October 2003

After you have done everything: stand!

'Therefore, put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand… And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.' (Ephesians 6: 13 and 18)

So, there comes a time in the light of the above, when all there is left to do is ‘to stand’. In other words, giving up or in, retreat or defeat are not options that are open to us. None of this removes the reality that we will be tested from time to time and, of course, in the context, Paul assumes that we have taken sensible precautions by being in right relationship with both God and each other i.e. we have done our bit before we can expect the power we need from God ‘to stand’ in the face of every trial.

I am conscious that a number of people are facing a variety of serious health and other difficulties at the moment. I have always known there is a war on but it seems like the fighting has come closer and grown more intense and I am acutely aware of the individual suffering being directly experienced by those concerned. Chemotherapy, for example, is not a walk in the park to put it mildly.

I believe that one of the activities with which we are involved and are well equipped to undertake when we pray and worship together is ‘to stand’. Sometimes we need combined strength and each one of us at the prayer meeting adds their own strength to the wider pool by being there and being involved.

In the Old Testament we read of God looking for someone who would ‘stand in the gap’ but he found no one (no one said it was easy) and that is a tragedy we must not allow to be repeated. Two of the primary weapons we have to stand against are fear and discouragement, and according to Paul, it is vital that we should do so. Yes, but how?

That brings me on to the importance of praying for each other. Paul says, ‘With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.’ (Ephesians 6:18) and it is so important that we heed these words.

We need to be praying for our leaders and each other ‘always’. And it is vital that those who may be involved in struggles at this time know, consciously or subconsciously, that they are supported by our prayers for them in their hour of need. This may well relate to complete strangers including, for example, the millions of Christians who face daily persecution around the world.

In the final analysis, ‘to stand’ is more offensive than defensive and it is essential if we want the kingdom to come (the desire of all our hearts). So my encouragement is this: will you join the rest of those who can, when you can, by standing together for prayer and worship at your own church’s prayer meeting?

Whilst this may not be everything that Paul had in mind, it is certainly part of it; and my conviction is that corporate prayer needs reinforcing. I also believe that God is about to do some amazing things but please don’t forget that, as John Wesley put it, he has ‘bound himself to do nothing save in answer to prayer’.

Jeremy Jennings

This article is an edited version of one first published in Focus, October 2003. Reproduced here with permission.