At the end of Paul’s instruction to the Ephesian Christians to put on the whole armor of God he gives these closing words… “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,” (Ephesians 6:18) As William Hendrickson noted in his commentary on Ephesians Paul uses the word “all” four times. Let’s note how that may benefit us today.
Praying at ALL times” – to pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:16), to pray in all the seasons of one’s life, all conditions, all situations. Some will be good and some may not. Does not matter.
Pray at all times with ALL prayer and supplication” – every type of prayer should be lifted up to God. Prayers of petition, thanksgiving, praise, calling on God for His forgiveness, grace and mercy. Seeking His help and providential care with ALL perseverance” again, “pray without ceasing”.
Remember Jesus told us to keep on asking, seeking and knocking. (Matthew 7). Giving up should not be in the Christians character. We keep taking everything to God in prayer because we know He hears us and will answer for ALL the saints” – it is easy to minimalize our world and focus only on those things and people who are near us.
Remember the church is spread throughout the world and we need to pray “for All the saints”. Some are living in very difficult situations, some are struggling to maintain the faith, some need to repent, others need to be encouraged to keep spreading the gospel and for a myriad of other needs and reasons we must continue to pray at all times