Spiritual Warfare: Are You Wrestling or Resting?Because the battle in true spiritual warfare is first in
the believer's own mind and flesh. But then it is in
prayer and in faith. And many times the victory is won
by standing your ground on the Word in the arena of
prayer. Many times the reason we're not ready for the
battles we encounter in the natural realm in life is that
we haven't entered into the prayer arena and the fight
of faith as we should have in the spiritual realm.
Or to say it another way, we're not "prayed up" and
full of the Holy Ghost. When you're not prayed up, it's
easy to be defeated when Satan comes along to test you.
In Ephesians 6:10-17 Paul took some time in talking
about the armor of God to get us ready for verse 18:
"PRAYING always with all prayer and supplication in
the Spirit...." Once you have the armor on, only then are
you ready to pray with heartfelt, continued prayer (Eph.
6:18; James 5:16). "Praying always" denotes the fact of
not giving up in prayer, but continuing to pray.
The prayer mentioned here is not some special type
of prayer or some special spiritual activity the believer
engages in to try to dethrone Satan or pull down
strongholds over communities, cities, states, or nations.
Paul is talking about a lifestyle of communion and
fellowship with God so we can resist the wiles and
deceptions of the enemy that try to discourage and
defeat us. By maintaining a lifestyle of fellowshipping
in God's Presence, we'll be able to pray effectively with
all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.
The Bible doesn't tell the believer to aggressively
attack the devil or the devil's kingdom in prayer. No,
the believer is to fervently reach out in prayer for other
saints and for ministers who are reaching the lost:
"PRAYING ALWAYS ... FOR ALL SAINTS" (Eph. 6:18).