It is impossible to stress the importance of prayer without considering the context of prayer, which is spiritual warfare. Before Paul embarks on his famous description of “the armor of God” in the sixth chapter of Ephesians, he emphasizes our need for it by insisting that we are—whether we like it or not, and whether we realize it or not—engaged in a spiritual battle.

“Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God…praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication” (Ephesians 6:10-12).

Paul goes on to emphasize the spiritual nature of this battle in verse 12, by informing us (or reminding, if we’ve forgotten) that our enemies are not primarily evil or wicked people—although they can certainly be effective instruments of the enemy—but rather, our chief battle is with the spiritual powers of the devil and his demons.

Now I know I (and Paul) may have lost you there, because you are a child of modern times and modern thinking, and you know better than to believe in tall tales, tooth fairies, and the devil. If this describes you, then you are sadly not alone. One Barna survey revealed that, while 78% of self-identified Christians believe in God as described in the Bible, only about one-fourth of them believe that the devil is a real and living being.

However, this is fundamentally naïve when we consider that Jesus Himself told Peter that Satan desired (a very personal verb!) to have him so that he could sift him like wheat. What a great coup, then, for Satan to have so many convinced that he’s not real! The reason camouflage and stealth-technology exist is that any military strategist knows (or learns quickly the hard way) that the best weapon against your enemy is to convince him you’re not even there.

Be Strong in the Lord

Doubtless, this is part of the reason Paul begins this whole discussion in Ephesians 6 with the admonition to “be strong in the Lord.” No matter what popular opinion may tell you at any given time, you must trust in God’s assessment of your enemy before you will put on the right kind of armor.

But also, Paul wants to remind us that, no matter who we are or how long we’ve been Christians, we clearly are not strong enough to stand on our own against the super-human (supernatural) powers of evil. Yet, with God—and with God’s armor—we can prevail. So be strong, yes, but always and only “in the Lord, and in the strength of his might.”

Even Paul’s repeated exhortation to “stand” and to put on the armor of God, then, is only correctly understood as a call to greater dependence on Jesus Christ as our savior—to a constant and intentional recognition of our need for the truth concerning Jesus, the righteousness that comes from Him, the gospel about Christ, our faith that is centered in Him, and thus the salvation that comes from the Lord. This is the Jesus we learn about in the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Yet, we can only apply—or “put on”—this armor through prayer. We do this through running to Jesus consciously and repeatedly with our every need.

The Battle

This spiritual battle against spiritual enemies is real. If we believe in the Bible, we must believe in spiritual warfare: it wages back and forth across every page of Scripture—from Garden of Eden to Garden of Gethsemane, and all the way to the end of Revelation.

The princes of Persia and Greece battle with angelic messengers in Daniel 10; Satan fights with the angel Michael over the body of Moses in Jude 9; Jesus casts real demons out of a man, as a herd of swine soon discover for themselves in Luke 8; Paul casts a spirit, which brought real financial gain to its masters, out of a damsel in Acts 16; and Satan hinders Paul’s visit to Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 2:18). If you believe the Bible, you must believe in Satan and in his war against the saints.

However, this battle is not only real: it is also personal. This is not, in other words, a battle that your parents or pastor can fight for you; you must be engaged in it yourself. The war is raging already, and we were born into it when we came into this world. But when we became Christians and proclaimed our faith in Jesus Christ, we consciously took sides and, Paul says, it’s high time we started living like it!

The Enemy

We wrestle with this enemy whether we like it or not. Unlike popular portrayals of Satan, he is not “for” anyone really. Although he is chiefly opposed to Christ and His Kingdom, Satan delights to bring anyone down. So, while some people certainly are the servants of Satan, Satan himself assists no one and is happy to hurt everyone he can.

When Paul warns that our enemy is “spiritual” he is not, of course, denying that there will be physical foes, including people who will oppose all along the Christian way. He is simply pointing to the greater battle, the greater stakes, and the greater wickedness that exist beyond any personal human conflict.

