Paul concludes, not only the armor you need to put on in order to stand, but also the exhortations to obedience (Ephesians 4–6), with a call to prayer.
Live a life of prayer. Always keep praying with all kinds of prayers. Paul makes his point by piling up language. All kinds of things are included in prayer, all occasions. Nehimiah prayed a more composed prayer in Nehemiah 1, but that was followed by a quick silent prayer when the king asked what was troubling him. Although this includes specific times of prayer, it is a call to live a life of prayer. Pray for all the saints. We are a body. We need one another. We need the prayers of one another.
Pray in the Spirit. You not only use the sword of the Spirit, but you pray in the Spirit. This is not prayer in tongues, or in some unintelligible way. Paul is not contrasting praying in the Spirit with praying some other way. Rather, prayer, like the Christian life, if it is real, if it is genuine, is in the Spirit. It is lived under his control. It grows out of the Word, which is the sword of the Spirit. It is prayer which is in tune with the Spirit, lived in his strength. It is communication– communication that is sometimes so close that words are not needed. The Spirit intercedes for us, Romans 8:26–27. His intercession is needed when we don’t have the words to express our guilt and our desire to repent. His intercession communicates when we are so aware of God’s glory and blessedness, that we just can’t express it as we should. He intercedes with groans that words cannot express. (Think of a couple, who communicate far more with a glance, a sound, than you could contain in an essay.)
“The veil of our limitations–our ignorance, our shortsightedness, our uncertainty, our lack of concentration, our sinful doubts and confusion–constantly casts a shadow over our prayers, keeping them from being as they ought to be, fully ‘according to the will of God’ (v. 27), ‘according to his purpose’ (v. 28). Positively, in our ‘best’ moments, when we are overwhelmed with the glory of God, the grandeur of his salvation, and the wonder of his love, we experience the weakness-inadequacy of our praise and thanksgiving.
“But the ministry of he Spirit, Paul says, is adequate to this massive need of believers; he helps them as this pervasive weakness inevitably affects their prayers…. The intercessory groans of the Spirit are ‘inexpressible’ or ‘wordless,’ not because they are without meaning, but because they are beyond our capacities as creatures.”
Richard B. Gaffin Jr., Perspectives on Pentecost, pp. 85, 86
Pray for bold speaking of the Word. The ambassador in chains asked for prayer! Appreciate how shocking is the concept of an ambassador in chains! Paul asks prayer for himself! The great theological mind, the powerful, effective missionary, needed the prayers of God’s people. How much more do those proclaiming the gospel today. Spurgeon, asked the secret of his effective ministry, said, “My people pray for me.” I am asking you to pray for me.
“To ‘pray in the Holy Spirit’ (Eph. 6:18; Jude 20), therefore, is not ecstatic in the sense of unintelligent. Rather, it is the analogy in the life of prayer to what walking in the Spirit is in the whole Christian life: conformity to the word which God has spoken. Praying in the Spirit is prayer which conforms to the will and purpose of the Spirit. This is what Tertullian, and Calvin following him, called legitimate prayer: committing oneself to holding on to the promises of God until they take effect.”
(Sinclair B. Ferguson, The Holy Spirit, p. 188
Pray that the mystery of the gospel will be made known. Pray for the right words. Paul was no slouch in expressing himself — but human wisdom and eloquence cannot change a heart. Paul is praying for the ability to proclaim fearlessly the mystery of he gospel, the good news. Look back at Ephesians 3:1–13. the focus of the mystery is Jesus Christ: who he is and what he has done. Paul has in mind all the Old Testament prophesies now fulfilled in Christ Jesus, ther Redeemer of both Jews and Gentiles. Christ has redeemed fallen mankind and is forming his church into the new creation. God, the Holy Spirit, provides the right words, and uses them. He can strike a straight blow with a crooked stick. Pray for boldness. The ambassador in chains needed boldness. So do preachers today. So do believers today. It takes courage to replace lying with speaking the truth, stealing with honest work, self-centered what can I get out of this relationship styles of marriage with a love that serves, meets needs, builds up. It is not easy to exercise a holy boldness in family life, or in the workplace. So pray for one another.
You are a congregation that prays. I’m thankful for that. But keep it up, nurture it, pray in the Spirit for all the saints, giving thanks to the Savior who has drawn you to himself.