One of my favorite sections
in museums is the one that displays armor used in the
ancient world. I especially enjoy the section that
displays the spears and lances that were used by the
ancients. It is simply amazing to study the weaponry
of the ancient soldier and discover how many different
kinds of spears and lances were available to him. It
becomes very evident that the spear and lance was one
of the most important pieces of weaponry he possessed.
When Paul wrote his epistle to the Ephesians, he spoke
extensively about the armor of God, urging believers
to use their spiritual weaponry. However, as you study
this full list of weaponry, it seems that the lance or
spear, a key weapon, is missing. But although Paul
didn't explicitly mention the lance, he did tell
believers to take up the whole armor of God (Ephesians
6:11), implying a complete set of weaponry. We can
therefore assume that Paul must have intended to
include the lance or spear in this set of spiritual
equipment.
The lance of our spiritual armor is found in Ephesians
6:18, where Paul says, "Praying always with all prayer
and supplication in the Spirit." I call this "the
lance of prayer and supplication." Let's look more
closely at this piece of weaponry so you can better
understand why I say this. The lances used by the
large and diverse Roman army varied greatly in size,
shape, and length. These weapons were devised to be
used to attack an enemy from a distance. They were
thrown with great force and hurled tremendous
distances to strike the enemy from afar. Because
different lances were thrown at different distances,
they came in all sizes and shapes. The particular
lance chosen by a soldier depended on how it was to be
used.
By revelation, Paul begins to compare these various
lances to the various kinds of prayer God has made
available to us. This is why he said, "Praying always,
with all prayer and supplication" You see, when a
believer effectively uses prayer, it becomes a lance
that can be thrust forth into the spirit realm against
the malevolent works of the adversary. By forcibly
hurling this divine instrument of prayer into the face
of the enemy, a believer can exert great spiritual
power, literally attacking the devil from a distance
in order to stop major obstacles from developing up
close in his personal life.
I want you to especially notice the phrase "with all
prayer." It is taken from the Greek phrase dia
pases proseuches and would be better translated
"with all kinds of prayer."
Do you understand the various forms of prayer that are
available for you to use as you pray and wage
spiritual warfare? Don't wrongly assume that all
prayer is of the same kind. Just as Roman soldiers
used all kinds of lances in battle, Paul lets you know
that many forms of prayer are available for you to use
in the fight of faith (see February 26). For instance,
there is the prayer of faith, the prayer of agreement,
the prayer of intercession, the prayer of
supplication, the prayer of petition, the prayer of
consecration, the prayer of thanksgiving, united
prayer, and so forth.
Paul instructs us to use every form of prayer that has
been made available to us as it is needed. No one kind
of prayer is better than the others; each serves a
different and necessary purpose in the life of faith.
Never forget that prayer is a vital piece of your
spiritual weaponry. If you neglect this strategic
piece of weaponry, you will find that the enemy keeps
attacking you from up close. But as you learn to pray
with authority, you will develop the ability to strike
the enemy from a distance and therefore maintain a
victorious position in your life.
God has placed the lance of prayer at your disposal so
you can be assured of absolute and total victory. As
you use this lance of prayer and supplication in all
its various forms, you will continually reinforce
Jesus Christ's triumphant victory over Satan and
gloriously demonstrate Satan's miserable defeat in
every area of your life |