ODJ: pray for me
April 18, 2011
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere (v.18).
READ: Ephesians 6:10-19
Make my life a prayer to You, I wanna do what You want me to, No empty words and no white lies, No token prayers, no compromise. I love those lyrics from Christian singer/songwriter Keith Green who died almost 3 decades ago. His passionate heart for God is reflected in every word.
In Ephesians 6, the apostle Paul described how we can make our lives a prayer to God by having an active prayer life. He wrote, “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion” (v.18).
It’s not coincidental that Paul penned those words after having addressed the fact that we’re in a spiritual battle, not “fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies” (v.12). His famous metaphor of us putting on spiritual armor is clear and instructive (v.13). For without truth, righteousness, peace that comes from the good news, faith, salvation, and God’s Word, we will wilt before our unseen enemies.
But what’s the one thing the apostle tells us to do every moment as we battle? Pray. To do what God wants us to do, to live without compromise, to withstand “the fiery arrows of the devil” (v.16), requires continuous communication with our Father in heaven. We should “never stop praying” (1 Th. 5:17).
When things go wrong, sometimes we stop praying the right way. As Keith wrote, either our prayers are “token,” or we’ve simply stopped communicating with God altogether. Instead of being “persistent in [our] prayers” (Ephesians 6:18), we’ve shown our lack of faith and loss of love for God by not talking with Him.
It’s time to make your life a prayer to God. Follow Paul’s example. He told the Ephesians, “Pray for me” (v.19). By doing so, he acknowledged the amazing power that comes from God as we pray to Him “at all times.” —Tom Felten
What’s been keeping you from passionately praying to God? How will you change your prayer life this week?
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