Eph 6:18 (KJV) Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

The Apostle Paul exhorted the entire Church to continue in prayer. Many times, in Charismatic circles, it has been implied that really intense, serious prayer was only the privilege of a special select few that were “called” to be “intercessors.” We need to remember that in Paul’s list of Ministry Offices (Eph. 4:11) and in his list of specific anointings for public ministry (I Cor. 12:28-31) there is no mention of a specific “office” or “ministry anointing” of “intercessor.” Now certainly prayer and intercession are indeed “ministries,” but they are ministries to which every single member of the Body of Christ is called. There may be some who are more experienced or effective in prayer than you are. There may be some who know more about prayer than you do. And there may be some who have been given by God specific unique “prayer assignments.” But, there is nobody in the Body of Christ that is more “called” to pray than you are! The only question is whether you and I will step up and obediently answer God’s call to pray.

The Greek verb here carries with it the idea of continuous action. We could actually render the first part of this verse, “Keep on continually praying.” Please don’t misunderstand what I am about to say. I’m a “faith guy.” I firmly believe Jesus meant what He said in Mark 11:23-24. However, Charismatics have sometimes used what we have been taught about “faith” as an excuse for spiritual laziness. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, said, “It seems to me that God will do nothing in the earth until someone prays.” We must remember that there are aspects of the Purpose of God that must be “prayed out” in the Holy Ghost. The seed of His revealed Purpose that God has conceived in your heart, to be fully realized, must often be “incubated” in prayer and “birthed” in travail. Although we certainly receive all that God has already provided for us in Christ “by faith,” walking out the fullness of God’s Plan involves much more than just “name it, claim it and drive it away.” Old timers in Pentecost used to talk about “praying through.” There is a realm in prayer where we move out of the limitations of the seen realm into the unlimited provision of the unseen, where the Holy Spirit begins to “take hold together with us against our human inability to produce results” (Rom. 8:26), enabling and empowering us to “hit the target” even when we do not know what to pray for.

Next, Paul exhorts the Church to pray continuously with “all manner” of prayer. Never forget that there are different kinds of prayer, and each type of prayer has its own set of unique principles that govern its operation. While, generally speaking, we should pray every prayer “in faith,” there is a specific prayer that is called the “prayer of faith” (James 5:15). Basketball and baseball are both “sports,” but each has its own set of rules. Just as one would not go onto a basketball court and attempt to hit a home run, one should not attempt (for the sake of one’s own “convenience”) to simply “confess and possess” one’s own human plan and agenda, rather than taking the time to “pray out” the Purpose of God in the Holy Ghost. Be Blessed!