We are going to finish the last talk involving the “armour of God.” This will be the final talk that we are going to have on that.
In Ephesians 6:18, it reads as follows:
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Now the verse basically is talking about prayer. We see the word “praying always.” Now God is telling us right there that we should always pray. We should always be praying.
Now what is that? What is praying? Well, praying is talking to God. Now when we talk to one another, we do not say…and I am saying, just talking to someone…you do not demand things from someone that you are just talking to. And we have to be careful, because, like, you know, when we were coming up and maybe coming up in the church and different things like that, you would hear people pray and then it seemed like the prayer was demanding, you know, like making God do what He said He would do or what you want Him to do, you know? It gives you that sense. I mean, that is the sense that I would get from time-to-time, you know?
So I did not really understand that at that particular time. But now, I understand. We do not come to the Lord like that. We do not talk to the Lord in a demanding way. We come to the Lord humbly. We come to the Lord with a request. If we have a request that we want to talk to Him about, we talk to Him humbly. We do not demand anything. And then, the end of our prayers should be, it is not my will, but it is Your will. You see? Whatever He wants. Whatever He wants.
So let us take a look at…and it also says “supplication in the Spirit.” But right now, we are going to look at this praying. Let us take a look at a prayer. Let us look at Matthew 6:5-13. It says:
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
You see, God has given us a format here of prayer. We are not going to get into it and break this down, but He gives us a format. In other words, when we pray, we do not have to say exactly what these words are, but the format of this prayer should be our prayer. And like I said, I do not want to get into the parameters of this prayer, but it is a format for prayer. So prayer is talking to God. That is what prayer is.
Now let us take a look at Luke 18. Prayer is also persistence. In Luke 18, we have a model here or an account of a parable that the Lord has given us concerning persistent prayer. In Luke 18:1-5, He says:
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: and there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
Now this woman is an example of what we should be. For instance, let us say that we have a loved one and we are praying for that loved one, that the Lord might be merciful and save that individual. Well, after we pray the one time, okay, that is fine. But here, this lady here that is coming to the king—this is a parable now—but this is a picture of the way that we should come to the Lord. We can keep beseeching the Lord and beseeching the Lord, you see, for our loved ones, on behalf of our loved ones, that He might save this individual or that individual.
You see, we cannot change somebody’s heart. We cannot cause someone to be saved. We can pray for them, and we know that the Lord hears our prayers and He is perfect in everything that He does, so we have to leave it there at the doorstep of the Lord. We bring our prayer and we leave it there, and we just move on from there. Now we can come back the next day and beseech the Lord again for our loved one, when we pray.
So this is an example of and it is like…in this last verse, in Luke 18:5, He says:
Yet because this widow troubleth me…
Because she keeps asking him and asking him and asking him, He says:
…I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
So this is very important here. This is an account here that kind of jumps out at you, you know, that there is always hope. There is always hope for when you come to the Lord with your requests, that He may honor your requests. He may answer your prayer, but we do not know. We do not know, but whatever the Lord’s will is, that is what is going to happen; and so, when we leave it in the Lord’s hand, then it is in His hand.
So let us go back to Ephesians 6, and we will read on again in verse 18. In Ephesians 6:18, He says:
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,…
Now the word “praying” and the word “prayer” is not the same word. It is not the same word. So let us look at that word “prayer.” Let us look at Hebrews 4. This is the same word. This is the same word that is in Luke 18. The same word. In Hebrews 4:15-16, He says:
For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
What a comforting verse that is. God is inviting us to come to Him and we can come “boldly.” Now we do not have to wait until 12:00. We do not have to wait until 3:00. He does not give a timeframe here. He just says that we can come anytime, basically, because He is not giving a time here.
But there are some people who can only go to God, or to the god that they worship, at a certain time. Remember in the story where Elijah was teasing the prophets of Baal when they were trying to call on Baal to call down the fire from heaven. He said, “peradventure he sleepeth?” “Maybe he is doing this or doing that and does not have time for you right now?”
But the God of the Bible “shall neither slumber nor sleep.” He always has time for us. As a matter of fact, that is not even a problem. He says, “come boldly.” We can come to “the throne of grace,” and we can talk to the Lord. We can talk to the Him. You see, we talk to the Lord through prayer, and He talks back to us through His Word. That is how the conversation goes. That is how it is now.
