There’s a war on, Christian. In the unseen world of spiritual reality, battles are raging right now. There’s a war on and you are in it. Powerful (vastly more powerful than you), scheming, wily devils are out to rob God of His glory and to that end they’re doing all they can to tempt you to sin. They’ll try to frighten you. They’ll try to deprive you of your peace and destroy your confidence in the Lord. They’ll try to hide the reality of the unseen world and convince you of lies. They want to keep your attention focused on the visible world: its cares, or the pleasure it can give you. You’ve got to be prepared for that if you want to stay standing. You must put on all the armour God has given you (Ephesians 6:10 – 17) and you must put it on…
“Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.”
Ephesians 6:18
Paul doesn’t mean that you should literally pray all the time. That could get you into all kinds of trouble, especially if you close your eyes when you pray. He means you must be ready and quick to pray at all kinds of times and in all sorts of situations. Whether you’re alone or in company, at work, at home, in church or in the pub, wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, whatever time it is, if it’s called for, pray. Be ready to pray at the drop of a hat.
Pray with all prayer. Using all kinds of prayer is what Paul means. There are lots of different kinds of prayers. There are spoken prayers, silent prayers, shouted prayers and prayers that you sing. There are short prayers and long prayers. There are prayers you pray with other people and prayers you pray alone. There are prayers for your own needs and prayers for others. There are spontaneous prayers, emergency prayers, carefully thought-out prayers, all mixed-up prayers. There are prayers that ask, prayers that praise and prayers that give thanks. Can you think of any others? It’s just not true that there’s only one acceptable way to pray. Your prayers need not all be long or carefully prepared and framed in beautiful language. Formal prayers have their place, but when the devil is using every trick he can to pull you into sin, it’s not the time to go looking for your prayer book or to worry, “What comes first, is it praise or confession?”
So pray in whatever way is appropriate to where you are, what you’re doing and the needs of the moment. It has to be the most natural, easiest thing in the world, wherever you are or whatever you’re doing, to talk to your heavenly Father. Do it frequently — very frequently — and don’t let the circumstances you find yourself in hinder you.
Two kinds of prayer get special mention: prayer and supplication. There isn’t a clear distinction between the two, but each does have a different emphasis. One (supplication) humbly asks for things; the other is more concerned with giving honour to God: praising Him, thanking Him, acknowledging who and what He is, recalling His power and majesty and holiness and grace and all the other things He has revealed about Himself. One is about asking, the other is about worshipping God with your words. If you only talk to God about your problems — if you only ask — you’ll end up doing no more than worrying on your knees, and before long you’ll be bogged down in despondency and self-pity. If you remember to praise and give glory to God, it will raise you above your problems. So keep that balance in your prayers. When it comes to prayer and spiritual warfare, it’s especially important. When you make supplication for help in the battle, always remember that victory has already been won for you: you’re on the winning side. Remember to praise and give God the glory for that, lest you become fearful or discouraged.
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