And in all of these things, Father, for your people to be equipped and for you to be greatly glorified in our midst. So, Father, now as we open the word of Christ, as we consider its truths, Father, may we be built up in the most holy faith in the name of Jesus. Amen. was an important city in the first century Roman Empire. If you're a geography fan, then perhaps you know that it was located on the eastern coast of the Aegean Sea. And in that first century Roman Empire, it was noted for its commercial, its political, and its educational influences on Greco-Roman culture. But perhaps it was best known for the Temple of Artemis, or Perhaps you know her as Diana. Her temple, enormous and ornate, was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. And of course, it was also the center for the pagan worship that surrounded the idea of the Roman goddess, Artemis. So the worship of Artemis there in Ephesus fueled a lively trade for the manufacture of her images, and you can read about that in the book of Acts, and also a sleazy trade for cult prostitution. So if you were one of these Christians living in Ephesus, there had to be times in which your church must have seemed like an outpost behind enemy lines. You ever feel that way today? Well, join me in Ephesians chapter 6, the last chapter of Paul's letter to this church that he himself had planted. Let's begin reading in verse 10 and read all the way down through verse 20. But this morning we are of course focused on those last three verses that conclude this section on spiritual warfare. Finally, verse 10, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might, put on the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the wicked forces, world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God so that you will be able to resist in the evil day and having done everything to stand firm. Stand firm, therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all of the flaming arrows of the evil one, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. with all prayer and petition. Pray at all times in the spirit and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints. And pray on my behalf that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly as I ought to speak." Now we've been in this section for some time and I've continued week by week to read all the way back from verse 10 to the conclusion because as Paul is concluding his letter to the Ephesians with this vital section on spiritual warfare He concludes this section, his strategy on warfare, with these parting instructions on prayer. And the point in that connection is that prayer is a non-optional part of spiritual warfare. I mean, you could think of Paul's illustration and his connection in this way. No matter how well dug in your outpost is, If you aren't communicating with headquarters, if you aren't getting your orders, gathering intel, asking for reinforcements, calling for resupply, begging for air support, no matter how well dug in you are, if you're not communicating with headquarters, your position can still get overrun. So this morning, Paul gives these final instructions in verses 18 through 20 to a strong church in a dark world. So what I want us to see from these verses is three ways to turn your prayer closet into a spiritual command center. Three ways to turn your prayer closet into a spiritual command center. First of all, armor up. Armor up on your knees. in the first part of verse 18, and then in the second part of verse 18, pray hard for your church. And then in verses 19, Paul gives us an application of his instructions as he asks us to put the pros on our prayer list. Armor up on your knees, pray hard for your church, and don't forget the pros. They need your prayers too, in verses 19 and 20. Well, Paul has just issued his spiritual call to arms, and we've traced that from verse 10 down through verse 17 over the last couple of weeks. And as we've done that, we've listened to Paul issue this string of commands to take up and to put on, and both of them are references to the full armor of God. And then having done that, to stand firm, an exhortation to hold your ground against the attack of the evil one. And now the apostle, he doesn't quit with that, but he connects our spiritual combat to our prayer life. And in fact, verses 14 through 20, the idea of the armor and the prayer form the last of Paul's really long sentences in Ephesus clearly joining the call to armor up and the list of armor with now this call to pray and it combines them into one extended strategy. And what I mean by that is that you gird on your belt and you buckle on your breastplate and you lace on your combat boots and you take up your shield and you grab your helmet and sword and you do them through prayer. So as we come to verse 18, Paul organizes his prayer orders in two sections, two action expressions in that one short verse. First, praying at all times, and that which goes with it in the first half of the verse, and then being on the alert in the second half. And Paul's point, again, is that spiritual warfare requires superior