Our Redemption “in Christ” Detailed to the Ephesians Volume 68

Paul Instructs the Ephesian Believers on Spiritual Warfare Part 9: The Pieces of our Armor

Ephesians 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; KJV

Some Bible Commentators of the past and present tend to think or believe that the Apostle Paul has concluded his discourse, detail, and description of the believer’s armor with Ephesians 6:17, but I happen to agree with Dr. John Gill that prayer is the second (2^nd) piece of our offensive armor that we must employ against the devil and his demons in the many spiritual battles we engage them in over the course of our sojourn and pilgrimage while we are still on the earth. The word “always” Paul uses at the beginning of this text is translated by the Greek word kairos which means on every occasion, that is, set or proper time: - always, opportunity, (convenient, due) season. The Apostle Paul has in mind here a disposition or in other words the natural or acquired habit or characteristic or tendency to pray on all occasions whether the spiritual battles are raging or whether there is a lull in spiritual warfare, we are to have a mind and heart to persist in prayer as we learned from our Lord Jesus Christ as recorded for us by Dr. Luke here, “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: ‘There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’’ Then the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?’” (Luke 18:1-8).

The Apostle Paul is saying that our weapon prayer is to be with us, on us, and in us at all times just as an Army, Marine, Air Force, or Navy soldier would never go out on the battle field without every piece of his gear and weaponry down to the smallest item. Just as the enemies of the United States tremble at the arsenal of bombs this nation has at its deployment, so does the devil and his demons tremble at the meanest or weakest saint or child of God on their knees or face in prayer to our Heavenly Father as the great Psalmist King David wrote here, “Give ear to my words, O LORD, Consider my meditation. Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, For to You I will pray.” (Psalm 5:1-2). When the Apostle Paul says to these Ephesian believers and we believers today “with all prayer” he means every method of prayer like silent or inward, public or group, thanksgiving, in the Church or privately at home, etc. The English word supplication Paul uses here of prayer is translated by the Greek word deesis which means to implore or beg or beseech as binding oneself to God the Father; to petition God the Father making specific request for a specific material or spiritual need or for strength in the spiritual battle against the enemy as it was recorded of the Prophet Daniel in prayer with these words, “Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God, yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, ‘O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:’” (Daniel 9:20-23).

It is our spirit in prayer being energized and empowered by God the Holy Spirit to petition and request those things that He hears from God the Father and God the Son that is implanted in us to pray for i.e. requesting certain blessings, preventing evil attacks from the enemy and his principalities and powers as well as the human instruments he would us to attack us, and making groaning’s for us in prayer when we know not what we should request as the Apostle Paul declares with these words written to the Roman believers, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groaning’s which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8:26-27). The Apostle Paul tells these Ephesian believers and we believers today that we must be alert and on our guard at all times understanding that our enemy is constantly plotting and strategizing how he would defeat us in the individual spiritual battles as we make our way to our Heavenly home. We must not only be in prayer for ourselves, but also for our fellow saints who are in harm’s way just as we are as documented by these words written by the Apostle Peter, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 5:8-11). Our weapon of prayer is to be always at the ready to be wielded with violent intentions at the enemy.   

“Prayer must buckle on all the other parts of our Christian armour. We must join prayer with all these graces, for our defence against these spiritual enemies, imploring help and assistance of God, as the case requires: and we must pray always. Not as though we were to do nothing else but pray, for there are other duties of religion and of our respective stations in the world that are to be done in their place and season; but we should keep up constant times of prayer, and be constant to them. We must pray upon all occasions, and as often as our own and others' necessities call us to it.” Matthew Henry

“To the Christian soldier, however, it is indispensable. Prayer crowns all lawful efforts with success and gives a victory when nothing else would. No matter how complete the armor; no matter how skilled we may be in the science of war; no matter how courageous we may be, we may be certain that without prayer we shall be defeated. God alone can give the victory; and when the Christian soldier goes forth armed completely for the spiritual conflict, if he looks to God by prayer, he may be sure of a triumph. This prayer is not to be intermitted. It is to be always. In every temptation and spiritual conflict we are to pray.” Albert Barnes

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…