Scripture
10A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:10-12
Observation
As the Apostle Paul finished his letter to the church in Ephesus from his Roman prison he reminded them that all believers are embroiled in a spiritual battle, not with each other, but with spiritual enemies. This is amazing! He has every reason to see his captors as his enemies but instead sees them as those who need the Good News. He even asks for prayer. Now, if I was in jail I’d be asking for the fire to fall from Heaven to set me free from my unjust prison. Instead, Paul sees his captivity as an opportunity, “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.” (vs. 19) Wow! I can only imagine how this multi-ethnic church reacted when they unrolled this scroll and read this prayer request. I imagine these Gentiles and Jews looking around the room as faith swelled up within them. Paul wasn’t asking for prayer for himself, but for his captors. His Gentile “enemies” were his harvest field, not his killing field. I imagine how this must have emboldened the church in Ephesus to pray the same way. They were challenged to learn to fight for each other instead of with each other for the sake of the Gospel to the nations. Paul had spent a large portion of the letter talking about how unity was not the same as uniformity. Instead of fighting each other because of their differences, they were exhorted to learn from each other and fight the real enemy. Ephesus was a huge city and was the epicenter of worship for most of the Greek and Roman Gods. The demonic influence in that city would have loved nothing more than to have believers distracted and divided and wounding each other instead of focused and united on sharing the Good News. Paul drives home this point on spiritual warfare by encouraging the church to “armor up” on a daily basis. Every day Paul looked at the Roman soldier outside of his cell not as an enemy, but as an example. He used the different pieces of their Roman armor as a metaphor for how Christians are to prepare daily for battle, not with each other, but with our true adversary, the devil.
Application
What if we looked at those that we consider our enemies in the same way? What if God is trying to teach us something we could not learn if we were surrounded by people who look just like us? What if God is trying to teach us something about His heart for people by asking us to love and pray for those who don’t even like us or agree with us? Just like the Ephesian Church God has put us in the same room with people who want to wear masks and those who don’t. With people who want to march in protests and this who don’t. With people who want to speak in tongues and those who don’t. With people of different cultural backgrounds, experiences, and built-in biases. God has brought all of us together and called us “one”. This “oneness” doesn’t come without a fight and the enemy would love it if we just fought each other. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:3 that it’s going to take every effort, our blood, sweat, and tears (the Greek word "spoudazo"- to endeavor) to keep the “unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.” Unity won’t happen automatically but it will happen intentionally. We need to pray that the “fog of war” would be blown away by a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit. In the middle of the battle, in the smoke and haze of the fog of war, something happens that no one wants to talk about. It’s called “friendly fire”. I read an article about those in the U.S. military whose job it is to sort out what happened and why no matter how much the truth hurts. “Friendly fire incidents are not unique to the United States military. Notable examples of casualties inflicted by friendly forces can be found all the way back to the ancient Greeks. An Austrian army even fought a full-on battle against itself on one occasion. The fog of war can be thick and pervasive.” My concern is that if we don’t heed Paul’s instruction here in Ephesians, we will look back on this tumultuous time in our country with the horrific realization that we were firing on the very ones we were called to be fighting for.
Prayer
I pray for no more lies and pretense. That our heart to hear our neighbor would supersede our need to be heard. I pray that we would see we’re all connected to each other and that when we hurt each other we are only hurting ourselves. I pray that when we are angry we would not stay angry or use that anger as fuel for revenge. I pray that we would repent for every word spoken in anger, every offense we’ve held on to that has given the Devil a foothold in our homes, churches, workplaces, and country. I pray that You would forgive us for where we have grieved You Holy Spirit by the way we have talked AT each other instead of TO each other. Forgive us for seeing each other's differences as anything less than a gift from You and an opportunity to love deeply. I pray that we would make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, and profane talk. That we would be gentle with one another, sensitive to where the other person is coming from. I pray that we would forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as You have forgiven us. Let us remember who the real enemy is and walk in the authority You have given us through Your name Jesus. (this prayer came straight out of Ephesians 4:25-32).
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