air support, so that when the enemy of your soul draws near to your line, You pray and you call in God. And so that first expression, through all prayer and petition, praying at all times in the Spirit. Now when you look at verse 18 carefully, you can't help but miss Paul's repeated and emphatic use of the word all. And what he is telling us to begin with is that you need here a comprehensive prayer strategy. In other words, you need all kinds of prayer. And in fact, there were several different Greek words that Paul could have called on to talk about the topic of prayer. And here he chooses to use two, and they are overlapping prayer terms. One of them, the first, is general, and the second is more specific. That first general term is prosuche. The word is all over your New Testament in the Greek, and it's the simple, general idea of all kinds of prayer. It's just a one-size-fits-all prayer word. But it's a simple idea, but it's critical because spiritual warfare requires all kinds of prayer. It requires an arsenal of prayer. You need every configuration and caliber of prayer you can get your hands on when the enemy attacks. And that includes more specifically, following the idea of prayer here, the idea of petition. Petitions are prayers that ask for things. So that when Satan puts you in his sights, there is a lot to ask for. For example, you'll be praying for strength. You'll be praying for wisdom. You'll be praying for self-control. You need to pray for perseverance. You add them all up, and what are you praying for? You're praying for help. When Satan has got you in the crosshairs, you need to call in help. And you'll need to pray not only all kinds of prayers, but you'll need to pray all the time. So when do you pray? When do you pray? You pray in church? You pray before meals? You pray during disasters? You get up in the morning, you grab your smartphone, you open up your favorite devotional app, You swallow your daily bread as fast as you can and choke it down. As you close, you say, thank you, Lord. Bless me and mine. And away you go as fast as you can. Another busy day. Later, driving home, you see a police car first in line at the intersection you just went through. You look at your speedometer. Speed limit's 40. You're going 52. No, Lord. Not now. Not today. You make it home safely to dinner. Everybody's about to dig in and you say, wait, we got to thank the Lord for this food. God is great. God is good. Let him thank us. Let us thank him for this food. Is that your prayer life? Is that the prayer life that Paul calls us to? Is that the best God can do for us? The New Testament instructs us to pray at all times, day or night, quiet or frenzy, when the enemy seems far away and abstract or when he is uncomfortably near. And although Paul does say pray at all times, remember, beloved, that action and prayer are not opposites. They are allies. And so when the evil one attacks, back up into verses 10 through 17 and grab your armor, grab your sword, grab your shield, grab your helmet, grab your breastplate, grab your sandals, and grab that belt. But, beloved, as you grab them, you pray. You pray. And speaking of allies, because prayer and action are allies, every Christian has a mighty ally in prayer. When Paul says here in verse 18, we pray, we pray, do you see it in the middle of the verse? In the Spirit. And we've learned a whole lot about the Holy Spirit as we've studied Ephesians this year. He seals us in Christ, chapter 1 and verse 13. He unifies us as the church, the second half of chapter 2. He indwells us never to leave us. He must fill and control us in order to walk in faithfulness. And now as Paul closes the letter, he reminds us that the Spirit supports us in praying. So we pray in the Spirit. Romans chapter 8, Paul recognized that sometimes our prayers are off target. Sometimes our prayers seem to us to be duds. Effective prayer requires an understanding of God's will and sometimes God's will just isn't very clear to me. What is it that He wants of me? What is it that He's doing around me? But when that happens and our confusion seems to us to stifle our prayer, the Bible promises the Holy Spirit helps us to pray effectively. Romans 8 we read, in the same way the Spirit also helps our weaknesses. For we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he and God who searches the hearts, knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." So let's chase these two prayer tactics a little further, the idea of all times and all types of prayer. I mean, what does it mean to pray at all times? I mean, it can't mean that you stay locked up in your prayer closet all day long, because after all, there is a whole lot of action going on here in chapter 6 of Ephesians. Warfare, armor and standing and putting on and holding our ground. So praying at all times can't mean that we stay in the prayer closet, but it does mean that we maintain, we cultivate an attitude of awareness that prayer has its place and its potential in every circumstance. and then having cultivated that attitude, being sensitive to the needs and opportunities