The Bible tells us that we are in a war. Does it seem real to us? Can we see the effects of this war? Have we seen any casualties? Have we become casualties ourselves? How do we understand and prepare for the battles that are going on all around us. Our Scripture Reading may be very familiar to us. Sometimes it is hard to learn something new from an "old" text. Like the text, the subject of prayer is "old" and familiar. May God help us to awaken to the realities of spiritual war and the power of prayer.

Be Strong in the Lord. Ephesians 6:10

See how Paul prayed for believers to have Divine Strength within (Ephesians 1:15-23; 3:14-19).

Be Dressed in the Armor of God. Ephesians 6:11-17

The nature of the war is spiritual. Our fight is not really with humans, but with the Devil and other "wicked spirits" (Ephesians 6:10-13). The battle is for the minds and hearts of men. In order to fight this war our weapons must be spiritual, not carnal (II Corinthians 10:3-5; Romans 1:16-17).

Note: We are to "stand," "stand against" and "withstand." Christian warfare is offensive and defensive (Matthew 16:16-18; Romans 16:20; James 4:7; I Peter 5:8-9; Revelation 12:10-11).

The armor is actually the practical application of Christ in our lives. We receive Christ by faith and our sins are forgiven. Next we must let Christ have us, that He may live His life through us. We can't live the Christian life or fight the good fight of faith in the power of the flesh (Romans 8:1-14; 6:6-13; 13:11-14; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 2:6-10; I Thessalonians 5:1-11).

Be Praying. Ephesians 6:18-20

"Praying always", tells us that the whole time we are putting on God's armor (cp. Romans 13:14), we are to be praying. It is not an after-thought..."Oh yeah, you better start praying too." Prayer is like the leather straps that hold the armor onto us. We will become unraveled without it.

Part Two will help us focus more deeply on what Ephesians 6:18- 20 is telling us.