|
|
|
|
The Necessity of Prayer – Lesson XXIX, Prayer and Vigilance Vigilance
What does it take to heed the admonition of Paul in:
Eph 6:10-11,13 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” It takes knowing the character of the enemy in order to know of the need to take on the armor of God. An army always wants to know the enemy in order to prepare for the enemy’s onslaughts Look at the action that is required of the Christian soldier. Be strong, not in yourself, but in the Lord. In yourself you do not have what it takes to stand against the wiles of the devil. Be strong in the power of His might. Not your might! Your might is not up to the task! Don’t put on your own armor but put on the whole armor of God. Your armor might be your intelligence, it might be your personality, it might be your wealth, it might be your standing in the community. But your armor is not up to the task. But if you obey God’s word and put on His armor you will not fall and you will stand against the wiles of the devil. And not only stand but having done all, having finished the course, you will still be found standing.
Read on in this chapter and what is the conclusion?
How can the brave soldier in God’s army be made braver?
How can the strong soldier be made stronger still?
The receipe is clear for the solution is always a spiritual solution.
It is never a solution that the world or the flesh offers.
God is Spirit and all His solutions are spiritual solutions.
So as we are told in Eph 6:18, the Christian soldier is to: “Pray.. always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” Paul preached prayer for the soldier of the Cross. If you ask how Paul should be described, it is as a soldier of the Cross. Paul was a battle field, front line soldier. He was not to be found in a fancy uniform but he always wore his battle dress. He always pressed to be sent to the front where ground was taken for the Lord. His was a life of intense conflict with many adversaries, always constantly vigilant. His was a life that could truly end with the song of victory, where he said, I have fought a good fight, I have finished the course!
In the book of Romans Paul indicates to us the militancy of the Christian life, one of striving together in prayer for the cause.
We are to strive together.
We are to call on every resource together so that the enemy will be defeated.
The Christian is part of the body of Christ and the body must work together if the body is to be effective.
Christians were not designed to work alone.
Even in prayer they are to strive together.
Rom 15:30-31 “Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, that I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea.”
The word “strive” indicates wrestling, the putting forth of great effort.
This is the kind of effort and spirit, which must consume the Christian soldier.
The Christian soldier is to pray at all seasons, and under all circumstances.
He needs to pray during peace and he needs to pray during war.
Prayer to the spirit is like food to the body.
As food is to the body so is prayer to the spirit.
It must be constant.
Prayer must permeate all of the soldier’s actions, prayer must precede all of the soldier’s issues.
There is nothing too small for prayer.
The Christian soldier must be as intense in his praying as in his fighting, for his victories will depend more on his praying than on his fighting.
And the soldier must pray in the Spirit.
Watchfulness and perseverance are the watchwords of the Christian soldier.
The Christian solder must be concerned for the success and the well-being of the whole army, for the body of Christ is to strive together.
The entire army of Christ is involved in the battle.
The prayer of the soldier is toward that end, he does not simply pray for himself but for all those who are involved in the strife.
The Christian’s armor will only bring protection if it is surrounded by prayer.
Prayer holds together the armor of God and causes it to be effective.
As long as we remain in this body of sin the Christian life will be a battle and therefore the Christian life must be fully undergirded by prayer.
Prayer should so penetrate the life that every breath will be a request, every thought will bring God’s commands to bear.
Because of the battle field quality of this life the Christian soldier is always on watch, always on guard duty.
He faces enemies that never sleep, enemies who are always alert to take advantage of a sleeping sentry.
The soldier of Christ has always on his mind the principle that Christ left with him to “watch and pray,”.
The soldier of Christ cannot ever be asleep at his post because of the imminent danger he and the body of Christ will face because of any lapse at his post.
Watchfulness or vigilance for the Christian is one of the most important duties of the soldier of the Lord.
In the New Testament, there are three different words, which are translated “watch.”
The first means “absence of sleep,”.
It implies a wakeful, alert frame of mind, as opposed to indifference or apathy.
It is an command to keep awake, circumspect, attentive, constant, and vigilant.
The second word for watch means “fully awake.
It is a condition that is caused by some stimulating effort similar to being shaken in the bed to be awake.
But it is tied to the fact that unless one becomes awake some destructive calamity will result.
There is an urgency to being awake, there is a dire need to be awake.
The third word for watch means “to be calm and collected in spirit,” dispassionate, untouched by sluggish or confusing influences. All three of these definitions of “watch” are used by the Apostle Paul.
Two of them are employed in connection with prayer. In Ephesians 6:18, Paul encourages constant watchfulness. Eph 6:18, Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; Vigilant wakefulness is the price a Christian soldier pays for victory over his spiritual foes. Peter in I Peter 5:8, tells us that the devil never falls asleep. He tells us to: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: This is reality! Do I believe this? Do you believe this? Do your actions reflect this belief or are you a sleeping Christian, thinking that you have no enemies?
Paul tells us to be like a shepherd that must always expect the wolf at the door.
The shepherd that is always watchful, knowing that at every moment his sheep are in danger.
So the Christian soldier must ever have his eyes wide open.
He must have a spirit which does not sleep or is careless.
“Be sober, be vigilant,” says Peter, “because your adversary, the devil, walketh about seeking whom he may devour.”
“Stand then in His great might, With all His strength endued; But take, to arm you for the fight, The panoply (impressive array) of God.”
So prayer is the weapon of the vigilant.
A Christian soldier cannot be vigilant without prayer.
Without prayer the Christian soldier’s life will be a weak, feeble, ineffective life and will open that life up to constant attacks by spiritual foes.
A Christian who does not pray will have little influence with others.
A Christian who does not pray will resemble little the person of Christ.
The fruit of the Spirit will die on the vine in such a life. Jesus Christ by His word, and Paul in His epistles clearly declare prayer as a primary duty and calling of the Christian soldier. The directions for prayer as a weapon of war are clearly set forth.
So how can the the Christian soldier hope or dream of victory, unless he be fortified by its power?
How can he fail, if in addition to putting on the armor of God he be, at all times and seasons, “watching unto prayer"? |