Ephesians 6:18
Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.
IN: indicates locality, position, realm of; the condition in which something operates from the inside/within; within the limits of, near, in the proximity of
Pray In The Spirit
Romans 8:26
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
So, to pray in the Spirit, is to be in the realm of the Holy Spirit. We can't be there if we are not fully equipped to be there. Our prayers will not reach God, nor will they ever make it out of the heavenly realm in which battles are fought on our behalf when we pray for ourselves and on behalf of other people when we pray for them.
We must get our act together and be the Spiritual Warfare people God has called us to be.
All the preceding verses in this passage of Scripture have told us how to do so.
Praying Always
Everywhere and at all times.
Where we pray is not necessarily in four walls and a roof. Not all places of prayer are in a building.
House of Prayer
Isaiah 56:7
I will bring them to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar, for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.
Matthew 21:13
And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
In Everything Pray
Philippians 4:6
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Petitions are when we beg and plead with God to not only hear our prayers but respond to us and move on our behalf. When was the last time we begged God for anything?
Perseverance In Prayer
This word Perseverance (Strong's #4342) is used only one time in the Bible and it is used here to describe the type of prayer we are to interact with God in. It means 'steadfast' which means 'to consistently show strength which prevails in spite of difficulties' and 'to endure: to remain firm in a fixed position'. How does that apply to our prayer life as a Spiritual Warrior?
We are to remain in a fixed state of prayer in the Spirit at all times. This is not as difficult to do as many may think. When we belong to Jesus Christ and He lives in us, it is through the Spirit that we are able to have that relationship. Therefore, it is through the Spirit that we must continue to seek God's face, seek out the Truth of God's Word and it is through the Spirit that we are refreshed again and again when we pray in the Spirit.
Not all prayers are spoken aloud. Many are silent prayers as we go throughout our day. Not all prayers spoken by the Spiritual Warrior are spoken in a known language. The Spirit intercedes for us with groanings, a heaviness that cannot be uttered, an anguish that comes from the depths of the heart and reaches the throne of God.
For All Saints
(cf Strong's #40 NT)
Saints are holy. But what does holy mean for us? To be different from the world. To take on the likeness of the nature of the Lord. To be holy is to be set apart from. Since we are different from the world, we are set apart from the way the world works.
Who Are The Saints?
1 Peter 2:9
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people (of the world), but are now the people of God (not of the world): which had not obtained mercy (lived under the curse), but now have obtained mercy (live under grace).
Saints Have Obtained Mercy From God
Hosea 2:23
And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.
Saints are the set apart by God for God, for God's purposes, God's will, God's plan. Saints belong to God.
Daniel 7:18
But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
The saints are the holy ones of God, simply put. And we are to pray for them, we are to pray for each other at all times in every circumstance in a fixed position with perseverance. What fixed position do we pray in? A humble one. A meek one. With the understanding that we have a purpose in life and that purpose is to seek God's kingdom according to God's will IN PRAYER, BY PRAYER.
