Thursday, February 7, 2019: Ephesians 6:18
18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.
When you attend a costume party and meet a person dressed like Batman, you don’t actually expect that person to leave the party in a sleek, armored, weaponized vehicle to go fight crime that evening. At that same party, you probably wouldn’t be afraid to challenge someone dressed as a sumo wrestler to a wrestling match. We recognize these are not true skills and abilities, but merely costumes.
In Ephesians 6, Paul described the armor of God Christians are to put on daily. These aren’t actual clothes; rather, they serve as symbolic imagery to equip us to stand firm when facing spiritual attack. And then in verse 18, Paul said to pray at all times in the Spirit. In other words, without God inside that armor, it’s just a costume. The armor we put on to be strong does us no good without the strength of God in it. We find this strength as we depend on Him in prayer.
We do our very best here at ICC to help you prepare to take your stand against the devil’s schemes. We want to help you know truth, like a belt buckled around your waist. We want to help you know your heart is protected by Christ’s righteousness, and to help you take up faith to shield the doubts that come your way. We want the message of salvation to wrap around your mind and protect your thoughts. We want to equip you to share the gospel and to use the Word of God rightly. But we can’t achieve this on our own, not even on our most convincing day; only God has the power to do that. None of this will be a reality in our lives apart from complete dependence on Him.
- When praying for other people, do you tend to focus on their physical or spiritual needs? How does Ephesians 6 speak to you about that?
- Pray: Spend some time confessing the ways you have sought strength and equipment in your own power and not through dependence on the Father. Ask for a greater dependence on Him in all things. Take some time to meditate on John 15:5 and what it means that we can do nothing of lasting spiritual value apart from Jesus.