Read Ephesians 6:18-20.

Paul completes his appeal to us to put on the full armor of God—all six pieces—with a bold command to pray: “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Ephesians 6:18). You see, prayer is like fresh air in our lungs. Without it, we cannot really be helped by the armor of God. Our Lord knows that when the battle gets harder—and my goodness, it’s getting harder now—if our lungs are not filled with the fresh air of prayer, we are going to get tired, weak, and discouraged. Prayer, therefore, is essential.

With all the blessings and assurances God has poured out on us, it can be tempting to imagine we’re unstoppable. In pride, we can become prayerless. Friend, do not think for a single moment that because you have “every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3), because you have the armor of God, and because you have learned a good deal about the Scriptures, you can take even a single breath without humble dependence on your heavenly Father.

Notice that Paul says to pray “on all occasions with all kinds of prayers . . . for all the Lord’s people” (v. 18). The frequency of all is very important. Is your situation grim? It’s time to pray. Are things going well? It’s time to pray. Don’t feel like praying? It’s time to pray. In another place, Paul wrote, “[P]ray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). In other words, it’s always time to pray.

Now, this doesn’t mean we never leave our prayer closet. Rather, to pray continually is to live with a deep awareness of God’s presence. It means we remain surrendered to our heavenly Father. When we hear of a need, we stop and pray immediately. When we experience a blessing, we stop right where we are and say, “Thank You, Father.” When we see evil at work, we cry out to God on the spot. We don’t wait until we have our quiet time; we pray in the moment.

Paul also says we should “pray in the Spirit” (v. 18), which is a call to be in harmony with the Holy Spirit. We are to pray in agreement with the Holy Spirit, according to the Word of God, for the will of God to be fulfilled in our lives and the lives of others. And we can take comfort that in our weakness, the Spirit Himself intercedes on our behalf (see Romans 8:26-27).

Prayer: Lord, thank You for the gift of prayer. May I develop a moment-by-moment habit of coming to You in prayer in every situation. Thank You that Your Spirit intercedes for me when I do not know how to pray. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“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” (Ephesians 6:18).

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