Still Waters Moment The Armor of God: Pray for All the Lord’s People

Ephesians 6: 18-20 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

We’ve spent the majority of this year studying the Armor of God as it pertains to how we utilize each piece in spiritual battle for our personal benefit.  As we bring the study to a close, the focus scripture has us now directing our attention to our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Paul starts off by directing us to be alert and always keep on praying for all of the Lord’s people.  The life of a Christian is not easy in that when we are standing on God’s principles, we automatically go against the grain of the world’s standards.  Additionally, our interactions and experiences with people can be challenging at times.  “People” encompasses everyone from family members to coworkers to fellow church members, etc.  God uses the various types of dispositions and personalities represented in a given population to develop the characteristics of Christ within us while also calling us to be His examples. We know that trying to keep our interactions with others God honoring is not always an easy feat, especially if the people we’re called to interact with aren’t our cup of tea. This is yet another reason why supporting the Christian community with prayer is vital, our witness and conduct with others are always being observed.

We’ve learned that the spiritual battle starts in the mind and we need to pray that the spiritual mental stamina of our brethren remain God centered.  While we may not know the specifics of a person’s trial(s), the word tells us in various scriptures that we all face them.  The enemy does his best to create situations to throw us off course, frustrate and exhaust us. He wants us to get caught up in what we see in an attempt to make us hopeless and give up.  As we consider our own battles in the mind, hopefully empathy is fostered for others and causes us to act by praying for them.  When someone tells you of a difficult time they are going through, extending God’s love via prayer is like a healing balm for them.  If you are able and the occasion allows, taking the time to pray in the moment can lift another’s spirit and encourage them to keep going.  If you tell someone you will keep them in prayer, try to do it as soon as possible so you do not forget as I’m sure we can attest to the fact that life can get busy and the best of intentions can slip our minds.  Whether you pray with the person or for them in private, praying for another person is a way of exemplifying God’s love. 

Sometimes, the person you are praying for may not know you are praying.  God is pleased when we take the time to pray for them without needing an outward display of gratitude for doing so.  It pleases God when we care more for our fellow man than accolades.  Furthermore, there may be times when you are made privy of a sensitive confidential situation.  This information doesn’t come via gossip, but it could be directly or indirectly given to you.  These are instances when you must pray for the person.  It’s an honor God trusted you with the information as He knew you would keep it confidential and pray for those involved. 

In the focus scripture, Paul’s prayer request to the Church at Ephesus was that they would pray for him to be given the right words to fearlessly declare the gospel.  As Paul was an apostle, this was his calling.  While our jobs may be in a secular environment, we are still ambassadors for Christ in every environment we enter and we want to conduct ourselves as such.  The enemy will try to create situations to make us respond in our flesh, especially in places where we are known to be a Christian.  The enemy will do whatever He can to defame the name of Christ.  Praying for our fellow brethren to bear the armor and remain steadfast in the fight is a way we help them win their spiritual battles and bring God glory.

Reflection:  What fellow Christian can you pray for to be steadfast in his/her spiritual battle?