3. Praying in the Spirit…
•There is a story told of a small town
in which there was not even one
liquor store…
•I think we all can agree that our
prayer lives leave a lot to be desired
•Prayer is the most ancient,
universal, most intense expression
of religious instinct; even cults pray
4. Pray in the Spirit…
•The idea of prayer is speaking,
pleading, and requesting human
supplications to a divine being
•If you are born again, you’re
praying to the creator of the
universe
•If not, your prayers go nowhere–
He hears but cannot act…
5. “With all prayer and petition pray at all times
in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the
alert with all perseverance and petition for all
the saints…”
Ephesians 6:18, NASB
6. “With all prayer and petition pray at all times
in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the
alert with all perseverance and petition for all
the saints…”
Ephesians 6:18, NASB
7. Last Messages from Ephesians…
•We’ve covered a lot of ground…
•Heavenly Places in chapter one
•To Spiritual Battlefields in chapter six
•In between Paul showed us how the Lord lavished
His love and grace on us in redemption, how He
took the lost and made us cherished family,
turned division to unity, rescued us from
deception to truth, dark to light
8. With all prayer and petition pray at all
times in the Spirit, and with this in
view, be on the alert with all
perseverance and petition for all the
saints…
Ephesians 6:18
9. A.) Praying Always in the Spirit
•V 18, pray non-stop?
•No– that would require rambling on…
10. And when you pray, do not use vain
repetitions as the heathen do. For
they think that they will be heard for
their many words.
Matthew 6:7
11. 1.) Praying Always
•V 18, pray non-stop?
•No– that would require rambling on…
•This verse and 1 Thessalonians’ 5:17 “Pray
without ceasing” say to us, “Always be in
communion with the Lord
•A Christian must “pray always” because he is
always subject to temptations and attacks of
Satan and his cohort demons
12. 1.) Praying Always…
•Think you don’t have time?
•If we say we don’t, all that does is tell the
demons you aren’t in contact with God!
•God hears our prayer wherever we are
•Think of some of the places people have
prayed in the Bible…
•Jonah, Daniel, David, Peter– the key is in
“frequent-cy”
13. “16 Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing; 18 in
everything give thanks; for this is God’s will
for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NASB
15. ‘15 Elijah said, “As the LORD of hosts lives,
before whom I stand, I will surely show
myself to him today.”’
1 Kings 18:15, NASB
16. ‘15 Elijah said, “As the LORD of hosts lives,
before whom I stand, I will surely show
myself to him [Ahab] today.”’
1 Kings 18:15, NASB
17. 1.) Praying Always…
•It Can be continuous too!
•Elijah, seeking an audience with the wicked
King Ahab, was well aware of the fact that
wherever he went, he stood in God’s presence!
•We, too, are never alone. Wherever we go, God is
with us. We can commune with Him and
fellowship with Him and pray to Him and hear
from Him. That is the idea of continuous prayer:
being in fellowship and communion with God
•To grow, prayer must become a vital life part
18. 2.) With all prayer…
•What did Paul mean by this phrase?
•There is more than one kind of prayer:
supplication, intercession, and thanksgiving
•If only asking supplication, you miss out on
the blessings that come with intercessions
and giving of thanks
•Thanks is a powerful to defeat the Enemy as
supplication—
19. 2.) With all prayer…
•“Praise changes things” as much as
“prayer changes things”
•When we praise the Lord for His goodness,
love for us, and faithfulness, Satan’s deceptions
and temptations melt away
•Intercession for others can bring victory to our
own lives
•Some think prayer is the last piece of armor– it
definitely is how we put it on!!
20. 3.) No age limit
•Notice that Paul didn’t set any age limit
on who could wield our spiritual
weaponry in prayer
•Little children can intercede with their tender
hearts just as the elderly can with wisdom
•All of us can do this– as long as we can still
think, we can fight this fight for us and others
21. Take Home!
1. Instead of trying to twist
God’s arm with your prayer,
put yourself in His hands
2. Prayer is God’s way pf
sharing the journey with us;
He could do it all without
us, but He doesn’t want to!