But in “sundry times,” it was a little different because God had not completed the Bible at that time. They had dreams and visions and different things like that. But once the Bible was completed, now we have all of His Word; and so, therefore, He talks to us through His Word.
So we have to be wary if anybody comes to us and says, “God told me to tell you,” and then proceeds to tell you this, that, or the other. No, no; we do not have to worry about that. We do not. We do not have to be snared into…because they have gospels that are out there now and they feature things like this. So we have to be very careful, but we know that we have all of God’s Word and God is not going to violate His Word. Because people would say, they would read this verse that we are studying and say, “Well, you know, it is right there…praying in the spirit…praying in the spirit.”
So then, right away, they talk about speaking in tongues and things like that, and they did speak in tongues at the church at Corinth, but that was before the Bible was completed. Then when the Lord completed His Word, He gave us this in Revelation 22:18-19, He gave us this warning—and this is a warning! This is a warning! It is the last chapter in the last book in the Bible! And we have to really take heed to this. He says in Revelation 22:18-19:
For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Now God is making it pretty plain, right here in this, and there are only two verses left in the Bible, so this is the end of His Word. This is the end of His Word right here, and these verses right here, they are warnings, warnings. So if you just have to have more verbal things from God and you think that God is still speaking today and, you know, “Come on over to our church or to our place where we worship, because God is doing a new thing there.” They have gospels now called the “full gospel.” What is that? What is the full? When I first heard that, I was saying, you either have the Gospel or you do not have the Gospel. It gives you the sense of, well, maybe I do not have all of the Gospel. That is what that implication is. That is what it is.
So when you talk to someone who is involved in those kinds of things, lo and behold, it is signs and wonders. It is tongues and all kinds of prophecies and things like that. That is what that kind of gospel is. It is filled with those kinds of things, and that is where the snare is today and what is pulling…there are a lot of different gospels that are going around that feature signs and wonders, and that is it—that is the long and short of it right there.
But let us take a look at one more prayer. Let us look in the Old Testament, in 1 Chronicles 29. When I first read this, this was years ago, and I really fell in love with this prayer. It starts at verse 10. 1 Chronicles 29:10-13 says:
Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.
What a wonderful prayer that is. It is all directed to the glory and majesty of the Lord. So I kind of latched onto that little prayer. I like that. I like to read it and it is a great comfort.
So let us take a look in the New Testament for the final one in the book of James. In James 5:16, it says:
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Now we do not know how “much,” but the Lord is just telling us that it “availeth much.” So just the fact that He hears us and He has the power to do whatever His will is, is enough—just knowing that, so that we could talk to our Heavenly Father and that if it is His will to do the request that we would beseech upon Him, then that is enough right there. That is enough right there. I can just leave it right there and just let Him handle it from there, not being arrogant or prideful, or anything like that in my prayer, as far as, you know, “Lord, you have to do this and this and that.”
No, no, no, no, no, no, no; we do not come to the Lord like that. Prayer is not like that. It is talking, talking to the Lord, and knowing that He is the God of the universe. He is the One who spoke and the world leaped into being. He is the same One who made all of the stars in the heavens.
When I think about those things, I can not get a handle on it! How can that be! How can it be! I just get lost in that. I do not know if you ever seek to…sometimes I might watch a show about the universe and all, and it is so fascinating. How in the world can they be? How can they be? The planets are so far away—and this, that, and the other—and they are still looking for life and we are the only ones here! This is it. This is it—right here. We are blessed to be right here. The Lord has given us life, and I praise the Lord for that.
So let us turn back to Ephesians 6. So we know that, we pray, we want to pray or talk to the Lord. Now it says, well, this word “supplication,” we will take a look at that, but I want to look at that word “spirit.” Ephesians 6:18:
…supplication in the Spirit,…
Now let us take a look at…when you…I have found that when I want to know something about the Holy Spirit, first of all, the only place you can go to learn anything about the Holy Spirit is in God’s Word, but in Romans 8, God really lays it out for us in Romans 8. No place else in Scripture that I have found where God really lays out what, spiritually, what….first He talks about the battle between the flesh and the spirit, the difference…He talks about. But let me read some things here in Romans 8, starting in verse 1. He says in Romans 8:1-27:
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
We are going to stop right there. This chapter, if you want to know anything, God has taken us from the beginning, if you are saved, if you say that you are saved, but if you are following after the flesh, you know, it is death. You are just kidding yourself, because it is carnal. The word flesh is called “carnal,” but there is no such thing as a “carnal” Christian. There is no such thing.
