Ephesians 6:18 NLT - Bible Study

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 NLT


The context of our verse for today is the Apostle Paul's final word to the church at Ephesus. He says that they should "Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power" (Ephesians 6:10). This means, as he goes on to say, that they should "Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11). They should put on the "belt of truth," the "body armor of God's righteousness," the "shoes" of peace that comes from the Good News, and they should hold up "the shield of faith," put on the "helmut of salvation," and take up the "Sword of the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:14-17).

But being strong in the Lord also means, as our verse for today points out, that they should pray. They, and we by extension, should pray in the following four ways:

First, we should "Pray in the Spirit." That is, our prayers should be prayers born of the help and power of the Holy Spirit. Our prayers, to put it in the opposite, should not be prayers born of the sinful self. We should open ourselves to the Holy Spirit so that our prayers come with the sense that the Spirit is praying through us.

Second, we should pray "at all times and on every occasion." Elsewhere, Paul told us that we should "Never stop praying" (I Thessalonians 5:17). Part of being strong in the Lord is to pray for His help. Since we need His help every hour of the day and in every situation, prayer should be a regular and ongoing feature of our lives. 

Third, we should pray for all believers everywhere. Our prayers should not be limited to ourselves and our immediate loved ones. Indeed, Paul says that we should "Stay alert" about this. That is, we should be looking for opportunities to pray for all believers. 

Finally, we should be persistent in our prayers for all believers. In His Parable of the Persistent Widow Jesus told us that we should "always pray and never give up" (Luke 18:1). With the same kind of persistence as the widow, we should not lose heart or become discouraged in our prayers for all believers. 

Today, then, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power  through prayer