and times to pray. One of my favorite biblical examples of prayer sensitivity and praying on your feet is the Jewish exile Nehemiah. Remember Nehemiah, cupbearer to the king? suddenly and unexpectedly offered help from the king in restoring Jerusalem by none less than King Artaxerxes himself. I mean, who saw that coming? Nehemiah didn't see that coming. Who knew how long the offer would stand? Nehemiah couldn't be sure. And so we read in Nehemiah chapter two and verse four, then the king said to me, what would you request? So I prayed to the God of heaven, and then I said to the king, send me to Judah. Beloved, in those split seconds between King Artaxerxes' unanticipated offer and then stepping up to the throne and opening his mouth, Nehemiah's mind and his heart ran to the prayer closet. And that's what it means to be able, to be willing, to be ready to pray at all times, anytime, The time is right. Anytime the need is urgent, you know, go first to the throne room of God. What do you pray for though? Paul writes all types, all types of prayers and petitions. And beloved, you can tell a lot by a man or woman's spiritual maturity by their prayer patterns. When you pray, do you only pray for temporal needs? The daily things of your daily life? Is that the most and the first on your prayer list? Here I am, God. Here's what I want. Beloved, God is not an ATM machine. Paul writes in verse 18, all prayers and petitions. And he means more than just our temporal needs. This is a very helpful, very simple prayer guide. It's an acronym. It's a little word where every letter is meaningful. A-C-T-S. The word is acts. And it helps guide us through our daily acts of praying. The letter A. stands for adoration. We pray as we recognize God for who he is and what he's done. And we pray as we see confess, confessing our sins so they don't grieve and quench the spirit and hinder our relationships and ministry. We pray T with thanksgiving. God has blessed us in so many ways, ways that we fail to recognize too often. And yes, we do offer God our supplications, our prayer requests for our loved ones and for ourselves. ACTS, adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication, all kinds of prayer prayed at all times. And so, beloved, armor up. Strap it on and pray. I mean, if you put on your armor but you neglect to pray, I guarantee you eventually it just won't be enough. And as you pray, pray hard for your church. We're still in verse 18 in Paul's second comprehensive prayer instruction, and the second half of verse 18 is being on the alert. with all perseverance and petition for all the saints. Prayer and petition call for being alert if they're going to be effective. Now, the Apostle Peter, in his first letter, wrote, Be of sober spirit. Be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour, but resist him. Firm in your faith. And elsewhere, Peter wrote his same letter, be of sober judgment and sober spirit for the purposes of prayer. The point is, whether it's Peter or whether it is Paul, the point is that holding your position against Satan's schemes requires that you not fall asleep at your post or even relax your guard. You know what a lion likes to eat? A lion likes to prey on the weak, the slow, and the careless. Prayer and watchfulness are absolutely necessary. They are reciprocal concepts. They go hand in hand because alertness calls us to prayer. And prayer helps keep us alert to danger. And both of them, the ideas of prayer, petition, require our perseverance. And perseverance implies intense, sustained effort. Why do we need perseverance? Because prayer is hard work. Have you ever noticed how hard it is to pray? It's hard. It's hard work. Sometimes it's hard work because the answer to my prayers seems so long in coming. You remember that Jesus told a parable about that, the parable of the persistent widow and the judge? That lady, that lady kept right on asking until she got her answer. Sometimes prayer is hard simply because you and I are weak. We know these words from Jesus in the garden, Matthew 26, Gethsemane. Jesus comes to his disciples and found them sleeping and he said to Peter, so could you not watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Paul writes here that we make our prayers and petitions for the benefit, there's that word again, of all of the saints. We've said this time and again, Ephesians is a letter about life in the church and spiritual warfare means holding our position with one another and not breaking formation. Roman soldiers fought in tactical formations, those cohorts and those legions and those lines they called phalanxes. They didn't fight alone. They didn't send them out in the field as individuals. They marched in columns, hundreds and thousands strong. The church is an army. We're called to fight shoulder to shoulder. As an officer must guide and watch over his platoon, the church's leaders must pray for the flock. 