In some churches, they teach this. A “carnal” Christian would be somebody who is saved—that they say—but they are living in the flesh. But the Bible—we just read it—it is just the opposite. God is saying the opposite.
You see, if you are living, if you say that you are a Christian and you are living in the flesh, then He is saying that you are not saved. You are not! And in some places, they teach just the opposite. But this is only because God has not opened their eyes as of yet, because those doctrines are damnable. Those doctrines will cause a person to go headlong down the path to destruction. And the irony of it is that the individual actually thinks that he is headed in the opposite direction, and that is what makes it so sad—the deceit of Satan.
So the only that we can do is to pray that the Lord may open the eyes of our loved ones who are in gospels like that. We can just continue to pray for them.
Okay, so, now, we are going to look at this word “supplication.” We are going to look at this word “supplication,” and we just have a couple of places here. Let us turn to Luke 1. As a matter of fact, just go to Romans. This is in Romans. Just go to Romans 1. I am sorry…Romans 10:1. Romans 10:1, to show you how this word “supplication” is being used:
Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer…
That is the word “supplication.”
Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
This word “prayer” is the same word that is translated as “supplication” in Ephesians 6. And notice what he is doing here. Paul is praying. He said:
Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
See, he is praying for someone else. It is not like he is saying, “that I might be saved.” He is praying for someone else, okay? And so, to “supplicate” would be to pray for someone else.
Now let us take another look. Let us look at Philippians 1:4. He says:
Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
Now, the word “prayer” is not the word that we are going to look at. That is not supplication. It is the word “request.” [editor’s note: actually, both words in this verse are two forms of the same Greek word.] You see, we request of God; we beseech the Lord, we supplicate. We do not demand anything. We pray for one another. But this is the word that is used as “supplication.” It is the word “request” here. It is not the word “prayer.” That is another word altogether. [editor’s note: it is actually another form of the same Greek word.] So these are guidelines that God has given us.
We are going to look at one more. Let us look at Hebrews 5, and we will start at verse 5. Hebrews 5:5-9:
So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications…
There is that word.
…with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
And so we know that this Melchisedec was a type or a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ before He was born in the flesh at Bethlehem. So this is a…he is a type…you can read about him in the Old Testament, the actual verse…I did not write that down, but you can read about him in the Old Testament.
But anyway, the point that we are trying to make is even Melchisedec, who is God Himself, prayed. He prayed. And notice what he did. He says:
Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with…
Now notice this:
…with strong crying and tears…
“Strong crying and tears.” We do not have to…let me put it like this, if you do not have “strong crying and tears,” it does not mean that God does not hear your prayer. It does not mean that He is not listening. But He is telling us these things here to let us know that you can pour your heart out to the Lord; you can pour your heart out to Him.
And so, these are the examples that God has given us of how we should approach Him. These are the different examples that He has given us now.
Let us take a look now at this word “watch.” What we will do is we will take a couple of verses in the New Testament and then we will take a look in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, in Mark 13:33, but we will start reading at verse 32. Mark 13:32:
But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
Now He is not talking about Christ’s return. He is not talking about that because the Son is the Father and the Father is the Son, yet they are separate. But whatever the Father knows, the Son knows. So I do not really want to put my head into this because it is a divine mystery, how God can be…because Philip said to Him, he said, “Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” And then He says to Philip, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip?” He said, “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.”
And then He said in Mark 13:33-34:
Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
And then He says in Mark 13:35-37:
Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
So where do we “watch”? Do we “watch” the sky? I mean, how is He telling us to do this? We “watch” in the Bible. We have to read God’s Word, and God’s Word, it will tell us when Christ is coming, because Christ is not going to come “as a thief in the night” for the believers. He is not coming…He said, “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief,” you see? It is not going to be a surprise to the believer when He comes. It will not be a surprise, and now God is revealing these things, taking the seals off of His Word. Now we can see more clearly than years ago.
