The Subject of Prayer

"Pray at all times in the Spirit, with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints."      Ephesians 6:18    CSB 

This statement made by the Apostle Paul, forms part of the six weapons of armour which we need to wear daily, and Paul felt it was the greatest weapon of all. In prayer we are communicating with God and doing warfare against the devil and his demonic forces. Paul also felt that prayer should be carried out at all times. Common sense tells us that this request would not be possible literally. He meant that throughout the day, we should remain in connection with God, keeping Him on our minds wherever possible. Then when a crisis came along, we should be ready to reach out to God with our prayers.

For some people prayer can be boring; this is why Paul told us to stay alert and persevere. Many people have a prayer ministry and can see what is happening in the Heavenlies - the invisible realm. For others, this can seem that they are professional pray-ers and unless they focus, there can be a tendency to drift away. We should all endeavour to pray in the Spirit at all times.

William Barclay in his Commentary to the book of Ephesians, regarding prayer writes:

It should be constant

Our tendency is to only pray in times of great crisis in our lives, but it is from daily prayer that we will find daily strength.

It must be intense

Limp prayer never got anyone, anywhere; prayer demands the concentration of every faculty upon God.

It must be unselfish

Our prayers can focus more on ourselves than on others. We must learn to pray as much for others, and with others, as for ourselves.

The last bullet point by William Barclay is aimed at the temptation to focus on the 'Me, Me, Me Syndrome. We can tend to have a selfish attitude, and never recognise it, when we are going about our daily life. This can be obvious when we pray. We must learn to make God the key point and the main topic of our prayer and exalt others not ourselves. Remember, God gives grace to the humble James 4:6.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                

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