1 Samuel chapter 12 and verse 23, the prophet Samuel testifies of his obligation to pray for Israel and to lead them. Samuel says, but as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. But I will instruct you in the good and the right way. And what that says to me as your pastor, beloved, if I'm not praying for you, I am sinning against the Lord. It is my obligation to pray for you. The church's people must pray for one another. In James we read, therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man availeth much. And of course in praying for one another, that includes you praying for your leaders. Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 7, remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you. I mean, Paul's prayer point here in the second half of verse 18 is clearly this. On the spiritual battlefield, when somebody is under fire, when somebody has gone down and air support is needed, call it in. We need to have the attitude, beloved, that no brother or sister is left behind. And Paul writes, be on the alert. Pray for all of the saints. Do you know all of the saints here at Bethany Baptist Church? Do you know a name to go with every face that you see on the morning of the Lord's Day? Can you greet them by name? Do you know what it is that they're struggling with in these days? I know that's not easy. I do have a couple of weapons for you. to help you fight more effectively from the position of prayer. The church's prayer list is updated weekly on Wednesdays for our Wednesday evening prayer service. You know, you ought to try coming to one of those Wednesday night prayer meetings. Maybe for the new year, you can make a resolution. Once a month, I'm going to come to a Wednesday night prayer meeting. But on those other weeks, the prayer list will be back on the table in the foyer on Sunday morning. And there's also one in front of you today where you found your hymnal. It is a great aid to pray. The list speaks of the needs of our ministry, the needs of our missionary partners, It names all of our recent visitors. It talks about the needs of our church members and their loved ones. It names those in our military. It reminds us to pray for our leaders. It's a great prayer tool. The church's directory is published every winter by our ladies' fellowship. Sometimes in the morning when I come into the office, I pray through the pictures. Or maybe I pray through the maybe more detailed directory information. And I try to hook them up in my head, the pictures and the prayer list. By the way, the ladies are working on the 2018 edition right now, right? It's on its way. My point is prayer is vital. to the health and the advance of the church. And so, beloved, pray hard. Pray on the alert. Pray with perseverance. Pray for our church family so that no brother or sister is left behind. And while you're praying for one another, don't neglect to put the spiritual prose on your prayer list. They need it too. Green Beret, Army Raiders, Navy SEALs, Air Force TAC Teams, Marine Corps MARSOC, every branch of the military has its special forces. And in the Army of Jesus Christ in the New Testament Church in the first century, those men were called the Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul has identified himself as one of those elite hand-picked soldiers of the cross in the very first sentence of our letter where he identifies himself to the church as Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. The apostles taught and they labored and they led as representatives of Christ. They started and they strengthened the church and God used them to develop the New Testament. And as Paul dictates this New Testament letter to the Ephesians, we understand from history that Paul is under arrest. He is in chains in Rome for the cause of Christ. And that reminds us, beloved, that even special forces need spiritual backup. Verse 19 and 20 of our text this morning. and pray on my behalf that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel in which, excuse me, for which I am an ambassador in chains that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly as I ought to speak. Bible teachers say that when you come to verses 19 and 20 what Paul is providing is an application of the two prayer principles In verse 18, Paul makes himself an illustration and an application. He is one of the saints that needs prayer. And Paul's own prayer request here in these verses has two basic parts. One in verse 19 and the second in verse 20. Verse 19, Paul prays that you would pray that I would make known the mystery of the gospel. But not simply make it known. Part number 2, verse 20, make it known boldly. So Paul writes, please pray on my behalf to make known and to make known clearly the Gospel of Jesus. Now there are several expressions of communication in Paul's request here in these two verses. The idea of utterance and of opening my mouth and twice the idea of making known and the title he takes to himself of being an ambassador which is a spokesman In other words, Paul is clearly concerned and asks prayer for the effectiveness of his gospel communication. And to be true to the context in Ephesians, Paul is not simply making a general reference to evangelism. He is speaking more specifically about his impending