Continued from here.

While the sword of the Spirit is the only offensive weapon mentioned as part of the actual armor of God, there’s actually a second weapon mentioned immediately following those verses:

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.” ~ Eph. 6:18

Why do we need to be alert? Because the enemy is waiting to pounce on us:

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” ~ 1 Pet. 5:8

Thus, prayer is another offensive weapon we have at our disposal for spiritual warfare, but we don’t want to wait to use it until we are under attack. We need to develop a rich prayer life while things are calm so prayer becomes a natural reaction when we are shaken. If we only drop to our knees when we are under spiritual attack, our prayers are not going to be as effective because this posture will seem foreign to us. Prayer needs to become as natural as breathing to us so that when the lion pounces, the most natural reaction to us is to go to our Heavenly Father for help.

Paul told us to pray continually. Of course, this doesn’t mean we sit around with our heads bowed and eyes closed all day. Instead, it means that we are constantly in communication with God, thanking Him throughout the day, whether we like our circumstances or not. As Nehemiah demonstrated, we can shoot up prayers to God even in the middle of a conversation. Prayers don’t have to be long or flowery. What matters is that you are communicating with God. If you truly practice being in a state of continually praying to God, then turning to Him in prayer when the lion pounces will feel natural. You won’t have to remind yourself to pray because doing so will be a natural reaction.

To be continued…

[Graphic: Cartoon of Grace praying behind larger hands held in a posture of prayer. Courtesy Bitmoji.]