The Whole Armour of God, Command and Control Part VII

“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;” Ephesians 6:18

As a former United States Marine, the importance of command and control can mean life or death to those slogging it out on the field of battle. There is nothing worse than thinking that you’ve been separated from those in command, and especially from those who have the intelligence necessary to guide you through the ambushes and mine fields. In Parts I-VI of this series, we covered the armor that we ‘put on’; that is, our girdle of truth (Part I), the breastplate of righteousness (Part II), and our sandals (Part III.) These items we must wear twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Then, we have the items that we ‘take up;’ that is, our helmet of salvation (Part IV), the shield of faith (Part V) and our sword (Part VI.)

At this point, many people are prepared to dash and clash. ‘We can take it from here, Lord!’ is our battle cry. We then run out in our zeal and get hammered. What happened? I don’t know about you, but as I read the books of Exodus, Joshua, Judges and Samuel the past two months, I can’t tell you how many times Israel got pummeled when they went into battle without first consulting the Lord. A few mornings ago, I read in 2 Samuel 5:22-25 how King David enquired of the Lord first whether he should go up against the Philistines a second time. This time, God said no (not if it meant a frontal attack), but He told David to go behind them and attack. Needless to say, the Lord defeated the Philistines.

The question is, do you see the parallel between what King David did and what the Apostle Paul admonished us to do in Ephesians 6:18? All the armor in the world cannot protect us, and often times we are defeated because we did not go to God always in prayer and supplication in the Spirit. Why always? Because the battle may rage at any moment, night or day. Haven’t you ever woken up in the middle of the night with terrible thoughts, intrusions? I have. On the other hand, have you woken up in the morning and found your thoughts centered on Christ? During the times that we are at peace and rest, we can ‘take off’ our helmet, which is our hope of salvation, and can ‘put down’ our shield of faith and our sword. During those times, our prayers in the Spirit should be filled with praise and adoration for God; the One Who gave us victory in the prior battle(s). Our supplications, which are intended to address very specific needs in our lives, the lives of our loved ones and for all the saints, should be presented; again in the fullness of the Spirit. Why is this necessary to repeat? Because, frankly, we don’t always know how to pray and to know what to ask; but the Spirit does. Consider Romans 8:26,27 “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”         

God answers in accordance with His will. Do we believe God and trust Him regardless of the outcome? Many times His answer is no, as it was with King David, and God then reveals another way to go for victory. Do you believe that if you are truly in Christ Jesus, and have not grieved the Spirit as a result of unconfessed sin, that one day you will learn that He answered every one of your prayers as He promised? Maybe the result wasn’t what you hoped, but when you are able to view the end from the beginning as He does, it will all make sense. Of course, if you have grieved the Spirit, who will intercede for you? Do you really expect the Spirit to make intercession? Jesus will, but not to advance our petition; rather He will in order to preserve us in His righteousness.  

Sometimes we miss out entirely on the answer because we aren’t watching. We don’t watch with perseverance because many times we may ask for things that we haven’t really thought about before going to God in prayer. Have you ever been asked by someone to pray for them; you do, then run into them a week later and ask about it?  I have, and when the person gives you a blank stare because they don’t remember you; let alone any particular concern they had the week earlier… Oh, boy.

In summary, the reason that I believe the Apostle Paul wrote how important prayer, immediately after discussing the whole armor of God, was to tell us that our ultimate victory comes by God, through prayer in the Spirit, in accordance with His will. He has the ultimate command and control. He sees the big picture and the lay of the land. He knows where the enemy is, for as we learned from Job, the Devil went before God to accuse Job, even as he goes before to accuse us. If we are to stand and walk, then we must do so with communications always open and unimpeded by sin, lest we grieve the Spirit. Let’s fight the good fight folks; let us pray for one another.