I invite you to turn with me tonight to the letter of Paul to the Ephesians as we pick up our consideration of this beautiful letter. We return this evening to chapter 6 where Paul sums up in his letter by using the vivid imagery of the Roman legions prepared for battle. We started last time with this section by being reminded that in this world the saints live on the front line against spiritual enemies. And we were reminded that God has not left us alone to engage the devil and his minions in our own strength. He's joined us together as one new man in Christ, the body of Christ, the church militant. And apart from Christ, you and I can do nothing. Apart from the one holy Catholic apostolic church, you and I can do nothing. But together we are to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power, and at the same time we're responsible to take up and put on the full armor of God. Now last time we saw that the purpose for God giving us as saints the full armor of God is so that we might be able to stand firm against the evil schemes of the devil. And with this purpose in mind, Paul begins in verse 14, emphasizing the manner in which we as saints are to stand firm. But he interrupts his thought between verses 14 and 18 to talk about the armor, which is what we considered last time. And then he picks it up again in 18. Now the continuity of this thought is not present in your NIV Bible. In all the modern translations, it's been lost, except for the King James and the English Standard Version, which preserve it better. But in verse 18, Paul is not announcing a new command to pray or to be alert. Rather, he wants to emphasize the conduct or the bearing that is to characterize the saints as we stand firm. Now, if you've ever seen the guards who take their post outside of Buckingham Palace, you have an idea of what Paul is getting at here. Not only are the palace guards outfitted in distinctive uniforms, red coats and bearskin hats, they carry themselves, that is, they conduct themselves in a very distinctive manner. It is their bearing. Now, these men are the elite of British troops. And whether they're standing guard or on the battlefield, they are distinctive. People know who they are as they watch them. And in the same way, the saints of God are outfitted with distinct uniforms, the full armor of God. And we're called to conduct ourselves in a distinctive way. Praying. Now, when we connect the thoughts of verses 14 and 18, we understand Paul to be saying, Stand firm then, praying. And with this connection in your mind, now I want you to follow along as you read God's Word, beginning in chapter 6, verse 10, where we will see that in verse 18, that we as soldiers of the cross are to stand firm, praying. Praying in the Spirit, praying in earnest, and praying with vigilance. hear and heed God's word. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For a struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground. And after you've done everything, just stand. Stand firm then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me, so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. And here ends the reading of God's Word, and our focus tonight will be on verse 18. Paul begins in verse 18 by saying that we are to stand firm, then praying in the Spirit. Again, this is not a new command. It is to characterize our actions in the Christian life. So what does it mean to pray in the Spirit? Paul's exact words here are praying in the Spirit. Words that can mean either praying in spirit as in your own spirit or praying in the spirit as in the Holy Spirit. Now at the very least, this means that we are to pray in our own spirit, in our inner man, without hypocrisy. We're to stand firm praying not only with our lips what we say, but from our hearts. And how we need this reminder, do we not, brothers and sisters? How often do we find ourselves going through the motions of prayer? How often do we fall back on well-worn phrases when we pray before a meal or pray in our devotions? How often in public worship do we bow our heads for silent prayer and then simply wait until the organ plays amen? And how often do we bow our heads while the pastor prays and fail to engage his words with our own hearts and our own minds and to make his prayer our own. God is spirit and his worshipers must worship him in spirit and in truth. And to pray with him with empty words or to simply pretend to pray is to gravely offend the Lord who is near to all who call on him, who call on him in truth. And to pray in such a way is to take the Lord's name in vain. It is to pray as though the living God were a lifeless idol to be manipulated by our words. And it is to pray in a way that brought the judgment of God down upon ancient Israel. He said of them in Isaiah chapter 23, These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. You see, prayers wrapped in hypocrisy and falsehood, or which have no substance, will not be heard or answered by God. indeed Jesus warned against these very things in Luke chapter 6 when you pray do not pray like the hypocrites for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men and I tell you the truth they have received their reward in full and when you pray do not keep on babbling like pagans for they think they will be heard because of their many words sadly but truly in our own power in our own spirit we are unable to pray without hypocrisy and without falsehood even the most able of the saints fail in this regard because all of our good works even the best are still tainted with sin if left to ourselves we could not stand firm praying in spirit but God knows our weakness in prayer and he reminds us through Paul in Romans chapter 8 that those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God and by him, that is the Spirit, we cry Abba, Father. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. So this is the good news, people of God. As we go through this text tonight and are called to this kind of prayer, we need to remember that what God requires of us, God has provided for us. We are able to pray in spirit without hypocrisy only because God himself enables us to pray in his spirit, the Holy Spirit. And to pray in the spirit does not mean that we need to pray in tongues. Contrary to what you see on television. Rather, to pray in the Spirit is to pray even though we know our efforts are imperfect. Trusting in the Holy Spirit to help us in our weakness. Praying in the Spirit is to pray as a member of the church. The one holy Catholic apostolic church reconciled to God in Christ. To pray in the Spirit is to pray in the way Jesus taught us to pray. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. To pray in the Spirit is to pray from a regenerate heart, directly to the one true God who made all things and has become our Father in Christ Jesus. is to pray with humility because we know our unworthiness as we see His holiness. To pray in the Spirit is to pray in agreement with His will because, as Paul tells us in Romans 8, we do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And God, who searches our hearts, knows the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. To pray in the Spirit is to pray out of gratitude for the good news of the Gospel with assurance that the Lord Jesus Christ lived and died and was raised again not only for others but for me too. Is to pray for our needs because we know that God alone is the giver of every good and perfect gift. It's to pray with confidence knowing that God will not only hear us but that He will answer us according to His will. It's to pray what Paul prayed in chapter 3 verse 16 not only for ourselves but for all the saints that out of His glorious riches God may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being. Praying in the Spirit is the right and the privilege of every child of God. Stand firm then, saints of God, praying in the Spirit and praying in earnest. Paul continues in verse 18 to say that we are to be praying on all occasions and with all kinds of prayers and requests. In a word, we're to be praying in earnest. Praying in earnest involves praying on all occasions. Now, you've all heard the expression, there's no atheists in foxholes because even the bravest of men will cry out to God when their life is in danger. But as Paul points out here so simply, prayer is not only for the foxhole. It's not only for times of calamity and trouble. It's for all occasions. It's of first importance, not last. It's not to be used only as a flare to signal when the boat is going down. It's not intended to be the last resort when everything else has failed. And it's certainly not magic. A power in itself by which we can change God's mind and correct our circumstances. No, prayer is, as the catechism points out, the chief part of gratitude. and is to characterize our lives no matter what the circumstance. As God's children, we've been given the great privilege of speaking directly to Him, the Creator of heaven and earth. This privilege is given only to those who know Him as their Redeemer through faith in Christ. It is an exclusive privilege. And we're to pray on all occasions in the Spirit confident that we can rely entirely on Him to provide all of our needs and to protect us in the battle. Because He alone is able. Because He's God Almighty. And He alone is willing. Because He's our Heavenly Father. Oh, how often we take this great privilege for granted and neglect to speak to God in prayer. How often do we get up in the morning and rush into the day without even a word of prayer? There's so much to do. So we neglect our God who gave us the day and gave us things to do. And even if we remember Him in prayer in the morning or over a meal, how often do we ignore Him the rest of the day? Jesus Christ is the Lord over the whole of our lives. And whether our circumstances are ordinary or extraordinary, public or private, long-standing or just momentary, whether they bring shame or bring joy, no matter the circumstance, we are to be praying in the midst of them to God. He's not left us to ride the ups and downs of this life all alone. He's opened the way in Christ for us to bring our circumstances to Him. And as we lay our lives open before Him, we confess not only our constant need, but His constant and steadfast nearness and care. We are His children, and He is our Father. Paul says it this way in Philippians chapter 4, Do not be anxious about anything, But in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. What a beautiful promise. Everything is to be brought to the Lord in prayer. And because all of our occasions are not the same, the prayers that we offer will not be all the same. Therefore, praying in earnest involves all kinds of prayers and requests, Paul says. So we are praying in earnest when we groan under the weight of disease or distress. And we cry out to God to help us. We are praying in earnest when we enjoy a newborn child. And we praise God for His goodness. We're praying in earnest when godly sorrow leads us to repent and to confess our sin before a holy God, trusting that He's faithful and He's just and He will forgive us. We're praying in earnest when we look back on our lives and we see how the Holy Spirit has worked new obedience in us. We see the change and we thank God for His work because we know it's not ours. We pray in earnest when we humbly adore God for His creation. When we confess Jesus Christ as our Lord and give God the glory for His great salvation. Sometimes we'll pray out loud. Sometimes we'll be quiet in our minds. Sometimes we'll blurt it out and sometimes we'll contemplate every word. Sometimes we'll pray together in public. Sometimes in the privacy of our prayer closet. You see, praying in earnest involves all of these and more. I could fill 24 hours if I had the stamina recounting all that we should be in earnest prayer about with God. There's so much. So why is it that we so often seem to be unable to fill even five minutes in prayer? Well, the answer to this question is suggested in the last part of verse 18 where we learn that to stand firm praying involves praying with vigilance. With this in mind, Paul continues in verse 18, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. And we might put it this way, with earnest prayer in the spirit in mind, this is what I'm talking about, Be vigilant in all perseverance and prayer for all the saints. Be vigilant in all perseverance and prayer for all the saints. As Christian soldiers on the front line, we are to be vigilant. We're to be alert and watchful. Paul says it this way in Colossians chapter 4. Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. as we learned in this letter, and we know so well, that living the Christian life involves putting off those things, those habits of our old nature that are not pleasing to God, and putting on good works that God has prepared for us to do. Now, we were conceived and born in sin, and we were conceived and born to believe that we're self-sufficient. And we're so set in our ways that when we receive the whole armor of God, we often keep the shield of faith strapped to our back and the sword of the Spirit unused at our side. But we are called to put on the whole armor of God, put it on and use it in order to stand firm, and as we do, we are to be vigilant in our prayer, attentive and watchful so that we may not only notice the many occasions in which we may be praying, but that we would act and we would indeed pray. But you see, this vigilance does not come naturally. The Lord Jesus often had to exhort his disciples to watch and to keep alert in prayer. And as we know from their example, the spirit may be willing, but the flesh is certainly weak. Therefore, not only should we earnestly pray for this vigilance, but we will have to earnestly train for it. As with anything in the beginning, the training will be difficult. The task seems so great that we may be paralyzed and never even begin. Becoming mindful of all the occasions for prayer and offering up appropriate prayer takes so much effort that we'll be tempted to quit. And even when we make progress, The strain makes it feel unnatural. And we will be tempted to believe that our efforts are not genuine. But nothing could be further from the truth. See, a soldier does not become a sentry on the first day in the army. He begins with the rigors of boot camp where he drills over and over and over again his thoughts and his actions until he no longer has to think about what he's doing. He may enter boot camp with the attention span that's no longer than a television commercial. But through drills and practice, he learns to be attentive through a four-hour watch in the middle of the night, seeing everything and responding appropriately with nary a thought. What began with grueling and clumsy effort becomes second nature. And the way to vigilance in prayer is no different. But how many of us are willing to endure boot camp? How many of us are more content to neglect prayer than to become vigilant in it? If we will endure our training in the strength of the Lord and the power of His might, we will overcome our laziness. We'll overcome our indifference. And we will start to see from God's point of view what is going on in our own homes and in our own town and in our own country. We'll begin to see what's happening in our congregation and in our federation and the church around the world. And we will start to see opportunity that we have been ignoring. And over time it will become more automatic so that we will miss fewer occasions. We will pray more often. It will become a part of who we are. But this doesn't happen without us putting on the full armor of God and moving forward. We have responsibility to be vigilant in prayer. And as we do, we'll see there's plenty to pray about. In fact, there's so much to pray about, we can't do it all in a day. So we may have to put on one thing on Monday. We pray for the church. One thing on Tuesday, we pray for our country. Another thing on Wednesday, we pray for the afflicted. And on Thursday, we pray for those who are needing help in growth in their faith. Sometimes we're paralyzed because the list is so long, we don't know where to stop and when to end. But we need to remember that we're not in this alone. It's not on any one of your individual shoulders to pray for all the saints. We're a unit. We're the people of God, in the full armor of God, marching together. And as we each are on our knees, praying for those things that we can be mindful of, together we cover the ground that the Lord would have us cover. It's the role of the church. Now next we see about this vigilance, that in the strength of the Lord we're to be vigilant to pray with all perseverance. And to persevere involves at least two things. First, it involves praying every day. Each day we're called to be praying in the Spirit and in earnest, remembering that it is the Holy Spirit who gives us a desire, it's the Holy Spirit who enables us to do it, but yet we're responsible to persevere. The Christian life, according to Paul in Romans 12, involves being not only joyful in hope, and patient in affliction. It also involves being faithful in prayer. And he says it this way in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, Be joyful always, pray continually, giving thanks in all circumstances. Why? For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. This is the will of God for the saints. But perseverance involves more than exercising our faith in prayer each and every day. It involves persisting in a particular prayer until the Lord answers us. Jesus Christ made this promise in John chapter 14. It says, I will do whatever you ask in my name so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask for anything in my name and I will do it. Now, if we take that out of context, as many do, we want to name it and we want to claim it. But this is not a promise that turns God into our errand boy. This is not an invitation to make Jesus Christ our servant to our will. It's an invitation to submit to God's will our lives through our prayers. And God will answer us, for He will always answer us according to His will. and if we pray to Him in His way and we do so in His manner He promises to grant all of our requests before they leave our lips can you imagine see the Lord is never tardy to answer the prayers of His children sometimes He says yes and it gives us great reason for