Ephesians 6:18 - Praying in the Spirit. (addendum)
Ephesians 6:18 - Praying in the Spirit. (addendum)
Ephesians 6:18 (TNIV) 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 (NEB) Give yourselves wholly to prayer and
entreaty; pray on every occasion in the power of the Spirit. To this end
keep watch and persevere, always interceding for all God's people;
CONTEXT
The Armor of God: Ephesians 6:10-20.
COMMENTARY APPLICATION
Do you ever get sick and tired of praying? We're all guilty of
it, but in this verse we see how to get out of that prayer rut.
Continual, effectual prayer is not, and cannot be, an exercise of our
flesh;... it is the exercise of the Spirit within us. In Romans 8:26, Paul
gives us additional insight into this essential matter when he points
out that "the Holy Spirit prays for us with groaning that cannot be
expressed in words." We typically find ourselves trying to project our
prayers and petitions through space to some far-off place where God
dwells and where we have a mansion awaiting our arrival. But Paul tells
us in Ephesians that God is joining us "together as part of this
dwelling where God lives by his Spirit" (2:22). Our eternal destiny is to
corporately and individually be the place where the Spirit dwells and
through which he intercedes. God is using every circumstance to help us
grasp this truth and to learn to let the "rivers of living water" flow
through us.
Oh GOD, teach me to know the presence of your Spirit within me
and to walk and live in continual awareness of it. May you freely
live your life in me, express your heart through me, and pray through
me. I know that I can't accomplish any of this through my own
efforts, but with you, nothing is impossible! [Praying Through The Bible
By Fuller re Eph. 6:18]
LINK TO AN EXCELLENT SERMON ON THIS PASSAGE:
http://media.forestlakechurch.org/content/media/praying-spiritual-protection
