Everything, Everyone, Everywhere

Wednesday, April 24   Everything, Everyone, Everywhere   Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—and for me. Ephesians 6:18-19   The apostle Paul’s description of the Christian’s spiritual armor is beautifully crafted. But he concludes his description of the armor with an admonition which has nothing to do with a soldier’s armor for warfare: prayer. But even though prayer is not something we “put on,” we get Paul’s sense—that prayer is the key to being “strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10).

Recommended Reading: Philippians 4:6

Because spiritual warfare can occur in every area of life, Paul writes that we are to pray “on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Ephesians 6:18, NIV). This echoes his words in Philippians 4:6: to pray about everything. And to pray for “all the saints.” We can pray that God’s people everywhere would put on the armor of God and stand strong in the Lord—especially those, like Paul, who are called to spread the Gospel to those who haven’t heard.             When you pray for your own needs, pray also for God’s people everywhere to stand strong and spread the Gospel.   Faith cannot grow outside the environment of prayer. J. C. P. Cockerton

Read through the Bible: 2 Kings 17 – 18