Fighting On Our Knees

As we pause to reflect upon the formidable picture of the Christian warrior regaled "in the full armor of God" [Ephesians 6:10-17] everything about it denotes action! Readying himself for battle, he adjusts his war belt. His heart races under his breastplate so that it becomes palpable. He scuffs at the earth like a baseball hitter with his nail-studded boots, securing his traction. He repeatedly draws his great shield across his body in anticipation of the fiery barrages sure to come. Reflexively, he reaches up and repositions his helmet. He gingerly tests the edges of his blade. The enemy approaches. A thousand swords ring from their scabbards in dreadful symphony. The warriors stand motionless, breathing heavily. And then the Christian soldier does the most amazing thing -- he falls to his knees in deep, profound, soulful prayer! To be sure, there will be action. He will rise, and his steel will flash, but all will be done in prayer, for prayer is primary!

This is the precise picture we get from reading Ephesians 6. For after the full depiction of the Christian warrior's armament is concluded [vv. 10-17] we read: "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 saints" [v. 18]. Those who would engage in spiritual warfare, regardless of how well they wear truth and righteousness and faith and salvation, regardless of how well they are grounded in peace, regardless of how well they wield the Word, must make prayer the first thing. The Christian soldier fights on his knees! As Edward Payson has said, "Prayer is the first thing, the second thing, the third thing necessary to minister. Pray, therefore, my dear brothers, pray, pray, pray."

The first element of this type of prayer is that it is Spirit-directed. "And pray in the Spirit ... " begins Paul. How does this prayer in the Spirit occur? The principal text to help us here is Romans 8:26, 27 where we read: "the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." Ultimately, the Holy Spirit tells us what we ought to pray for and he will settle certain things in our hearts to pray with the conviction that they are God's will -- so that we are praying in faith. Oswald Sanders elaborates here noting "that the very fact that God lays a burden of prayer on our hearts and keeps us praying is prima facie evidence that He purposes to grant the answer."

The second component of this type of prayer is that it is continual -- "on all occasions." This was the experience of the Apostolic Church as featured in Acts 1:14, "They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers." Paul told the Thessalonians to "pray continually" [1 Thessalonians 5:17]. Is this possible? Yes and no, according to Kent Hughes. While it may not be possible to carry on a running verbal dialogue with God while we do our business, he believes prayer is not so much the articulation of words as it is the posture of the heart." John Wesley takes this thought a step further when he says, "His heart is ever lifted up to God, at all times and in all places ... his heart is ever with the Lord. Whether he lie down or rise up, God is in all his thoughts; he walks with God continually, having the loving eye of his mind still fixed upon Him, and everywhere 'seeing him that is invisible.'"

The third aspect of this type of prayer life is that it is varied -- "with all kinds of prayers and requests." If we are to pray continually, then the various situations that we will encounter will demand variety in prayer. Think of the variety appropriate to life's unfolding situations: confession, thanksgiving, intercession, adoration, meditation, humility before God, and even song. We are called to be skilled in all these types of prayer -- and constantly exercising them.

The fourth aspect of a life filled with prayer is persistence in prayer -- "With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying." The Lord delights to honor perseverance in prayer. This is not to suggest, however, that God regards prayer as a meritorious work -- when there are enough prayers, he answers. Rather, he sovereignly chooses to encourage persistence in prayer and to answer it to his everlasting glory. In one of Jesus parables, he dramatizes what he wants from all believers when he told the story of the Godless judge who was worn down by an old widow who kept coming back to him for justice. He finally relented if for no other reason than his own peace of mind [Luke 18:2-5]. The cultivation of persistence was a recurring motif in Jesus' teaching on prayer. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount he enjoined his followers to the tenacious pursuit of spiritual things: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" [Matthew 7:7]. The Lord's language is unusually compelling because the three verbs [ask, seek, knock] indicate an ascending intensity. The stacking of these three words is extremely forceful, and the fact that they are present imperatives gives them even more punch. The text actually reads: "Keep on asking, and it shall be given to you; keep on seeking, and you shall find; keep on knocking, and it shall be opened to you." This tenacity is exactly what Paul has in mind here in our passage on spiritual warfare as he calls us to "be alert and always keep on praying."

