But wait, there’s more …PRAYER     Ephesians 6.18-20

Kafr Hakim, Egypt (CNN)  Dateline: August 16, 2013 

--- 52 churches were attacked in a 24-hour span that started Wednesday, as well as numerous Christians' homes and businesses.  Bishop Angaelos, the Cairo-born head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, said the growing threat led him last week to issue a statement warning of "a very real risk upon the life of every Christian."¹

Though many of the eight million Christians in Egypt thought things would get better for them once president Mohamed Morsi, of the Muslim Brotherhood, was ousted; violence and bloodshed and decimation of churches and Christian bookstores has proven otherwise.

There is no doubt that terrified Christians in Egypt are praying!  Friends, we must pray with them, and for them.  Similarly, Paul writes to the persecuted believers in the first century telling them, stay alert, be persistent in your prayers.  “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” (6.18)

What did Paul mean by his instruction ‘in the Spirit’?  Dear Friends, as Scripture is not just black marks on a white page, prayer is not just words that evaporate into nothingness.  We pray because we believe!  We pray with fervency and in faith, that our God hears … and that he answers … and that indeed, prayer changes things.  Prayer is enabled and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Simply, praying in the Spirit may be understood as praying in the power of the Spirit, by the leading of the Spirit, and according to God’s will.  This familiar Scripture is enlightening: “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.”²

From the seriousness of Egypt to believers worldwide comes Paul’s word to pray without ceasing³, to pray at all times and on every occasion.  ‘Really?’ you say from your office, about to go into a meeting, ‘at all times?’  ‘Seriously?’ you query as you drive down the highway, listening to this podcast on your i-phone … ‘can’t be done … I cannot conduct my life while constantly praying!’  Yes, you can.  It is an attitude of prayer, an open line of communication between you and God throughout your day. 

From the seriousness of Egypt, would you indulge my thinking a moment, with a segue to a Disney movie? You see, I had no sooner clicked away from the CNN screen with photos and decimated places of worship, and back to my work-in-progress morning briefing, than a little ditty ran through my mind.  ‘Just keep praying, just keep praying.’ Wait, where had the thought originated?  It took me a minute … ah, yes--Finding Nemo!  From it, perhaps we can gather inspiration to stay in tune with our Father—no matter the small challenges of life or huge trials. The singer?  Dory, an optimistic, sweet blue fish with short-term memory loss, who remembers one thing for sure:  you gotta keep swimming.

Click for short clip and a smile:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WVoC_CJbow

Dory:  Hey there, Mr. Grumpy Gills. When life gets you down do you wanna know what you've gotta do?

Marlin: No I don't wanna know.

Dory: [singing] Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…

Let’s adapt Dory’s silly little song--

Just keep praying, just keep praying. Just keep praying, praying, praying. What do we do? We pray, we pray.

Marlin: Dory, no singing.

Dory: Ha, ha, ha, ha, ho. I love to pray. Just keep praying, just keep praying ….

Marlin: Now I'm stuck with that song... Now it's in my head.⁴

‘Just keep praying,’ Paul said several times in his letters.  Prayer is the connective tissue binding the six elements of the armor of God together.  It is both the underpinning and the outerwear of armor that we have been studying from the previous seven verses-- the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit which is the Word of God.   

Paul then asked for himself: “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.”⁵ How amazing that he did not ask his friends and fellow believers to pray that he would be released from prison!  He asked for prayer that he would be bold in telling others of Christ, yet while in chains.  

‘Don’t know what your day looks like or what your week holds, and it doesn’t really matter ~ ‘just keep praying, just keep praying, praying, praying…’?