Pray Without Ceasing

Read: Ephesians 6:18-20

. . . praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. (v. 18)

We’ve come to the end of Paul’s description of the full armor of God. When Bunyan’s Christian got into the worst part of the Valley of the Shadow of Death, he met an enemy who didn’t care about his armor. So he fell back upon another weapon—“All-Prayer.”

“Well,” you might say, “continual praying is fine for Paul. He was a spiritual superman. I’ve got a demanding job, family to care for, too many urgent responsibilities. I can’t pray all the time.”

Point taken. But be assured, at such times as you are not able to “pray in the Spirit,” others are praying for you. We are in this together. It is our great duty and privilege, as Paul goes on to say (v. 18), to persevere and to lift each other up in prayer. The old US Army recruiting slogan “an Army of one” has no place in the Christian life.

As we go about our daily routines it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that behind our busy and complicated lives full of schedules, problems, joys, and concerns a spiritual battle is going on all the time. William Blake said, “We ever must believe a lie, when we see with, not through, the eye.” We must cultivate the eye of faith that looks not just at surface events but at their spiritual dimension. That’s where the real life and death struggle is.

As you pray, ask God to sustain you by his grace, acknowledging that our only strength comes from God.