Eph 6:18 — Pray at All Times in the Spirit

The first thing we have to ask ourselves is, “How does verse 18 fit with the preceding section concerning the armor of Christ?” Sometimes the exhortation to prayer in verse 18 is interpreted as the seventh piece of the armor. But Paul has taken pains to describe the preceding six pieces of armor by explicit reference to some well known feature of the typical Roman soldier’s equipment. It seems that the exhortation to prayer here is not a specific piece of our armor by which we stand firm against the powers of evil.

Nevertheless, prayer is certainly connected to the preceding context. Paul exhorts us to engage in spiritual warfare in an atmosphere of prayer. In the original Greek verses 18-20 is an extended participial phrase that links back to the preceding section. It is hard to identify exactly which main verb in the preceding section to hook it up with. Probably it doesn’t go with any particular verb, but simply hangs on to the whole section as an appendage. It’s as if Paul said, “Stand firm in the spiritual war with Satan, put on all of these pieces of the spiritual armor, deflect Satan’s flaming arrows, etc. - do all these things in a spirit of petitionary prayer for all the saints, but especially for me, so that I may proclaim the gospel with boldness.”

We may have a clear grasp of the gospel, and be assured of our standing in Christ, of our victory in Christ. We may be clothed in the breastplate of the righteousness of Christ and have taken up the shield of faith to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. All of this may be in place as our faith is established and rooted firmly in Christ. And yet there may be one thing that we lack, and that is prayer.

Sometimes we can become complacent in our faith, since we are confident that we are right with God through the obedience and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And this confidence is certainly not a bad thing. It’s good to have such a clear understanding and firm grasp of the gospel that we are no longer tossed about by every trial that comes along. But if we are not careful, it’s easy to allow that confidence to turn into self-confidence. Perhaps not a crass self-reliance of boasting one’s righteousness, or a denial of our total need of God’s grace. But we can get so used to the gospel that we are not as aware of our continuing needs. Prayerfulness is an important means of grace, since it is one of the primary ways that we give concrete expression to our faith and dependence upon Christ.

(1) Prayer means “making requests”

It is interesting that Paul does not view prayer as a spiritual exercise that we are to engage in for the purpose of becoming more spiritual or more at one with God. For many Christians, prayer has become a spiritual technique for advancing their individual sanctification and fellowship with God. It’s amazing how easily “piety” can become so self-centered!

Paul does not seem interested in prayer in this sense. He speaks of it in very concrete terms as a matter of making our requests and petitions known to God. For example, in Philippians 4:6 he writes: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Jesus gives us four things that we should pray for in the Lord’s prayer.

Read Matthew 6:9-13.

In the first three petitions, Jesus teaches us to pray for the second coming of Jesus: “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is heaven.” When will God’s name or glory be honored? When will God’s kingdom come? When will God’s will be done on earth in full and perfect measure, just as it is in heaven? None of these things will happen in this life prior to the return of our Lord. Therefore, we are praying that the Father would hasten the day of his Son’s appearing, because we long for God to be glorified, for the kingdom to come, and for God’s will to be done.

Although Jesus teaches us to pray for the second coming, note the God-centered description he gives. We long for Christ’s return, because that will be the time when there will be no more sin and rebellion, but the glory and kingship and will of God will be fully revealed to us, and fully enjoyed by us. The reason Jesus teaches us to pray for the second coming in such God-centered terms - God’s name or glory, God’s kingdom, and God’s will - is that the more we pray for it, the more we long for it, and the more we long for it, the more we live in accordance with that hope, even now.

Second, Jesus teaches us to pray for our present needs in the interim prior to his second coming: “Give us this day our daily bread.” We are to be a heavenly-minded people, longing for God’s glory and kingdom to be revealed at the end of history. But in the meantime, we are pilgrims living in this present age. And so we have needs. Needs that arise in our daily lives, our jobs, our families, our service to the Lord. These things too ought to be an occasion for us to be brought once more to the throne of grace in humble dependence upon Christ for his constant provision, guidance, and strength in service to him.

Third, Jesus teaches us to confess our sins. This means seeking God’s forgiveness and seeking a forgiving spirit toward those who have wronged us.

