And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6:18
Whenever my children talk about my mother they refer to her as the praying grandma. From their perspective, their grandma lived a prayer-saturated life. They marvel at her perseverance in prayer and felt confident the effectual fervent prayer of their grandmother was powerful and is still helping them seven years after her death.
True disciples of Jesus should live prayer-saturated lives. Prayer is not only our primary spiritual language, it strengthens, revitalizes, and empowers us to live victoriously through Christ Jesus. Believers do not pray to live; we live to pray. Every aspect of our lives should be based on prayer. When we are perplexed and anxious, we should pray according to Philippians 4:6 (Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God). Those who are sick should pray according to James 5: 13-14 (Is anyone among you suffering?....Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord). If anyone is facing financial hardship or battling a difficult situation, they should pray according to Matthew 11:24 (Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours).
When the virus of doubts infects our spiritual bloodstream, we can use prayer to disinfect and sanitize our souls. When fake friends betray us, we should pray according to Psalm 109:1-5 (God, I praise you. Do not be silent. Wicked people and liars have spoken against me; they have told lies about me. They have said hateful things about me and attacked me for no reason. They attacked me, even though I loved them and prayed for them. I was good to them, but they repay me with evil. I loved them, but they hated me in return).
In today’s text, Paul told the Ephesians to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. This means we should live a prayer-saturated life. We should pray when we are happy or sad, rich or poor, employed or unemployed, prospering or in want, healthy or sick. Believers should begin their day with prayer and end it with prayer. We should pray instead of complaining when things do not work as we hope or expect. When our hearts are broken, we should pray.
A prayer-saturated life stays in the presence of God and is lived according to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is informed by scripture and bears spiritual fruits according to the will of God. Paul told the saints in the Church at Ephesus to “be alert and always keep on praying.” That’s the only way to saturate one’s life in prayer.
When our lives are saturated in prayer, we live honorably to the glory of God. This does not mean we are perfect. But we are perfecting our Christian walk according to the Spirit of God through a prayer-saturated life. The more time we spend with God in prayer, the stronger we become in our spiritual warfare against the enemy. Prayer is more than just a spiritual weapon. It is a way to channel our joy in the Lord in difficult circumstances.
There is always something for the believer to pray about. When things are going as expected for the believer, they should offer a prayer of thanksgiving for their blessings. Believers can also pray for others in need and for a world in spiritual darkness. We can pray for the unsaved, those who are food-insecure, the lonely, the brokenhearted, the bereaved, the poor, the victims of sex trafficking, and those who are being abused and oppressed. Indeed, there is no shortage of topics to pray about. When we start to pray for different topics, the Spirit of God will reveal many more need to pray about. Therefore, let us pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.
Questions for Personal Reflection
How would you categorize your prayer life?
What are the benefits of a prayer-saturated life?
Prayer- Blessed Lord, I thank you for teaching me the language of prayer. Please help me to live a prayer-saturated life so I can remain fervent in prayer.
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