thanksgiving and praise and sometimes he says no which also gives us reason for thanksgiving and for praise because we know that he's answering us according to our need not our want and sometimes he seems to tarry sometimes he seems to delay but even then he is accomplishing his will he is trying our faith as in a fire in a furnace to weed out our own self-will and our own pride so if we are convinced that our request is in keeping with his will as revealed in his word then we ought to press on and press on and press on and press on until He answers us or until further instruction in His Word causes us to change our requests. God does not tarry to answer the prayers of His children. The truth be told, however, we often become impatient with God. We often are discontent with His answers so that we become angry at Him. And we need to know that this is sin. It's one thing to express our grief or our lament or our distress, but it's another thing to be angry at God and for that we need to repent. Confessing. Knowing that He will forgive us. For we have not been praying, Thy will be done. We've been commanding and demanding that my will be done. finally in verse 18 Paul says that in the spirit we are to be vigilant in prayer for all the saints we've been reminded throughout this letter the Christian life is not intended to be a solitary life it's not about me and Jesus sinners are not saved in order to live every man for himself but we're to love our neighbors and especially our brothers and sisters in Christ as we were exhorted this morning. The Christian life is about us and Jesus. The bride of Christ. The people of God. The one new man. The body of Christ. The army of God. These are all pictures of the same thing. The many are one in Christ. And the one church is many. Therefore, when the word of the Lord God commands us to stand firm, He's not calling us only as individuals to step up to the fight. Spiritual warfare is a group effort, and each member doing his part to contribute to the well-being of the whole. Together we form one unit under King Jesus to serve a common cause, and we are to be in prayer for all the saints. That's why Jesus taught us to pray, Our Father, not My Father. This is why Paul writes in Romans 12, Rejoice with those who rejoice, and mourn with those who mourn. And in 1 Corinthians 12, if one member suffers, every member suffers. And if one member is honored, every member rejoices. See, we're not to wait for our own personal urgency before we get on our knees to pray. There are seasons in life where the Lord will grant us ease and some rest. But are there not saints who are suffering distress, weighed down with affliction, or perplexed with difficulties? How many of our brothers and sisters are tormented by tyrants and by enemies of the faith? How many have given their lives to say that Jesus is Lord? And unless we have hearts of stone, we can learn to be attentive and to pray for all the saints. And when we're vigilant in prayer, we will see their plight and we will pray. but sometimes in life we're on the receiving side of trial things are tough the road is hard but even then are not some saints rejoicing and praising God for his goodness for his blessings in those trials if my attention is not centered only on myself I can learn to be attentive and to pray for all the saints, even those who are rejoicing when I'm in trouble. We're called to pray for all the saints. We are to show no partiality, no preference based on race or gender or age or anything. If they belong to Christ, then they belong to us. No one is so unclean that we should neglect them in prayer. And no one is so holy that he does not need prayer. Consider Paul. He began this letter by praying for the saints. He told them over and over what he was praying for them. And at the close of this letter in verses 19 and 20, he asked them to pray for him. And his request is not general. It's very specific. And we cannot go into it tonight, but it's very specific. In revealing his need, there are some who might say he's not qualified to be an apostle. He needs that kind of help. But he's a man of flesh and spirit. And we are men and women of flesh and spirit. And we are dependent upon the body of Christ to uphold us in prayer. And if Paul is not above asking for the prayers of the saints, Are we? Pride can get in the way of letting the need be known. You fool yourself to hide your need from the body of Christ. And Satan scoffs and he laughs. Brothers and sisters in Christ, you're on the front line. Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. And put on the full armor of God. And as you do, stand firm, praying in the Spirit, in earnest and with vigilance, so that the privilege of prayer that is yours alone in Jesus Christ will distinguish your service to Him in this world. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we are reminded anew tonight of our neediness. By nature, we want to be strong. By nature, we want to be independent. By nature, we want to be self-absorbed. And yet, Father, as your children, called to be saints, strengthened by your power and clothed with the armor of God, Christ Jesus our Lord. You call us to a life of service to others. You call us to a life of prayer to you. We are lazy, Father. There is no doubt. We are slothful. We're content to go through our rounds, our motions, our duties, and punch the clock too often. But you leave us no room here tonight, Father, for you tell us to be praying in the Spirit. In all occasions, and in all kinds of prayers and petitions. And to be vigilant, and persevering, and praying for not only ourselves, but for others. We thank you, Father, that in our weakness we can see your strength and we can cling to you. We can appeal for your help and know that you will be pleased to give it, to drive us and to encourage us as we are dependent upon you. We pray, Father, that as a body of believers here in Escondido, we would become more and more mighty in this battle. that we'd be mindful of our duty and that we would enter into it with much prayer. We ask for your enabling grace for the sake of Christ, our Lord, in whose name we pray. Amen.