SWORDS Bible Study: Eph 6:18D

As I was about to leave our study of…

Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

…I noticed a few more gems!

I am looking at how Paul encourages us to be praying “with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”  WHY is it so important for us to be praying for one another?

One gem to me is that a soldier in battle is usually in the company of other soldiers, and through the battle, soldiers pray for help for themselves, of course; but they also pray for the individual company to which they belong, their unit, and their entire army!  In our case, our “company” is made up of the believers in our local area, sometimes we are blessed with the “unit” of a local church, but all believers are part of the army that consists of our fellow members of the body of Christ throughout the world!

But if you think about it, when we pray for other members of the body of Christ, we are praying for ourselves as well!  We are knit together (Col. 2:2;19) in some incredible way in Christ, where what is done to one, good or bad, is done to all and felt by all, spiritually speaking!

1Co 12:26 and whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.

When we believe on Christ, that He took on all our sin and the punishment thereof, we instantly become members of His Body, and He is Christ in us, the hope of glory.

Col_1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Christ is in us and we are in Him!  But we are not only in union with Him in the Body, we are in union with others who are in union with Christ, of one spirit with them!

1Co 6:17  But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

Eph 4:4-6  There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

As my sister in Christ, you are closer to me spiritually than a sister in the flesh who does not believe.  In my own case, my DNA is linked by blood to my sister in the flesh, but since she is also a believer, we now share a new spiritual “DNA” as children of God.  When our family members don’t believe however, we often have to do what the Lord did when His family didn’t believe on Him (John 7:5) and put away the ties of the flesh (Mt. 12:46-50), and live, walk and pray in the Spirit of God.  After all, who is your real, eternal family?  It is the eternal body of Christ, as the Spirit itself bears witness:

Rom_8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

Rom_8:21  Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

Gal_3:26  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Of course, we are not just to pray for ourselves and the body of Christ, we are called on to pray for ALL men:

1Ti 2:1-7  I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;

For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.  For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.

We are exhorted to pray for the saints with all perseverance and supplication in the Spirit.  So we pray for our own first, then for others, and then as we have opportunity, we care for the physical needs of our own family, saved or not, then for the needs of others:

1Ti 5:8  But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

Galatians 6:10  As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith

Finally, remember, to pray “with all perseverance” means to pray with persistence!  To be persistent means:

per·sis·tent

adjective \pər-ˈsis-tənt, -ˈzis-\

continuing to do something or to try to do something even though it is difficult or other people want you to stop

continuing beyond the usual, expected, or normal time : not stopping or going away

(Merriam Webster)

So we pray for all men, but we are exhorted to pray for the saints no matter what!  No matter who is trying to stop us, including ourselves, when we find it difficult to pray for an unpleasant saint, or when the distractions of our own lives tend to make us forget the lives of other saints.  We continue praying always, not stopping or going away, steadfast, and continuing beyond the usual.

THE GOSPEL THAT SAVES
“I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved … that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

– 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (KJB)