Of course, the world today says just the opposite: forget about devils, demons, and arguments over truth, and focus attention on poverty, hunger, environmental issues, and cultural oppression of certain people groups. While these concerns can certainly be legitimate, in order to truly or rightly battle them, we must first recognize that they are only the symptom of the much deeper and greater problem of sin. Therefore, the real and lasting solution will not be money or food or conservation or political rights; the great and only solution for the underlying problem of sin is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Without that vital ingredient, any help we give is only temporary and ultimately deceptive.

How many of us take to heart the warning that Satan, like a roaring lion, is hunting throughout the earth for anyone he can devour? It should sober us to consider that our enemies are described by Paul in Ephesians not only as spiritual, but powerful. The Bible tells us of six individuals who were personally tempted by Satan—Eve, Job, Jesus, Judas, Peter, and Ananias—and four of these gave way under the temptation, including sinless Eve! And even Job didn’t last the whole course, although he successfully endured at the time of Satan’s attacks.

Devils recognize no white flag, no Red Cross, no Geneva Convention. They give no quarter; they take no prisoners; they share no sense of value, decency, or fairness. They attack your children at school, your spouse at sleep, your mind in church. They attack new converts, weary travelers, the physically afflicted, and people trying to turn over a new leaf. They will, if they can, get between a husband and his wife, parents and their children, brothers and sisters in the Church, and pastors and their flock. And, like professional football or boxing, each match is carefully tailored to the opponent’s weaknesses. It is time we recognize the malice of our enemy and equip ourselves accordingly.

The Armor

Paul tells us to “put on” the armor, so simply studying about it or understanding how it works is not sufficient. We must sleep in it, work in it, play in it. One Christian, with God, is stronger than a host of wicked men, plus all the demons in the universe. We see this reality in the struggles of Elisha with the Syrians, Jonah with Nineveh, Moses with the Egyptians, and Paul with the Jewish leaders. When we walk, and live, and fight in the strength of God, and with the tools He has given us, we are actually on the offensive as the Kingdom of God advancing invincibly throughout the world and in every generation.

Every piece of armor points us back to God as our great need. After all, it is the armor of God! And, while we cannot face the supernatural, spiritual, invisible, powerful enemies of darkness in our own strength or cunning, in the strength of Jesus Christ we can stand successfully and even advance consistently.

Praying at All Times

Considering the battle we are in and the spiritual nature of it, it should come as no surprise to us that Paul concludes his overall exhortation to embrace and utilize the armor of God with an exhortation to prayer. Though prayer is not itself named as one of the pieces of spiritual armor, it is as though prayer is the spiritual “force field” that surrounds and empowers the entire armor.

The strength of every other piece of armor comes from prayer, from our utter dependence on the strength of God, rather than the strength of our spiritual determination or endeavors.

How can we not only acknowledge but put on the belt of truth? Through prayer. How do we apply the breastplate of righteousness when we find ourselves frail and guilty of sin yet again? Through prayer. How do we believe the gospel and find peace in it, even while the devil accuses our palpable and undeniable failures? Through prayer. How will we take up the shield of faith and not find it flimsy and thin? Through prayer. Likewise, the helmet of salvation and the very strength with which we wield God’s Word will come through prayer.

Prayer is not only a constant reminder of our need for Jesus, but it is the very means by which Jesus applies His saving salve and strength to His weary foot soldiers.

Because there is never a time in our lives when we are not engaged in spiritual battle, from birth to the grave, there is never a time we can afford to neglect prayer. Talk to Jesus about your doubts and fears. Confess to Jesus your failures and feebleness. Ask Jesus for forgiveness and help. Take the promises of Jesus’ sufficient redemption to God in prayer, so that you have the boldness you need even when you know you’ve not lived as you should.

Pray at all times. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do anything but pray, but it does mean we shouldn’t do anything without praying. So, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, by means of prayer, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.