{Pray} 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, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak (Ephesians 6:18–20; all Scripture quotations from the ESV unless otherwise indicated).

The previous post in this series introduced the concepts of praying in the Spirit and supplication. I find that many Christians are tempted to view spiritual warfare as a means to address discomfort or difficulty in their own lives. However, spiritual warfare always looks beyond our own comfort zone and seeks to advance the kingdom of God. It is God-centered, seeking to see His will done not only in our lives, but throughout the world, the church, and in the lives of those whom we love (and, often, those whom we wish Jesus had not told us to love).

Although supplication may sometimes focus on our needs, God calls us to pray for all people, both inside and outside the church. We should pray for all kinds of people, especially if they have any influence over our lives:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way (I Timothy 2:1–2).

We need to remember that Paul wrote these things within a hostile culture, where the government persecuted Christians. Americans are eager to pray for our leaders as long as they belong to our party, or endorse our definition of Christianity. However, when New Testament authors told their audience to obey, respect, and pray for their political officials (see Romans 13:1, Titus 3:1, I Peter 2:13), they were speaking about officials who could easily decide to execute them. American Christians often refuse to pray for elected officials who do not agree with them. Yet, we have no excuse: If Paul could urge his readers to pray for “kings and all who are in high positions,” we can pray for pro-abortion Presidents, anti-traditional-marriage judges, and Congressmen who have publicly mocked Christian values. We are called to make supplication “for all people.” “I don’t like him” is not an excuse.

Many Christians want to change the culture. Prayer is a crucial element of that. Living out our Christianity day by day is vital. Evangelism is essential. Many Christians believe voting and political activism are the top priority, but if we want to change society, those are actually lower on the list:

{If} my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land (II Chronicles 7:14).

Spiritual warfare, exercising our spiritual weapons, is what we need. As we saw earlier in this series, we are not fighting natural enemies. Our real enemies are the forces of Satan—not another political party, Islamic extremists, or illegal immigrants. These are at most tools or pawns whom Satan has deceived and manipulated to achieve his agenda. We need to attack the source of wickedness, not merely the visible symptoms. Prayer and other aspects of spiritual warfare are our major tactics. We should expect God to answer prayer and empower us to proclaim His Gospel and change the world. This is how the early church responded after the apostles had been arrested and persecuted.

Copyright © 2018 Michael E. Lynch. All rights reserved.