E. M. Bounds
Chapter 11
David Brainerd was pursued by unearthly adversaries who were resolved to rob him of his reward. He knew he must never take off his armor, but lie down to rest with his [sandals] laced. The stains that marred the perfection of his llustrous dress and the spots of rust on his gleaming shield are imperceptible to us, but they were to him the source of much sorrow and ardency of yearning. – The Life of David Brainerd
The description of the Christian soldier given by Paul in Ephesians 6 is compact and comprehensive. He is seen as always being in the conflict, which has many fluctuating seasons. There are seasons of prosperity and adversity, lightness and darkness, victory and defeat. He is to pray in all seasons and with all prayer. This is to be added to the armor when he goes into battle. At all times, he is to have the full armor of prayer. The Christian soldier, if he fights to win, must pray much. Only by this means is he able to defeat his long-standing enemy, Satan, and his many agents. “Praying always with all prayer” (Eph 6:18) is the divine direction given to him. This covers all seasons and includes all manner of praying.
Christian soldiers, fighting the good fight of faith (1 Tim 6:12), have access to a place of retreat where they continually go for prayer. “Praying always with all prayer” is a clear statement of the essential need of much praying. It is also a statement of many kinds of praying, by him who, fighting the good fight of faith, wins out over all his foes in the end.
The Revised Standard Version puts it this way:
Pray all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication … for all the saints, and also for me, that utterance may be given me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that I will declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. (Eph 6:18-20)
It cannot be said too often that the life of a Christian is warfare, an intense conflict, a lifelong contest. It is a battle fought against invisible foes who are ever alert and seeking to entrap, deceive, and ruin the souls of men. The Bible calls men to life, not a picnic or holiday. It is no pasttime or pleasure excursion. It entails effort, wrestling, and struggling. It demands utting out the full energy of the spirit in order to frustrate the foe and to come out, at last, more than a conqueror. It is no primrose path, no rose-scented flirting. From start to finish, it is war. The Christian warrior is compelled from the hour he first draws his sword to “endure hardness, as a good soldier” (2 Tim 2:3).
What a misconception many people have of the Christian life! How little the average church member appears to know of the character of the conflict and of its demands on him! How ignorant he seems to be of the enemies he must encounter if he is to serve God faithfully, succeed in getting to heaven, and receive the crown of life! He scarcely seems to relize that the world, the flesh, and the devil will oppose his onward march. He hardly realizes that they will defeat him utterly, unless he gives himself to constant vigilance and unceasing prayer.
The Christian soldier does not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph 6:12). Or, as the scriptural margin reads, “wicked spirits in high places” (RSV, margin). What a fearful array of forces are set against him! They desire to impede his way through the wilderness of this world to the doors of the Celestial City! It is no surprise, therefore, to find Paul, who understood the character of the Christian life so well, carefully and plainly urging Christians to “put on the whole armor of God” (v 11). It is not surprising that Paul, who was so thoroughly informed as to the malignity and number of the foes that the disciple of the Lord must encounter, would urge as to pray “with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” (v 18). The present generation would be wise if all who profess our faith could be persuaded to realize this all-important, vital truth, which is absolutely indispensable to a successful Christian life.
It is just at this point in today’s Christianity that one may find its greatest defect. There is little or nothing of the soldier element in it. The discipline, self-denial, spirit of hardship, and determination so prominent in and belonging to the military life are lacking. Yet, the Christian life is warfare, all the way.
How comprehensive, pointed, and striking are all Paul’s directions to the Christian soldier who is bent on defeating the devil and saving his soul alive. First of all, he must possess a clear idea of the character of the life into which he has entered. Then, he must know something of his foes — the adversaries of his immortal soul — their strength, their skill, their viciousness.
Knowing something of the character of the enemy and realizing the need of preparation to overcome them, he is prepared to hear the apostle’s decisive conclusion:
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil … Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Eph 6:10-11, 13)
All these directions end in a climax, and that climax is prayer. How can the brave warrior for Christ be made braver still? How can the strong soldier be made stronger still? How can the victorious fighter be made still more victorious?
Here is Paul’s explicit direction to that end. “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Eph 6:18).
Prayer, and more prayer, adds to the fighting qualities and the more certain victories of God’s good, fighting men. The power of prayer is most forceful on the battlefield in the midst of the noise and strife of the conflict. Paul was preeminently a soldier of the cross. For him, life was no flowerly bed of ease. He was no parading, holiday soldier, whose only business was to put on a uniform for special occasions. His was a life of intense conflict, the facing of many adversaries, the exercise of unsleeping vigilance and constant effort. And in sight of the end, we hear him as he chanted his final song of victory, “I have fought a good fight” (2 Tim 4:7). Reading between the lines, we see that he was more than a conqueror!
Paul indicated the nature of his soldier life, giving us some views of the kind of praying needed for such a career. He wrote,
Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; that I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judea. (Rom 15:30-31) [… and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the Saints; v 31 Geneva Bible, 1560]*
Paul had foes in Judea – foes who surrounded and opposed him in the form of unbelieving men, and this, added to other weighty reasons, led him to urge the Roman Christians to strive with him in prayer. That word strive indicates wrestling, the putting forth of great effort. This is the kind of effort and spirit that must possess the Christian soldier.
