Praying in the Spirit (Eph. 6:18-20)

The first point to note is that Paul is issuing a command. I suppose we could liken him to a trainer in the army informing recruits how to engage in an essential activity. Such trainers would have both experience and authority. And we will see that was the case with Paul. Of course, his authority is easy to deduce because he was given it by Jesus. To disobey Paul when he was passing on his Master’s instructions was the same as disobeying Jesus in a defiant manner.

It is possible that the reference here is not to the Holy Spirit, but instead Paul is describing the human spirit, as if he was saying that a believer will be marked by prayer in his inner life. Of course, it is true that a believer should have a praying spirit. Yet the only way he can have such a burning heart is by the Holy Spirit, so even if someone wants to insist that the human spirit is intended in this verse he still has to acknowledge the necessity of the involvement of the Holy Spirit in having such a prayer life.

Sometimes it is claimed that praying in the Spirit is a special form of prayer and those who suggest this link it to praying in tongues or in some other heightened way. Yet it is obvious that this type of prayer is not limited to such practices because Paul has commanded all his readers to pray in such a way. In fact, there is no other way in which to pray genuinely apart from in the Spirit.

Prayer and the spiritual armour

Since this command to pray is connected to the various pieces of the Christian’s armour, it would seem to be a feature of the warfare in which every Christian will engage. Indeed, it has been suggested that prayer in the Spirit is the equivalent of the war cry that a soldier would voice when under attack by an opponent. Obviously the cry was designed to deter the enemy by shouting at him. If it is the equivalent of the war cry, then it is interesting that it is directed towards God rather than at the enemy. We are all familiar with Bunyan’s line that Satan flees when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees.

In a contest, the cry of the soldier was either a sign of confidence in his own resources or a pretence made to convince the opponent that his target had resources. We can understand how either of those options could succeed in a physical contest. But neither of them is any use in a spiritual battle. Self-confidence is not a way to engage in spiritual warfare and neither will we get anywhere if all our attempts at prayer are only a pretence. Instead we have to focus on the God who answers prayer. Paul here is indicating that a person who has the right kind of confidence is the one who prays in the Spirit.

The immediate context also indicates that Paul expected them to be fighting together against the enemy, and this would also include praying together if they were aware that their friends in Ephesus were under spiritual attack. We could imagine a Christian recognising that another believer was being attacked. It would be pointless for him to start shouting at the enemy, but he could pray to God for his friend.

So I would say that there are three indispensabilities here: one is the necessity of prayer to obtain victory in spiritual warfare, the second is to pray in a corporate manner, and the third is the necessity of the involvement of the Holy Spirit in such prayer. So what does praying in the Spirit involve?

As far as I know, there is only one other reference to praying in the Spirit and it is found in the short letter of Jude in the section where he informs his readers about their response to the false teachings that had infiltrated the churches to whom he wrote. Jude gives a list of priorities that believers should have: ‘building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life’ (vv. 20-21). That reference enables us to see what accompanies praying in the Spirit and what follows from praying in the Spirit. The person who is praying in the Spirit grows in the faith and enjoys the love of God and looks ahead to the coming of Jesus and the mercy he will show to them then.

Yet since the original recipients of Paul’s letter probably had not read Jude’s letter, it must be possible to work out from the context in Ephesians what praying in the Spirit is like. So we will make an attempt to do so.

Praying and grieving the Spirit

An obvious response to this instruction about praying in the Spirit is to ask whether it is possible for a believer to pray in another way. The answer to that question is that it is possible, and perhaps quite frequent in reality, and the possibility has already been mentioned by Paul in this letter when he instructed his readers not to grieve the Spirit (4:20). Can a person who is grieving the Spirit pray in the Spirit? The answer to that question is that he cannot.

Now, we know that we grieve the Spirit by our sins, and that is something that we should take seriously. This means that whenever we draw near to God we should ensure that we have asked forgiveness for any action or attitude or aim that we knew already had or would grieve him. We should be thankful for the assurance that if we confess our sins the Lord is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness because of the blood of Jesus. But I would say that this reality indicates that a person who prays in the Spirit does so aware of his own need of cleansing and of the efficacy of what Jesus did. Praying in the Spirit is done by a penitent person who is aware that he has been pardoned.

Praying in the Spirit involves supplication

Another point to note is that Paul refers to such prayer in a general way and in a specific way. So when we are praying in the Spirit we will have both these kinds of prayer. It is interesting that the specific aspect revealed in praying in the Spirit is supplication. Supplication is a word that indicates what we think of our status because it is a word that includes the idea of entreating and imploring a superior individual who is far above us in many ways. It is a word that indicates we are conscious of the greatness of the person to whom we are speaking about something. In times of old, we would not have regarded the monarch as merely a fellow citizen. How much more when we think of God!

Often we like to stress that one of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to teach us about the grace of God, and we are thankful that he does. Yet I think we are prone to forget that the Holy Spirit also teaches us about the greatness of God. Of course, this could mean that he would instruct us in his own greatness which he possesses as an equal member of the blessed Trinity. However, I would suggest that what he often does is instruct us in the greatness of the Father and the Son.

