Armour of God - Pray Always

Armour of God series - Part 1, Part 2a, Part 2b, Part 2c, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7


I didn’t want to finish up talking about the armour of God without including the call of Paul to prayer. Each piece of armour – the truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation and the word of God, are all obtained through prayer and will be maintained and strengthened by prayer.

“praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints..” (Ephesians 6:18)

Paul includes the words “always” and “all” four times in this one verse.

“praying always”…Our call to prayer is not just when we feel like it, or when things get really, really difficult, or when we’ve exhausted all other resources. We were given the Holy Spirit so that we could be in constant communion with the One to Whom our battles belong.  We can go to Him day or night, home or away.  God is always listening. 

“all prayer and supplication”…Literally, this means with every form of worship and request imaginable. We should never be afraid to bring anything before our Lord. Nothing is too small, too big and there are no feelings of fear or anger or any other emotions or thoughts we can have that He doesn’t already know about. He wants us to learn to completely depend on Him.

“with all perseverance and supplication”…Don’t give up. You may have prayed about something for years. Don’t give up. You may feel discouraged. Don’t give up. You may think God has forgotten you or your prayer. He hasn’t. Don’t give up. See your request through to the end, whether the answer you are given is yes, no, or wait. Don’t give up.

“for all the saints”…The saints are not those few chosen by man to be put on a pedestal for others to worship. The saints are all those who have been made pure and holy by the blood of Jesus Christ. The saints are all those who have believed in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. They are you and I. And we are to pray for all of them – as many and as often as the Lord puts on our hearts.

There is a couple who used to go to our church many years ago, but who moved out of state. I haven’t heard from them or anything about them since they left. But every now and then, God will put them on my heart, and I know I need to pray for them. The next time you think of a brother or sister in Christ, pray for them. You may not even know them personally, but pray for them.

Which brings me to the reminder that Paul gives to pray “in the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit knows of things that we don’t. He knows the needs that my friends whom I haven’t seen in years have. He knows the needs of that person sitting across from you in church. He knows the needs of your pastors and their families. He knows all the needs of all the saints that He puts on our hearts to pray for.

As we sit before Him, entering in to all praise and worship of our God, He will show us how to pray for the members of the body of Christ, and how to pray for ourselves. And as we lift up those prayers and supplications, the peace of God will fill our hearts, and each piece of armour will be even stronger than it was before.

God bless!