Here is a great soldier, in the great struggle, faced by malignant forces who seek his truth. His strength is almost gone. What reinforcements can he count on? What can give help and bring success to a warrior in such a pressing emergency? It is a critical moment in the conflict. What strength can be added to the energy of his own prayers? The answer is — the prayers of others, even the prayers of his fellow believers who were at Rome. These, he believes, will bring him additional aid. He can then win this fight, overcome his adversaries, and, ultimately, prevail.
The Christian soldier is to pray in all seasons and under all circumstances. His praying must be arranged in order to cover his times of peace as well as his hours of active conflict.. It must be available in his marching and his fighting. Prayer must diffuse all effort, permeate all ventures, decide all issues. The Christian soldier must be as intense in his praying as in his fighting, for his victories will depend much more on his praying than on his fighting.
Fervent supplication must be added to steady resolve. Prayer and supplication must supplement the armor of God. The Holy Spirit must aid the supplication with His own strenuous plea. And the soldier must pray in the Spirit. In this, as in other forms of warfare, eternal vigilance is the price of victory. Thus, watchfulness and perseverance must mark every activity of the Christian warrior.
The soldier’s prayer must reflect his profound concern for the success and well-being of the whole army. The battle is not altogether a personal matter. Victory cannot be achieved for self alone. There is a sense in which the entire army of Christ is involved. The cause of God, His saints, their woes and trials, their duties and crosses — all should find a pleading voice in the Christian soldier when he prays. He does not dare to limit his praying to himself. Nothing dries up spiritual blessings so certainly and completely, nothing poisons the fountain of spiritual life so effectively, and nothing acts in such deadly fashion as selfish praying.
Note carefully that the Christian’s armor will avail him nothing unless prayer is added. This is the pivot, the connecting link of the armor of God. This holds it together and renders it effective. God’s true soldier plans his campaigns, arranges his battle forces, and conducts his conflicts with prayer. Pray is all-important and absolutely essential to victory. Prayer should so saturate the life that every breath becomes a petition, every sigh a supplication. The Christian soldier must always be fighting. He should, of sheer necessity, be always praying.
The Christian soldier is compelled to constant guard duty. He is faced by a foe who never sleeps, who is always alert, and who is ever prepared to take advantage of the fortunes of war. Watchfulness is a fundamental principle with Christ’s warrior; “watch and pray” (Matt 26:41) is forever sounding in his ears. He cannot dare to be asleep at his post. Such a lapse brings him not only under the displeasure of the Captain of his salvation, but also exposes him to added danger. Watchfulness, therefore, imperatively constitutes the duty of the soldier of the Lord.
In the New Testament, there are three different words that are translated “watch.” The first means “absence of sleep” and implies a wakeful frame of mind as opposed to listlessness. It is a command to keep awake, attentive, and vigilant. The second word means “fully awake” — a state induced by some rousing, active, cautious effort lest, through carelessness or laziness, some destructive calamity should suddenly evolve. The third word means “to be calm and collected in spirit,” unemotional, untouched by confusing circumstances, cautious against all pitfalls and diversions.
All three words were used by Paul. Two of them are used in connection with prayer. Watchfulness intensified is a necessity for prayer. Watchfulness must guard and cover the whole spiritual man and prepare him for prayer. Everything resembling unpreparedness or non-vigilance is death to prayer.
In Ephesians 6:18, Paul gave prominence to the duty of constant watchfulness, “watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication.” “Watch,” he said, “watch, WATCH!”
Sleepless alertness is the price one must pay for victory over his spiritual foes. Rest assured that the devil never falls asleep. He ever “walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet 5:8). Just as a shepherd must never be careless or unwatchful lest the wolf devour his sleep, so the Christian soldier must have his eyes wide open, implying his possession of a spirit that neither slumbers nor grows careless. The inseparable companions and safeguards of prayer are vigilance and watchfulness. In writing to the Colossians, Paul bracketed these inseparable qualities together: “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving” (Col 4:2).
When will Christians more thoroughly learn the twofold lesson that they are called to a great warfare and that, in order to get the victory, they must give themselves to unsleeping watchfulness and unceasing prayer? “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet 5:8).
God’s church is a militant host. Its warfare is with unseen forces of evil. God’s people compose an army fighting to establish His kingdom in the earth. Their aim is to destroy the sovereignty of Satan and, over its ruins, erect the kingdom of God, which is “righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Rom 14:17). This militant army is composed of individual soldiers of the cross. The armor of God is needed for defense, and added prayer crowns the entire army.
Prayer is too simple, too obvious a duty, to need definition. Necessity gives beign and shape to prayer. Its importance is so absolute that the Christian soldier’s life, in all the breadth and intensity of it, should be one of prayer. The entire life of a Christian soldier — its being, intention, implication, and action — are all dependent on its being a life of prayer. Without prayer — no matter what else he has — the Christian soldier’s life will be feeble and ineffective. Without prayer, he is an easy prey for his spiritual enemies.
Unless pray has an important place in a Christian’s life, his experience and influence will be powerless. Without prayer the Christian graces will wither and die. Without prayer, we may add, preaching is futile and fruitless. Christ is the Lawgiver of prayer, and Paul is His apostle of prayer. Both declare its primary importance and demonstrate the fact of its necessity. Their prayer directions cover all places, include all times, and comprehend all things. How, then, can the Christian soldier hope or dream of victory, unless he is fortified by its power? How can he fail if in addition to putting on the armor of God he is, at all times and seasons, “watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Eph 6:18)?
*WP4Y
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