When we come before God in prayer, we come as the children of God. That is a great privilege and a great status. To be a son of God is to have a position greater than all earthly ones. But when we pray we don’t just look down to see how elevated we have become. In addition, we look up and realise that we have been given incredible insights into the majesty of God. We don’t come into his presence and demand from God that he does something in response to our needs. Instead we must come humbly, conscious that he is so very far superior to us, that between us and him there is an unbridgeable difference. He is great as well as gracious.

We can see greatness too when we think of Jesus. He is great as the eternal Son of God and he is great as the exalted Mediator. We can pray in his name and I would suggest that when we pray in the Spirit we will be taught by the Spirit to esteem the wonderful Saviour, our Lord, the One who deserves the highest place that heaven affords. We can imagine a situation in which a person with power could say to us, ‘Go to that shop and ask what you like in my name.’ So we ask for a few things, and our sparse order makes the shop owner ask us a testing question, ‘Do you understand whose name you are using?’ The shopkeeper may discover that we know nothing about him. It is very different with the heavenly Lord because the Holy Spirit teaches us how to pray in his name, and one aspect of the teaching is that he informs us about the greatness of his name.

No doubt, an awareness of this reality is very comforting because his greatness is a reminder that he is able to answer our prayers. What are some of the effects of appreciating his greatness?

Praying in the Spirit is comprehensive prayer

Paul reminds his readers that they should pray at all times, that they should pray all kinds of prayer, and that they should pray for all Christians. The apostle did this himself as his references to prayer in his letters reveal and they are always worth reading during our times of prayer. We know that elsewhere he exhorts believers to pray without ceasing, which means that prayer is an ongoing activity in a Christian’s heart. One simple way to check whether or not we are doing this is to see what is going through our minds when we are silent, when we are walking down the road, reading the newspaper or whatever. I suspect if we can do something that prevents prayer we should ask if we should be doing it.

No doubt we have all heard the story of the two ministers who were discussing the meaning of pray without ceasing and were having difficulty understanding it. In came the maid and they asked her if she knew what it meant and she replied that she did. On being asked how, she said that when she dressed herself she prayed that she would be clothed in the righteousness of Christ, that when she fed herself she prayed that her soul would feed on Christ, and so on.

Paul uses three different words for prayer in this verse, perhaps to stress the variety of prayers, but more likely is the suggestion that he is stressing the urgent nature of prayer to God to meet our needs. The apostle is indicating the seriousness with which the soldiers of Jesus should take prayer, and the way that they reveal they are serious is in the intensity of their prayers for divine help.

A further feature of real prayer is stated in the phrase, ‘keep alert with all perseverance,’ and the call to alertness is an evidence that Paul regards prayer as part of the spiritual armour all believers need to wear. We know what can happen if a soldier fails to be alert or falls asleep. He is liable to let the enemy in. Of course, in a regular army, a soldier would probably be relieved of his duties at regular intervals. In contrast, there are no times of relief for the soldiers of Jesus, which is why they need perseverance. Perseverance is sticking at the task with all our strength.

It is interesting that the area of persevering prayer that Paul focuses on is intercession for all other believers. We might say that is an impossible activity, but I suppose the answer to that detail is that the Father knows who all his children are. The context indicates that we should pray in particular for the fact that they are all under attack from the forces of the enemy. It is not difficult for us to realise that some Christians are facing persecution from the enemy, that other Christians will be tempted to make doctrinal compromises, that other Christians will be tempted to engage in particular sins, that other Christians will be going through the motions because of sluggishness. We could have prayed today for the suffering church, for those Christians about to compromise, for those Christians about to fall, wherever they are. Such prayer is an expression of brotherly love and evidence that we are praying in the Spirit.

Praying in the Spirit includes requested prayer

It is not advised in the world for leaders to reveal their weaknesses. But it was very different with Paul. In fact, he wrote a whole letter about his weaknesses (2 Corinthians). It did not mean that he could not act with authority when necessary. Paul, as a wise pastor, revealed a situation in his life that needed prayer.

In the example that he gives, which was connected to his imprisonment in Rome, he does not ask that they should pray for his release. If he had been released without speaking up for Jesus at the impending trial, Paul would realise that he had failed as an ambassador. For him, it was better to be in prison as a faithful ambassador than outside of it as a failed ambassador. So we deduce from his petition that our priority when making requests about prayer is the honour of Jesus.

It looks as if Paul was concerned about losing boldness. Maybe this was a recurring problem he had, or maybe it was a new problem that had arisen out of his current circumstances. The Ephesians would remember Paul as having shown great courage in Ephesus as he preached daily in the school of Tyrannus and when he was accused by the mob. Perhaps the long hours of deprivation were affecting his spirits. If that was the case, one feature of the remedy was special prayer by his friends in Ephesus. He is not asking for their sympathy, which no doubt they would give. Instead he is asking them to pray that he would be given strength from heaven.

The obvious lesson is that a person who prays in the Spirit will ask others to pray for him. But it is striking that Paul asked all the members of the church in Ephesus to pray for him. After all, if he only asked some of them, would he not be creating a form of disunity? Moreover, if he had only asked some, maybe he would miss out the ones who would have prayed the most for him.

Praying in the Spirit is a great privilege. We can also say it is a gracious practice to be engaged in by every Christian. From Paul’s words on the activity, we can see that it should be a general one as well because it is part of the armour that all believers must wear and it is an activity into which all Christians in a congregation should be asked to participate.