Eph 6:19-24

Pray for God to show you something to use from the passage Read the Passage at least twice Who is in the passage? What action verbs do you see? What other words stick out in your mind

Prayer- It is interesting that Paul doesn't put prayer as part of the soldier's equipment. He does define it by being alert. Your senses are very necessary in battle. You can have best armor in the world but you need to be able to identify what is happening. Prayer does that.

Look at How Paul defines Prayer-

• In the Spirit- Involves Right relationship with God. Your heart has to be right (not just going through the motions, asking based on self and not on God; see Isa 1:15) The Holy Spirit has tremendous power in prayer see Rom 8:26-27. It works even when we don't know exactly what to pray for!

• Pray in all situations and circumstances- Too often we just use God like Superman. We seek Him only when we get to a point that we cannot help ourselves. But God wants to more than that. Pray to Him when things are going well, when things go poorly. All the time.

• All kinds of Prayers- Prayer is simply having an honest conversation with God. Expressing what you feel, what you see, what excites you, what troubles you, what hurts you. Sometimes you will praise God and sometimes you will ask, "Where are You? Have You left Me?" see Ps 10, 13. God wants you to be honest with Him. He will work from there! Sometimes you should pray the Lord's Prayer, sometimes you will just call out for help.

• Be Alert! - Look for opportunities to pray. Remember Luke 11:9-10. There is power in prayer that cannot be underestimated.

• For all the saints- Don't just be self focused. Pray for Christians you know. Paul did in this letter (1:18, 3:16-17) Pray for all Christians, not just the ones you know, Have you ever prayed for a christian undergoing persecution in Iraq or Pakistan? Have you pray for a christian who has publicly failed in their faith?

• Paul in vs 19-20 put what he just said in practice. Pray for me and states what he wants the Ephesians to pray for. How about you? Do you ask for people to pray for where you are in your life?

vs 21-24 Paul sends his letters through people he knows and trusts. This way people will know they are authentic (really do come from Paul) .

Paul ends expressing four very important words- Peace, Love Faith, Grace. Remember what Paul said in 1 Cor 13:13 would remain when all the "fancy" gifts were gone? Faith Hope and Love. The hope part one can see expressed by the Grace given to us that gives us peace eternally with God. Remember and do the basics of the faith Paul says as a last exhortation to the people he loves.

A better translation of vs 24 is incorruptible love. Point is it is a love that places Christ first always.

Eph 6:14-19

Pray for God to show you something to use from the passage. Read the Passage at least twice. Who is in the passage? What action verbs do you see? What other words stick out in your mind.

Paul uses a Roman soldiers uniform to share the uniform we should wear when we face this enemy of evil that is not flesh and blood. The key is what areas Paul tells us to seek and develop. By wearing the pieces listed we are able to stand the attacks of forces of evil. To fight against forces that are not flesh and blood we need equipment made not by us but by God Himself

Truth

Righteousness

Readiness from gospel of Peace

Faith

Salvation

Word of God

Pray

Look at these terms- What do they mean? Where do they come from? How do we get them? Why do we need them?

I think sometimes we get too caught up in the metaphors of these terms instead of looking at what Paul says is important to the faith.

First all begin with God. They do not come from what we start. For example truth is God originated. Even faith begins by God coming to us to give us something to trust in. Prayer also starts with God even wanting to have a conversation with us.

Second while all start with God we must either respond to it, like salvation, or continually develop it, like faith. They are qualities that we build on. Even salvation is built on. Phil 2:12.

Truth- Source is God, 4:21 says it comes from Jesus. With the truth we then interact with each other. The truth is key in 4:14-15. Without the focus of God we are tossed around by schemes. With the truth we can build the body of Christ.

Righteousness - Paul in is writings looks at this two ways. First we cannot make ourselves righteousness. 4:24 says we have to have a new self to have righteousness. See Phil 1:11, 3:9. In Romans 3:21--22 Righteousness cannot come by following the law (because no one is perfect) only through faith in Jesus.

Yet once you are put in right relationship with Christ we are called to seek to live a righteous life. Not because it will earn us salvation but because it is the right response to what God has done in our lives. see 5:9 and 2 Tim 3:16-17.

Readiness from Gospel of Peace. Christ is our peace (2:14-15) But we need to use this peace. As a soldier must be quick to respond so should a Christ follower. Quick to act in life in accordance with the good news of peace. It reminds me of 1 Pet 3:15-17 An important scripture to remember in the world we live in. (Also see Col 4:5-6) Being prepared to know how to respond in a way that honors God and also proclaims the truth. Being able to defend your faith both in words and how you live. It is the good news of peace that allows us to endure even when attacked.

Faith- Paul clearly sees faith as our response to what God has done in Jesus Christ. See 1:15, 2:8, 3:12,17. Paul in Romans says it is by our faith in Jesus removing our sins that we have a relationship with God (Roms 1:16-17) . With strong faith we can withstand the attacks of the evil forces. Jesus talked about the need for faith many times. It is why He is able to work in our lives (Luke 5:20, Luke 17:5-6) Without faith we lose the impact of God in our lives. Luke 22:32 shows Jesus praying for Peter's faith when Peter is attacked by Satan. The problem for Peter (and us) is not God's forgiveness; rather it is our acceptance of it. The belief that God can use us and would even want to.

Salvation - As Paul has already made clear of salvation is of God Eph 2:8-9. It is complete. It is the basis of our faith. Without God's salvation we are nothing. Rom 5:8 states God's care for us well. The reminder that God loves us so much allows us to fight the battle. The confidence in knowing that nothing can separate us from God gives us the bravery we need to fight with faith. See Rom 8:38-39.

Word of God- many make much of this being listed as an offensive attack weapon. In Hebrews it is said that it penetrates into our very soul. (Heb 4:12) Jesus used it as a reply to Satan's attacks when He was tested in the wilderness. Luke 4:4, 8, 12. The word of God helps us to discern the attacks of evil and reply to them. This word could also be talking about the words God promises to give those who stand trial for their faith (Matt 10:17-20) . Either way it takes developing a relationship with God to allow the Holy Spirit to work in the situations we find ourselves.

While knowing the basics of the Bible is important, Scripture memory can make a world of difference as we face life and the forces of evil.