Pray Continually

"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" (Ephesians 6:18)

Most assume that the armour of God finishes with the sword of the Spirit, but in the original Greek, Paul grammatically ties prayer to the rest of the pieces, as if prayer is the last on the list of attributes and behaviors needed for successful spiritual warfare. We simply fail to make the connection because prayer doesn’t have a specific piece of armor attached to it, but Paul makes the connection clear that prayer is vital to spiritual warfare. Think of it this way: if the word of God is the gun, then prayers are the bullets. In modern warfare, can you ever have too much ammunition? Never!

Prayer is our ongoing conversation that we have with God. Can you ever have too much prayer? Never! In a similar way, I have a constant an ongoing conversation with my wife throughout the day. Sometimes it’s face to face, sometimes it’s a quick phone call or a text message with a quick question. I’ll forward her a funny email or she’ll send me a GIF through social media. However we communicate, our relationship is strengthened and vibrant when we constantly communicate, about things big and small. In the same way, our relationship with God is strengthened and vibrant (and therefore our spiritual warfare is victorious) when we constantly communicate with God. That’s why Paul said we should pray on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. Don’t think of prayer as a monotonous laundry list of requests or a formulaic ritual devoid of personality. Think of prayer like talking to a spouse or a trusted friend throughout the day. Talk to God about things big and small. Bring your joys, your fears, your requests to God, talking and listening. Pray continually.

ON THE COUCH WITH GOD

1. How vibrant is your prayer life? How often do you pray? What kinds of prayers were modeled in your home and in your church growing up?

2. Who is the human being you communicate with the most during a typical day? How often do you communicate? Does the communication seemed forced and formulaic or is it natural and free flowing? What can that teach you about how you are to pray to God?

NEXT STEP

The next step in praying continually is actually what you’ve been doing for fifteen days now. The warfare prayer to God is your opportunity to write out a prayer of faith, of obedience, of warfare on behalf of someone you love. Utilize the lines below to speak to your Heavenly Father and conduct warfare for yourself or intercede for someone you love.