Fourth, Jesus teaches us to pray that God would uphold us in the hour of trial, during times of persecution, or in any circumstance in which we suffer as Christians and are thus tempted by the evil. One to turn away from Christ.

(2) We must pray “at all times”

This does not mean that we are to pray non-stop, 24 hours a day. What it means is that we are to pray on all occasions. Paul’s view of prayer is contrasted here with the formal set times of prayer that were common in Judaism. Prayer had become a set of rituals and formulas disconnected from daily life. Paul says, all through the day, whenever some situation or need arises, make your request known to God. You don’t even have to stop and perform some sort of ritual. You don’t even need to close your eyes. You can simply address your heavenly Father, instantly and immediately. You don’t have to get into some long elaborate spiritual exercise.

There are many times during the day when you have a spare moment to pray. When you’re driving, or when you’re taking a shower - or whatever. Many brief prayers to God throughout the day are sometimes more effective than trying to have set times for extended prayer.

(3) We must pray “in the Spirit”

This doesn’t refer to speaking in tongues in some sort of private, non-rational prayer language. It refers to the fact that when we pray, we often don’t know how to pray properly, or what to pray for as we ought. We can’t always articulate exactly what our concern is, or what we would like God to do.

Romans 8:17-28.

Notice that in this passage, the Spirit’s ministry in the life of the believer is directly connected with the issue of suffering. As long as we are still in mortal bodies, on this side of the eschaton, we are suffering with Christ, prior to the redemption of our bodies. And yet, we are not suffering without hope, for we have the firstfruits of the Spirit dwelling within our hearts. The firstfruits, the downpayment, the initial deposit guaranteeing the final payment at the resurrection. And so we have this tension. Our outer man is wasting away, but our inner man is filled with the Spirit and is being renewed according to the glory of the age to come. And so this tension causes us to groan inwardly.

But it is not the groaning of pain. It is the groaning or longing caused by the contrast between our non-glorified existence in the flesh on the one hand, and our being possessors of the eschatological Spirit on the other. In verse 23, Paul defines this groaning as “waiting eagerly for our adoption.” The more we suffer, the more we participate in and have fellowship with Christ. And the more we have fellowship with Christ in his sufferings, the more we know that we are God’s sons and heirs of God’s glory (v. 17). And so groaning is the same as waiting with eager expectation for heaven. It’s a holy dissatisfaction with the things of this present life.

In the context of discussing this semi-eschatological tension, then, Paul makes the interesting point that not only are we groaning, and not only is the creation groaning, but so is the Spirit. And that groaning of the Spirit is expressed through prayer, often in ways that can’t quite be put into words. As we lift up our petitions to God, we don’t know if he is going to give us the thing that we ask. We don’t even know what we’re praying for. But we do know that God works all things together for the good of those who love him.

That is what Paul means in Eph. 6:18 when he exhorts us to pray in the Spirit.

(4) Prayer is the means by which we remain spiritually “alert”

This, I believe, is why Paul mentions prayer as the means by which we maintain a spiritually alert frame of mind. To be spiritually alert is to see the spiritual dimension of what is occurring in our lives. This is where prayer, specifically petitionary prayer, which Paul is focusing on here, can play such an important role. For as soon as we bring our petitions to the attention of our heavenly Father, even the most seemingly menial and unimportant request takes on a new light. Merely speaking our needs and concerns to our heavenly Father in prayer, without even asking for anything in particular - simply bringing the need or concern to the attention of our Father is a way of placing that need in a perspective that is informed by its place in the kingdom of God. The need may be a physical one. It may be the need for a job, or for a spouse, or for recovery from an illness. In itself, we may think it is not important to God. Perhaps our initial motivation for prayer was selfish or sinful. But then we bring that request to our Father, and that sheds a whole new light on it. We are asking for his perfect will to be done in this thing, that he would dispose of it for his glory and for our good - not merely to satisfy our own wants or needs, but in order that, through the provision of that good thing, we may be better able to serve our Lord.

Often we are totally blind and unaware of the ways in which Satan is getting a foothold and is fighting against Christ and his Word. We are only looking at the surface of things. We are only regarding one another according to the flesh, rather than seeing that in our relationships with others Christ is at work, and Satan is at work, and there is a battle, a contest for the truth of the gospel and for the faith of the saints to hold fast to the gospel in that contest.

