Standing and Praying in the Full Armor of God

~Eph. 6:10-20~

“Prayer is when a Christian soldier takes himself to his general, Christ, to beg his assistance, not once only but at any time when necessity urges; not coldly and with his lips only but with a servant spirit; not faintly, as if he feared not the enemy, but watching and attending to this duty with greatest earnestness; not for himself only but also for the whole church, or for God’s whole army and for every one of the saints, so far as he shall be acquainted with their necessities” (David Dickson, Exposition of Ephesians, Glasgow: 1645. From The Reformation Commentary on Scripture: Galatians and Ephesians, IVP © 2011, pg. 405).

-When we read our passage in context we see how Paul gave instructions to the Body of Christ to “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (5:21) in their: marriages (5:22-33), in their family life (6:1-4), and in the workplace (6:5-9).

            How does this corporate vision impact how we read 6:10-20?

           

-How does Paul’s prayers for the Ephesians in 1:19-23 and 3:16, 18 prepare them to receive his instructions to “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God” (6:11)?

-Because we have been “marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” (1:13) then what does Paul assume we will wield when we pray?

            Where do we see Jesus do this very thing?

-What keeps us from praying “on all occasions”?

-“with all kinds of prayers” is Paul’s way of giving a general description of prayer; and “requests” emphasizes the act of making petitions (6:18; c.f. Phil. 4:6).

-How do you “be alert” or spiritually awake at all times? (Jesus says this too, see Lk 21:36).

-Where can our own prayer lives, or the prayer lives of our churches, grow so to follow Paul’s imperatival command in 6:18?

“You can make prayer your life and your life a prayer while living in a world that needs God’s powerful influence” (See study note on Eph. 6:18 in the NIV Life Application Study Bible, pg. 2141).

-What is Paul’s number one prayer request (6:19-20)?

-It seems that Paul never asked the Ephesians to pray for his release from prison, why?

            -What kind of example does this set for us during the trials we face?

-What would life look like if we prayed “with all kinds of prayers and requests” while wearing the full armor of God and in the Spirit?

-Where do we need to wear “the Good-News-Shoes” (6:15)? (Thanks to our 4 and 3 year old niece and nephew as they taught me this term the other day as they told me/showed me their past week's Sunday school lesson via FaceTime.)