has to involve multichurch prayer meetings. It means that Christians understand the nature of our mission and the nature of the opposition to our mission and get to the business of praying. Praying for God to revive His church Praying for God to work through His church to save souls and make disciples because the day is far spent and the night is approaching. America has lost its mind. Right is now wrong, and wrong is now right. There was a time when democrats and 9
republicans had differing views on the way government should look but there was a general agreement on right and wrong. Those times are long gone. Isaiah 5:20 NLT What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. Listen Culture and government don't change from the politician down to the people. Culture and politics change from the people up to the politicians. If we want to see Washington change, voters need to change. That s on us not on Washington, not on Sacramento. I know that when I met Jesus I processed right and wrong on a new and totally different basis. My vote changed when I got saved. Our job is to be in prayer march on our knees and bring the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ to our family, our neighborhood, the people we work with, and the city we live. Are we praying for revival in our own life? Are we praying for revival in our church? I hope you're praying for me and for the pastors here. 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 am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. Paul's in Rome in bonds, chained to a guard, and he says to the church back in Ephesus, you need to be praying for me, I'm in prison, I need boldness, and he says that twice. You know what that says to me? Paul is letting them know that prayer affects the entire mission of Jesus in the world it affects the spiritual military campaign around the world. 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 am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. I never think of Paul as a man who was shy and timid and lacking boldness. But Paul s prayer request let s see that he was not naturally bold he was supernaturally bold. We see this same reality in Acts 4. Peter and John had been arrested and beaten for sharing the Gospel, and when they were released they came back to the church and shared what had happened in the preaching of the Gospel. The church prayed! 10
Acts 4:29-31 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. THAT is what the church needs today. That's what we need that s what I need a fresh filling of God's Holy Spirit. One of the amazing things about Paul s prayers is that he never prayed that he would get rid of those rotten chains. From Paul's perspective Rome was chained to him and couldn't get away! Philippians 1:12-14 12 And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. 13 For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. 14 And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God s message without fear. Philippians 4:22 All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar s household. In other words I m effective here, guys, I'm getting to them. He doesn't say get me out of prison get me released. He says pray this: Pray that I have boldness in the arena I'm chained to. That is what he asks them to pray for. And he says to this church that is 5,080 miles away You're in this with me. I want you guys to be praying for me that I would have boldness. I'm not naturally bold. I'm supernaturally bold, and I need that continued unction from the Lord. 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. He says, "I'm an imperial legate." There were different kinds of ambassadors in the Roman Empire. Some ambassadors were accountable to senators. Others were accountable to generals. But if you were an imperial legate you answered only and directly to the emperor. Paul says, I'm an imperial legate. I am responsible solely to the King of kings and Lord of lords. I am His ambassador. I'm away from home on an assignment for Him pray that I might be bold and represent the one who has sent me to this place. 11
And you know that Paul had on his armor but he knows that prayer is essential for the mission. Metro I m asking the same from you for myself, for pastor Travis, pastor John, pastor Chris, pastor Jean-Luc. I m asking you to pray the same for Valerie as she leads the women of the church. I need to know how to do this better than when I started. I need boldness to speak as I ought to as the Lord s ambassador. By way of Paul the Holy Spirit wants us to understand that this should be a normal part of our spiritual experience. No matter what is happening on the horizontal axis of our lives we need to keep the vertical axis of our lives solid. It is the vertical axis of our lives that enables us to understand and navigate the stuff on the horizontal axis We have a living Savior, a living Lord. Our rescued lives are rooted in Him. Our mission is from Him and it s for Him it s all about Him. He s given to us all the armor we're on the battlefield but we need to be in constant communication with Jesus. Christian You and I are not just recruits for this campaign. You and I are His blood bought sons and daughters. He loves us. He wants us to pray because He wants us to constantly be in touch with Him. We are more than conquerors as we stay in touch with Jesus. I copied this from a Sunday Bulletin dated August 28, 2005 Lord Jesus PLEASE don't let this be just another Bible study about prayer don't let us walk away tonight with our Bibles marked but not our lives with notes written on paper but nothing written on our hearts. Please don't let us be undone by dead orthodoxy! I pray that all of us will respond to all that your Word has said concerning prayer on the battlefield. By your grace and by the power of the Holy Spirit may we become Christians who really pray! May we 12
become a church that really prays! May we be willing to lose sleep if that s what is needed to pray. May we pray like men and women who are convinced that heaven and hell are real and that without the hope of the Gospel men and women are a breath away from an eternity without You in hell. And we thank you that we can actually settle our hearts and say Lord, move among us, gather into your kingdom, Lord, those today who have never come. Add to the church, Lord, as you do daily, such as should be saved. It's your work, Lord. We're content that you do that. And Lord, have our hearts, Lord. Remind us, Lord, let these images, Lord, fill us. Let us go, Lord with the full armor of God upon us, Lord, to finish our course in this world. Lord, we pray in Jesus' name and for his glory, Amen. 13