Do we [do I?] pray this way for the Kingdom's work? Are there individuals or ministries or groups for which we persist in prayer? There ought to be. I can say I have been effectual in prayer for Alison, a friend who was near death with widely metastatic endometrial stromal sarcoma back in the Spring of 2006, or for a few missionary friends to Cameroon and Uganda [Mike, Kay, Terrill, Amber, Chad and Tiffany] as well as Leigh in Indonesia...but I run hot and cold on this, and miss far too many opportunities to avail myself in effectual prayer for them except when one is stricken with malaria, etc. Sadly, my intercessory prayer life tends to go from crisis to crisis rather than the continual praying that Paul is exhorting us to. We are in an invisible war, and those who persist in prayer prevail. The call goes forth!

The fifth and final aspect of a life of prayer is intercessory prayer [as I just alluded to] -- "for all the saints." There are many worthy things to pray for, but believers/saints are to be granted a large part of our prayer life. Sure, we are to pray for those without Christ, but high on our list should be fellow Christians, "all the saints" -- even the great saints like Paul himself. How often are we praying for those who provide our spiritual cover? We need to make this a daily part of our prayer life.

Imagine with me for moment the aged Apostle Paul -- with gray flowing beard and a thinning gray mane falling askew around his weathered face. His sinewy body bears the marks of war. The bow of his legs shows his repeated marches across the Roman Empire. Scars cover his torso as he has five times received the thirty-nine lashes [195 stripes in all]. He is bent forward not only by the gravity of time but also from the cosmic burdens of his apostleship -- "Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?" [2 Corinthians 11:29]. Can you see him? Now imagine his well-worn armor. He has worn his war belt so long that has been sweated all the way through and is comparable to old horse's bridle, holding everything perfectly in place. The 'belt of truth,' God's truth, has girded him tight for years, so that it has permeated his life and reigns within. He is armed with the clear eyes of a clean conscience. He can face anything. His torso is sheathed with a battle-tarnished breastplate. This 'breastplate of righteousness' has preserved his vital organs intact. His holy life rendered his heart impervious to the spiritual assaults of Satan. His gnarled legs are comfortable in his ancient war boots. He has stood his ground on several continents. The boots are the 'gospel of peace,' the peace with God that comes through faith in him, and the resultant peace of God -- the sense of well-being and wholeness -- shalom. He stands in peace, and being rooted in peace he cannot be moved. Paul's great shield terrifies the eyes, for the broken shafts and the many charred holes reveal him to be the victor of many fierce battles. The 'shield of faith,' held up as he has repeatedly believed God's Word, has caught and extinguished every fiery dart of doubt and sensuality and materialism that Satan and his minions have launched against him. None has as much as touched him. On his old gray head he wears a helmet that has seen better days. Great dents mar its beauty but serve as reminders of furtive blows dealt to him by the enemy. Because the 'helmet of salvation,' the confidence of knowing that he is saved and will be saved, has allowed him to stand tall against the most vicious assaults, his great confidence in God gives him almost a regal bearing. And then there is his sword. He was equal to a hundred, nay a thousand, when his sword flashed. The 'sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God,' the ultimate offensive weapon, cut through everything -- armor, flesh, glistening bone, and running marrow -- even the souls of men.

What an awesome figure the apostle was. He had stood before Felix and Agrippa, the legates and officials in Rome [and would soon stand before Caesar himself] -- and he had not and would not give even an inch. He was the consummate warrior. If anyone could do it himself, it would have been Paul. But could he? Listen to the warrior's plea: "Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given to me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should" [6:19, 20]. "I cannot do it without your prayers!" says Paul. "I fear that I may lose courage and fail under the stress. Pray that I will have the courage to declare the gospel fearlessly. I need your prayers." Was Paul just putting them on? Was this a self-conscious attempt at humility? We know that it was not. Remember the words of Payson, "Prayer is the first thing, the second thing, the third thing ... pray, pray, pray." Paul says the same thing when he says, "always keep on praying for the all the saints" [v. 18].

As I close, I exhort you and I exhort myself ... Do I/we intercede regularly for others? Do I/we have a prayer list for our brothers and sisters in Christ, and do we use it? We are in a cosmic battle: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" [v. 12]. Remember these words from John Piper's book Desiring God: "Unless I'm badly mistaken, one of the main reasons so many of God's children don't have a significant life of prayer is not so much that we don't want to, but that we don't plan to." Therefore, let us take time this very day to rethink our priorities and how prayer fits in. Make a new resolve. Try a new venture with God. Set a time. Set a place. Choose a portion of Scripture to guide you/me. Stop being tyrannized by the press of busy days. We all need a mid-course correction from time to time. Make this a day of turning to prayer -- for both the glory of God and for the fullness of our joy.