trial before Caesar. Christ has ordained that Paul should appear before Caesar and proclaim the mystery of the gospel in Rome. Acts chapter 9 verse 15, you rewind Paul's story all the way back almost to the moment of his conversion, we hear Jesus saying to Paul prophetically, Paul, actually not to Paul, excuse me, to the Tanner, Paul is a chosen instrument of mine to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel for I will show him how much he must suffer for my name's sake. So as we come to Ephesians, that day when Paul would speak before Kings was near and the Apostle Paul wanted to open his mouth and defend the gospel before Nero clearly. And Paul says specifically that his defense before Cesar is the message of the mystery of the gospel. In Ephesians, the mystery of the gospel is a revelation that Jesus Christ is the Lord of both Gentile and Jew. He died for our sins in our place. We are called to place all of our trust in Christ and Christ alone, and that offer is for all. And the result of accepting that offer is a new person, the Christian, and also a new people, the church. And that's true no matter what your background, Jew or Gentile. So the mystery that Paul wants to proclaim in Rome is that the gospel is now graciously offered to all through faith in the one Jesus Christ. Elsewhere in Ephesians we have read, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. And Paul, though chained is ambassador of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords appointed by his King to Rome to speak clearly the mystery and promises of the gospel even to the Emperor. So he wants to speak clearly. The second part of Paul's prayer request, reading down in verse 20, is also that we speak boldly. Please pray on my behalf to speak boldly. Boldness and clarity are the responsibility of the gospel ambassador. And don't forget, as we read these verses, Paul is still thinking about spiritual warfare. That is still the context. So what do you think Paul is battling as he thinks about his trial before Caesar? Do you suppose Satan was tempting Paul to soft-pedal the message? Maybe get a lighter sentence that way? Off a little sooner? You suppose Satan was dropping a smoke screen across the battlefield so that Paul would be confused about his path and his purpose? Paul and his mission were under fire from the evil one. And the apostle wanted the Ephesians to call in support. So put yourself in Paul's sandals. Your chains bind you. The guards crowd you. Your accusers, your own people, the Jews, despise you. And your judge is one of history's most storied megalomaniacs, the Emperor Nero. So what would you be praying for? A get-out-of-jail-free card? Paul asks for grace. The grace to be faithful to his mission to the very end. The faith to be bold and clear with the mystery of the gospel of Christ. How did God answer Paul's prayer? Flip a page. to the right in the text that Daniel read for us this morning in Philippians chapter 1. Philippians is another of Paul's prison letters written about the same time as Ephesians, written during the same incarceration. Verse 12 of chapter 1, now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel. So that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard, Caesar's elite guard, and to everyone else. And that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. Do you see verse 13? And do you see in verse 13 the answer to Paul and his friend's prayer? Do you see where that all went while Paul was still in chains? The emperor thought that he was chaining Paul to his guards. Instead, Nero was chaining his guards one at a time, day after day, to the gospel. and they couldn't get away. So what is the lesson in Paul's example? It is this overwhelmingly encouraging picture of prayer and priority. Paul's priority was not in his difficult circumstances, and they were difficult, but rather it was in his mission. I mean, remember that this life is, that we live here in our circumstances around us today, this life is not all of life, and that God is not some cosmic ATM machine, beloved. Consider what really matters, and then armor up And pray. Pray about everything. Pray on behalf of everyone. And especially pray that you will make your stand for Christ clearly and boldly and faithfully. And with that in view, let's pray right now. Father, we ask that you would wake us up so that we would understand day by day that we are in a spiritual war zone. Sound the alarm so that we would pull on our armor. Strengthen us by the Spirit to pray with perseverance and vigilance for one another. And then by grace, Father, strengthen us to stand firm in the name of Jesus, captain of our souls. Amen. Well, we're going to stand together and conclude our morning of worship by singing a hymn of response As we sing, if there's anything that I can do to help you this morning, if you want to come forward and pray together or ask me a question about the text, I invite you to do that. But let's stand together and worship in song. Let's sing unto the Lord with all that we are this morning. Let's open our hymnals to 134, Jesus paid it all.