Ephesians 6:18-20

Day 61

“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” Ephesians 6:18-20

Prayer: A Vital Aspect of Spiritual Battles
“With all prayer and petition…” This statement transitions us from the topic of the weapons of our spiritual warfare to the topic of prayer.  On the surface, this may feel like a departure from the previous topic, but when we consider the words within this statement, we can see that Paul remained focus on our spiritual battle.  Notice the phrases pray at all times in the Spirit “with this in view” and “be on the alert.”  The means of our use of our spiritual weapons comes from the Spirit of God’s empowerment. While praying we must “be on the alert.”  This instruction for our prayer fits within the context of spiritual warfare.  In the midst of battle, soldiers must engage fully on the task at hand.  Any lapse in concentration or failure to perform the required task could prove deadly to the soldier and those around them.  If significant numbers of the frontline soldiers, the ones who are holding the line, fail to do their task, the entire mission could be lost.  We battle together.  We use our weapons that God Himself provided while we battle.  We prayerfully seek God’s help for ourselves and for one another.  We use our spiritual armor with the power of the Spirit.  We do all of this with a wartime, battlefield mindset.  We must remain vigilant.  Our vigilance must remain all of the time. We never leave the battle. This heightened awareness of our surroundings and the particular challenge of the battle requires perseverance.  This battle will last a lifetime.  This battle continues until we go to be with Jesus or He returns to establish His kingdom.  This means that day after day, each day, for weeks, months, years, and even decades require diligence.  While we pray for ourselves and for one another, we must be vigilant, and our vigilance must remain consistent.  Never quit!  Never surrender!  Never let your guard down!  Never forget to pray for those around you!  Never cease full reliance on the Spirit! This is spiritual warfare.  Live, walk, serve, pray, give, go, and worship with a battlefield mindset.  

An Ambassador in Chains
Paul sought the prayers of the church on his behalf as well.  “Pray for all the saints, and pray on my behalf.”  Paul longed to present the Gospel with clarity and boldness.  At this point in his ministry, Paul sat in prison awaiting a trial and potential sentencing.  Since he was a Roman citizen, he appealed his case to Nero.  He took advantage of this unique legal clause in the Roman judicial system that all Roman citizens had the right to appeal any judgments to the Emperor.  He viewed his situation as “an ambassador in chains.”  Paul remained under house arrest, chained to a Roman soldier, until appearing before Nero.  As an ambassador of Christ, he represented the kingdom of Christ to the Roman kingdom and even to the Roman king.  Ambassadors speak to other nations on behave of their homeland.  Paul, though a Roman citizen, reminded his readers that “our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:20)  For us, when traveling abroad, there is a distinctive way in which non-residents from abroad come into a country.  At the airport, immigration lines are separated into those with national passports and those with foreign passports.  Foreign nationals go through extensive checks.  The visa issued denotes that the stay is temporary.  For non-Christians, this world remains the homeland.  For Christians, our homeland is with Christ.  For now, we reside as foreigners but also as representatives of our true homeland.  We reside here on temporary visas and long for our homeland. Our King, the true Sovereign of the Universe, sent us into this realm of sin and death. We function as ambassadors, inviting citizens of this broken world to trade in their current passport for a new passport, a new passport for the realm where Jesus Christ reigns.  Paul was in chains in this current world.  Paul once proudly claimed the Roman Empire as his home.  Now he viewed himself as an ambassador to that world, imploring everyone to come to Christ.  He described this role to the Corinthian church.  “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” (II Corinthians 5:20)  He prayed for clarity and power in his role as an ambassador.  He requested prayers from the Ephesian church with all of this in mind.  Like Paul, this should be our desire as well, other than maybe the chains.  However, even the chains too, as many have found new openings for ministry even with the restrictions and persecutions of governments.  May we seek to be clear and bold in our proclamation of our Sovereign.  As rulers rise and fall, there is One who remains forever.  He reigns and we our His.

Suggested Prayer:  Open our mouths with clarity and boldness.  In the midst of the spiritual battles, may we proclaim our great Sovereign Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord.  We long for the day that our travels in this foreign land comes to an end.  We long for the gathering of the citizens of heaven.  Amen.

Ephesians