READ
This week, we’ve learned about what it looks like to walk in the Spirit and put on the armor of God, but today we’re given an essential spiritual practice that will help us on our journey.
Take a moment to read Ephesians 6:18-20:
“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 Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, 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.”
REFLECT
When I was in my early twenties, I felt convicted about my prayer life. I was just not good at praying.
I had friends who would talk about getting up in the morning and spending hours with the Lord in prayer, and every time I tried to pray like they did, I would get distracted (or worse, bored!). Not only that, I would be chatting with a friend about a situation, and they’d ask, “Have you talked to the Lord about that yet?”
Ouch. No, no I hadn’t.
But my lack of a prayer life sent me on a journey that led me to one of my favorite books on prayer: A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller. In it, he states:
“God… cheers when we come to him with our wobbling, unsteady prayers. Jesus does not say, ‘Come to me all you who have learned how to concentrate in prayer, whose minds no longer wander, and I will give you rest.’ No, Jesus opens his arms to his needy children and says, ‘Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11:28, NASB). The criteria for coming to Jesus is weariness. Come overwhelmed with life. Come with your wondering mind. Come messy.” (Miller, pp. 31-32)
When I read those words, I felt the chains of religion release, and I immediately felt the freedom to pursue prayer, not from a place of perfection or having arrived, but from the perspective of a child talking to their beloved Father about anything and everything that life threw their way.
Truth be told, my prayer life still doesn’t look like that of some of my friends. I don’t spend hours each morning in prayer, but my prayer life has indeed grown. Whether it’s through a prayer journal I use a few times a week or a brief prayer whispered over my kids as my anxious mind starts to worry, prayer is no longer confined to a single religious moment. Instead, it’s an active conversation that happens throughout my day.
And Ephesians 6 is an invitation to that type of prayer life: “Pray in the Spirit on ALL occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”
The God of the universe wants to hear about the big and the small, the good and the hard, the messy and the tidy. He invites us to bring all of it to His feet, and not only that, we are invited to pray for others. Look at verses 19-20 again. Paul asks the church at Ephesus to pray for the people of God and specifically to pray for Paul to remain faithful and fearless in his pursuit of spreading the good news of Jesus.
Prayer isn’t just for us! It’s also done for the sake of others!
You see, prayer is a powerful weapon that keeps us connected to God, but also to one another. And so we partner with each other in asking God to do miraculous things in each other’s lives, and we also ask God to grant us the miracle of faithfulness to Him.
So this week, remember: the invitation to pray in these passages is not about fulfilling a religious checklist—it’s an invitation to relationship with a good Father who delights in the prayers of His children and wants to transform your life, and others’, through the power of prayer.
RESPOND
Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.
What would it look like for you to “always keep on praying” in your everyday life?
Is there a spiritual leader (or brothers and sisters in Christ) in your life who you need to cover in prayer? If so, spend a few moments doing for them what Paul asked the church at Ephesus to do in verses 19-20!
REST
Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:
Lord, thank You for the gift of prayer. Thank You that we can come to You with “all kinds of prayers and requests,” and that there is no concern too big or too small for You. Lord, would You help me to pray not only about my own life, but would You give me eyes to see others’ needs as important as my own? Thank You for being a God who delights in the prayers of His people. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Port City writer Brittany Salmon wrote today’s devotional.