A Sermon (#549) Preached By William “Bill” Touchton
Edited By Michael D. Lawson
Turn with me to the book of Ephesians 6.18-19.
Several months ago a group of us attended a Sunday School conference at Lake Yale. While there, I heard a statement that God really impressed upon my heart and mind. The speaker said, “The church will never grow beyond its ability to minister.” I believe that statement is true and that it can be supported from what we read in Acts 6.
But there’s another statement that God gave me that is equally true, and it’s a statement that I pray God will impress on your heart and mind. And this statement is:
“The church will never grow beyond its willingness to pray.”
All of our successes have come through prayer.
All our failures have come as a result of prayerlessness.
Here’s what I know about prayer.
1. I know of nothing else that will bring you closer to God. It’s worship. Some of my greatest experiences have come through the results of prayer.
2. I know of nothing more difficult to do. We would rather do almost anything else. It’s work.
3. I know of nothing that Satan hates more than a praying church. It’s warfare.
And that’s what Paul is trying to teach us in this passage.
Now look with me at verse 18 and I want to preach on: “The Battlefield of Prayer”.
…You can go through the Scripture and look at all the battles…the ones that were won come as a result of prayer. Those lost come as a result of prayerlessness.
One of the first recorded battles is found in Exodus 17. Israel had come out of Egypt, and the Amalekites attacked. God said, send Joshua to fight, you (Moses) go to the mountain and hold up the rod of God…and pray. As Moses held up the rod, Joshua prevailed. As Moses grew tired, the Amalekites would prevail. Aaron and Hur held the arms of Moses. Joshua won the war. God said to write all this down and put in a book for Joshua to hear. He wanted Joshua to know that the battle was won, not because Joshua could fight, but because Moses could pray.
All though the Scriptures, the battles were won or lost based on prayer.
Joshua defeated Jericho through prayer.
Before Gideon defeated the Amalekites, he spent the night in prayer.
Jehoshaphat defeated the Moabites. Before the battle, he prayed, “Lord we don’t know what to do.”
David defeated many enemies. He prayed before the battles.
All the great victories were preceded by prayer.
But as you study the failures, you see prayerlessness. All the great defeats were preceded by prayerlessness.
Israel lost the battle of Ai in Joshua 7. What do we see? No prayer.
In Judges we see God’s people defeated over and over. No prayer.
In 1 Samuel, we see no prayer.
It is true of nations, but also true of individuals…
In the Old Testament…
Lot lost his testimony. Samson lost his strength. David lost his purity. All because of a lack of prayer.
In the New Testament we see the disciples in Matthew 6 asking the Lord, “Teach us to pray.”
In Matthew 10 the disciples learn that through prayer “even the devils are subject to us through thy name.”
In Matthew 17, Jesus said that these kinds of demons only come out by prayer.
Here’s the principle. Through prayer there is victory. But prayerlessness ends in defeat.
In the context of Ephesians, we see in chapters 1-5 that God has graciously given us spiritual endowments…He saved us…He called us…and we are soldiers of the cross.
In chapter 6 we see our spiritual equipment.
We see our enemy in verses 10-12.
Our equipment in verses 13-17.
And our encouragement in verses 19-19.
From these last verses we can see some important principles for us today.
First, we see the principle of “praying always.” 1 Chronicles 16 tells us to seek him continuously. In Luke 18 we read that we “ought to always pray.” In Philippians we are told to pray for everything. In Colossians we read that we are to continue in prayer. In 1 Thessalonians, Paul says we are to “pray without ceasing.”
Here’s the principle. We are to live in a state of continuous prayer. We should have a God consciousness about everything.
The prophet Nehemiah serves as an example…always praying.
Second, we see the principle of preparation. The wording “praying always” carries with it the idea of readiness. We must have spiritual readiness and we our hearts and minds should have specific requests. As God leads, we should be prepared to make supplication in the Spirit.
Third, we see the principle of perseverance. As Christ followers, we are to stay at it. Don’t quit!
When we think of all the spiritual battles we face, Why don’t we pray?!
- Some are lost.
- Some are lazy.
Not everyone can preach…But…Everyone can PRAY.