Being spiritually alert through prayer means looking beneath the surface of our lives to that inner spiritual dimension, so that we now begin to see how the outward thing is actually related to our own spiritual growth and deepening fellowship with Christ, to our desire to be better servants of Christ, and to our desire that Christ’s gospel would be advanced through us.

(5) We are to “persevere” in prayer

Being devoted to prayer is a difficult thing. I admit that I struggle in this area. It is hard to pray. It goes against the grain of our nature. And so that’s why Paul exhorts us to persevere. Perseverance doesn’t mean that you are successful. It means that when you fail you keep on trying. It means not giving up. Don’t be discouraged if your prayer life isn’t what it should be. Instead, renew your commitment to pray.

One thing I have found that helps me is this. Whenever anything happens that produces in you a feeling of anxiety or discouragement, that is a signal that you should pray. The problem is that you often don’t feel like praying when you’re down. Prayer seems like a burden. Plus, you’re still not exactly sure what to pray for. Therefore, here’s what I would encourage you to do. Don’t let the moment pass. Immediately lift up a brief one sentence prayer to God, using words to this effect, “Father, I don’t know what to pray for right now, but I bring this situation or problem to your attention and ask you to deal with it. Amen.” Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you.”

(6) We ought to pray “for all the saints”

This is an excellent and much needed reminder. Let us not only pray for our own needs, but let us remember to pray for the needs of others. During the week perhaps the Lord might bring to your remembrance one of the prayer requests that was shared on Sunday. As soon as it comes to mind, immediately lift it up to God, in a brief one sentence prayer. We need to lift one another up to the throne of grace. We need one another’s support and encouragement. That is what the body of Christ is all about. If one member suffers, the whole body suffers with it. This is one aspect of “the communion of saints” mentioned in the Apostles’ Creed. We are not individual pilgrims on our own separate paths to the promised land. We are the family of God, and so we ought to uphold one another in prayer and concern throughout the week, and then when we see each other on Sunday we can say, “I’ve been praying for you.”

(7) We ought to pray for advance of “the gospel”

This can be seen by looking at verse 18 itself. There is a translation issue that needs to be clarified. It centers on the meaning of “and with this in view” in the middle of verse 18. The major translations all make it sound as if Paul is saying: “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, that is, with the goal of devoting yourself to prayer, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.”

But there is another way to read the sentence. A good case can be made from the Greek to take “with this in view” as a forward looking reference to what Paul says in verse 19, where he requests prayer specifically for himself in his task of preaching the gospel. Here’s my paraphrase:

“As you put on the armor of Christ, do so with all prayer and petition, praying at all times in the Spirit. And do so with this in view, keeping spiritually alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints and for me, so that I would be given the right words to speak when I open my mouth, in order to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I serve as an ambassador in chains, so that through the gospel I may have the courage to speak as I ought to speak.”

This interpretation has the advantage of tying all of vv. 18-20 together, and of showing how vv. 18-20 relate to the armor of Christ. We are to put on the armor of Christ, the final item of which is not a defensive protection but an offensive weapon, namely, the sword of the Spirit. We saw last Sunday that the sword of the Spirit is the gospel. The preaching of the gospel is the instrument by which the Spirit advances the kingdom of Christ. This concluding reference to the sword of the Spirit provides a perfect opportunity for Paul to now request prayer for this task of proclaiming gospel. Therefore, he says, as you take up the whole armor of Christ, do so with all prayer and petition at all times in the Spirit, and so all this with a specific goal in view, namely, that all the saints would be witnesses for the gospel of Christ, but especially Paul, that Paul would proclaim the gospel as he ought to proclaim it, with all boldness making known the mystery of the gospel.

Paul is saying, we are in a spiritual warfare, we need to be spiritually alert and bring our petitions to the Father in prayer in order to see beneath the surface of our daily lives and see the ways in which Christ is at work bringing to expression the fruits of his victory over the devil. But Satan is trying to hinder the gospel from going forth, for he has a great self interest in hindering the very message of the gospel that proclaims his defeat and subjection to the exalted Lord Jesus at God’s right hand. Therefore, pray for all the saints and for Paul in particular, in relation to the waging of this gospel warfare in and through the church as the church brings the word of the gospel to the world.