Praying always

praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints – Ephesians 6.18

Though not listed as a part of the armour there is one more vital piece that we need to know about. We need to also be thinking about our fellow soldiers.

The weapon we use to watch out for each other is prayer.

Pray

Pray always

Prayer with prayer and supplication

Pray with the help of the Holy Spirit

Pray with watchfulness

Pray with perseverance

Pray for all the saints

Pray with boldness

I want to leave the last one for tomorrow, but the importance of prayer is pretty obvious here. Prayer is simply asking and supplication is doing so with the knowledge that we are totally reliant on the One we pray to.

There are a few instructions about prayer. Our prayer must be consistent. There is no room for praying for a while and then stopping. Our lives should be ever and always lives of talking to our God and letting Him talk to us. When we ask with supplication we accede to His will.  We pray depending on the Holy Spirit. Watchfulness means that we are always watching out for the needs of others and always willing to pray with and for them.

And we persevere. We stick with it. We never stop because we don't see a response. We keep trusting and keep praying and keep relying on the One who knows best.

Then we pray for all the saints.

With instructions so clear why is this an area where so many of us fall short?