Pray in the Spirit

Meditations on

Staying In the Grace for Today 

June 19, 2025

Pray in the Spirit

I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.

Ephesians 6:20

“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere” (Ephesians 6:18). Paul closes his letter to the Ephesians with a call to prayer.  Prayer may be the most difficult and the most misunderstood aspect of the Christian life.

Praying is hard work. What Paul has in mind cannot be accomplished by a few minutes early in the morning as you try to pray with sleep still in your eyes, or a few minutes late in the evening when your body is longing for sleep. While that may be better than no prayer at all, it is like giving a hungry person a piece of stale bread. That may be better than no food at all, but it’s certainly not a substitute for a good meal.

Take time to reflect on whether your prayer life is consistent with the call to prayer Paul is making, and if not, why not? A good barometer of our prayer life is to measure our prayer requests over and against the prayers of Paul. Ephesians 6:19-20 is a good place to start looking:

“And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.”

My Takeaway: The number one prayer request in many prayer chains are requests to change our circumstances. If Paul followed that model, his request quoted above would have been to be released from jail. Yet he prayed for boldness to keep proclaiming the Good News of Jesus. Jesus modeled this prayer when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane: “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” (Matthew 26:39b, Emphasis mine) Seeking God’s will in our life anchors us in His grace for each day. 

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

 

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2025 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.