Prayer is Essential Spiritual Strength and Endurance; Ephesians

May the mumbling commence!

Let us spend one more day on the subject of prayer.  What more can the Apostle Paul teach us about prayer in his letter to the Ephesians?  Read from Ephesians chapter six (Eugene Peterson’s The Message paraphrase):

In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare.  Pray hard and long.  Pray for your brothers and sisters.  Keep your eyes open.  Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

And don’t forget to pray for me.  Pray that I’ll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I, jailbird preacher that I am, am responsible for getting out. (Verses18-20)

Prayer is not optional.  It is essential to win the day against Satan and his forces.  Praying takes spiritual strength and endurance.

And, while prayer is self-transforming, prayer is also to be for our Christian brothers and sisters.  With prayer, we can lift up each other’s spirits.  With prayer, we can keep our eyes open to the movement of the Spirit.

Prayer is about learning what to say and when to say it… especially in connection to the Good News of Christ Jesus.  Even as Paul was responsible for getting that Message out, we too are responsible.  Paul is one of our ancestors in the faith… one among the great cloud of witnesses that is spoken about in Hebrews twelve.

Repetition is important so let’s review what we’ve learned about prayer from the letter to the Ephesians:

1)    Prayer is a way of life.

2)    Prayer is a time to listen and to learn.

3)    Prayer places a floodlight into the attitudes of our hearts.

4)    Prayer helps us to understand the glorious promises that God has in store for us.

5)    Prayer is the powerful First Responder.

6)    Prayer is meditation on the role of Christ in our lives.

7)    Prayer is an attitude of humility.

8)    Prayer is extravagant – holds nothing back.

9)    Prayer is a gentle nudge to praise God.

And the new learning of today includes:

10)  Prayer is essential.

11)  Prayer takes spiritual strength and endurance.

12)  Prayer is for the benefit of others.

13)  Prayer can help us to learn the right things to say and the right time to say them.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out