Ephesians 6:18-20 - The Christian Soldier on His Knees

Welcometo Pastor’s Chat. Today we’re moving on to Ephesians 6:18–20. The Apostle Paulhas been talking about putting on the whole armor of God, that we might be ableto stand against the wiles of the devil—and having done all, to stand. But notonly does he want us to stand; he also wants us to bow our knees. In theseverses, Paul speaks about the Christian soldier on his knees.  AsPaul concludes the armor of God here in Ephesians 6, he does something verystriking. He does not add another piece of armor. Instead, he brings us toprayer. Someone once wrote, “Put on the Gospel armor—each piece put on withprayer.” That captures Paul’s meaning perfectly. Prayer is not simply anotherweapon. Prayer is the very air that the Christian soldier breathes. It is theatmosphere in which we wear the armor and wield the sword. We cannot fight thisbattle in our own strength. No matter how gifted, trained, or experienced wemay be, we are no match for the enemy apart from God. Rememberin the Old Testament, in Exodus 17:8–16, when the people of Israel had aconflict with Amalek. When Amalek attacked Israel, Moses went up on themountain to pray while Joshua fought in the valley below. It took both. It tookthe intercession on the mountain and the sword in the valley to defeat theenemy. Prayer is the power for victory. Prayer is the exercise of faith. Prayeris putting the Word of God and the armor we have been given, into effect as wefight the battle and stand against the wiles of the evil one. Paulhas just told us in the previous verses to put on the belt of truth, thebreastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield offaith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. Now he says,“Praying always.” Ephesiansbegins by lifting us up into the heavenlies in Ephesians 1:3. It catalogs thebreathtaking blessings we have in Christ. We are chosen (1:4-5). We areredeemed and forgiven (1:7). We are sealed with the Holy Spirit (1:13-14). Weare made alive (2:5-6). We are given bold access to God (3:12). We are mademembers of Christ’s body (2:19-22). We are equipped with spiritual gifts (4:7-12).We are given the fullness of the Spirit (5:18). We are armed for spiritualwarfare in the verses we have just been studying (6:10-17). After listing allthese riches, there is a danger for all of us—that of self-sufficiency. Paulbegins this letter with prayer in Ephesians 1:16-23, where he shares the prayerhe has made for them. Then in chapter 3:14, Paul records another prayer. Hesays, “For this reason I bow my knees,” and he shares what he prays forthe saints (vs. 15-21). He concludes that prayer with these words: “Now untoHim who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think”(Ephesians 3:20). Now Paul closes this letter by putting us on our knees! In1 Corinthians 10:12, Paul reminds us, “that we must take heed lest, when wethink we stand, we fall”. The way we keep standing—this amazing picture—isby being on our knees. Standing on our knees is a powerful thought. That is howwe stand against the wiles of the evil one. We continue praying always with allprayer and supplication. Wemust understand that God’s armor is not mechanical, and it is not magical. Myfriend, the gifts of the Spirit and the armor of God are not effective at allwithout prayer.  Prayerkeeps us dependent upon God. When we bow our knees, it is a posture ofsubmission and surrender. It is a picture of humility before a holy God. Thatis what prayer does. Oh, my friend, let us learn to pray always as we fight thebattle against the evil one. Remember, prayer is the breath of the Christian soldier!Just, as you can’t live physically without breathing, you can’t standspiritually without bowing in prayer!  Godbless you, and may you have a wonderful, wonderful day.