When I was a kid, I would not even think about seeing Scripture like this. But now, in these last days, we are right at the end, right at the verge, and God is opening up things that have always been there. He had never opened up the understanding; but now, the understanding has been opened up and opened up and now we can check these things out, “Oh, there it is there!”
To show you an example of this, let us look at Daniel 12. In Daniel 12, there is an example of how God has hidden things in His Word. In Daniel 12, I am going to start reading in verse 4. He says in Daniel 12:4:
But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
You see, the Bible, the Bible, not the whole Word but some of the things in Scripture, has been sealed “to the time of the end.” Well, guess what? We are at that time, and so, now, God has taken the seals off of His Word and He is revealing things that are in His Word that were “sealed.” Then He says here in verse 10; let us look at verse 9. He says in Daniel 12:9-10:
And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
Do you see? If you understand the things that are in God’s Word, and it does not have to be everything, it does not have to be everything, but it can just be one thing, because you are blessed if that is the case. But, you see, God has hidden things from those who are wicked so that they can not see them.
Let us look at another place. There is another place where this is prominent, and it is in Isaiah 29. Let us look in Isaiah 29. In Isaiah 29, there is another example of how God has closed His Book, closed His Word. Okay, in Isaiah 29:9-13, it says:
Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
You see, that is what is being taught in the world now. It is “the precept of men” and not the Bible. “The precept of men,” so, therefore, He is saying, “You draw near Me with your lips…oh, you sound so holy…praise the Lord here…praise the Lord there…but your heart,” He said, “is far from me.” He knows our hearts.
These are the kind of days that we live in. It is…sometimes when you really think about it, all you can do is praise the Lord that you are not caught or snared…you have not been snared into gospels like that. We just have to pray for our loved ones, because I know, I know that we all have loved ones who are involved in things like that. It is only by God’s grace that we are not.
Okay, now, we have to go to Ezekiel 33. We have to go to Ezekiel for this word “watch.” In Ezekiel 33, God tells us what this word “watch” and who the “watchman” is, which is the same word. Starting in verse one. Ezekiel 33:1-6:
Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: if when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.
That is a solemn warning from our Lord. That is a warning. We have to…we must…we must tell people that the end is near. The end is near. We must do that. We must.
How can you possibly…let us just say that you misunderstood this verse and you just kind of tucked yourself away, like there are people who say that they love the Lord but they tuck themselves away; they keep away from people and different things like that and they just live their life right there, you know—and I do not really want to get into that. But we do not do that. We live out here amongst the people, you know, and there are people all around us.
Do we take the time, or do we see the opportunity? Because I am sure that this happens to me all of the time, and I kick myself every time it happens, where you say, “Man, I could have said something to that person,” or, “I should have given that person a tract at that particular time.” I mean, all it takes, it does not happen often, but I am just saying, you know, those things happen, you know, and so we become conscious, more and more and more conscious of every moment, because the time is getting short.
It is already…we are halfway through March already. It seemed like the year just, Christmas just passed! I mean, how…I have never seen time go as fast as it is going. A day, it seems, it is supposed to be 24, it is 24 hours, but the way we live, it is like it is only 6 hours. Before you know it, you are going to work; you come back; it is the next day; it is the next week! And now, it is the next month! When you…the time is flying! It is flying! It is flying, and from time-to-time, I think about that; and now, I am telling you, we have to think about that! It is almost time! When are we going to say, “Okay, the time is now! We do not have much time left. You know, when am I going to get busy?” Because it is the end! We have to tell people—we have to!
Now, here is the one…this is the verse here…and I know I have to go…the last verse. Turn over to Isaiah 56, and we are going to look at verse 10, just for one minute. I just want to read that. Isaiah 56:10. I will start in verse 9. It says in Isaiah 56:9-10:
All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest. His watchmen…
That is the beasts’ watchmen:
…are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
You see? They are not warning. They are not warning the people. And so, we do just the opposite. We have to tell them about Judgment Day. Judgment Day is coming. The end is coming. We are so close to the end. When are we going to get busy? And it is not just for you; it is for me, too.
When I read this verse right here, I am saying, I have to redeem the time. I have to! Well, when am I going to really get busy? I mean, you can be busy, but you will never be busy enough. But whatever you are doing, the way I do it is I try to push myself. If I am doing this, I should be…I want to do more. I want to do more, and God will give you that “want to” to do more because the time is winding up.
Let us pray.