Lessons #287 and 288
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual exposition not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GWT = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Intercessory prayers in spiritual warfare (Eph 6:18b-20)
…. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
It is our assertion that spiritual vigilance or alertness involves perseverance but it also involves intercessory prayer that is the theme of the passage before us. Before we get to consider the subject of intercessory prayer in connection with spiritual warfare, there are two truths its inclusion as part of spiritual warfare convey to us. First, it is a reminder of the unity in the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul began the exhortation section of this epistle in chapter 4 with exhortation to maintain unity in the church since believers belong to the same body of Christ. Recall his appeal concerning unity in Ephesians 4:3:
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Maintenance of unity requires us not to think in terms of individuality but in terms of a group or a body. We are to think of the unit that is involved in spiritual warfare. In effect, we are to recognize that we are not only individually involved in the spiritual warfare but also collectively the church is in the spiritual warfare. It is not difficult to look at the state of the local churches where there is so much infighting and other problems associated with immoral conduct and not recognize that the church collectively is involved in the spiritual warfare. The fact that individually and collectively we are involved in the spiritual warfare implies we should recognize that every believer is faced with the same spiritual warfare that we are. In fact, that believers everywhere on this planet are involved with the spiritual warfare is similar in concept to the instruction of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Peter when he reminded believers who were suffering that they were not the only ones undergoing suffering since their fellow believers all over the world were faced with the same fate, as recorded in 1 Peter 5:9:
Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
It may not appear that what Apostle Peter wrote here is concerned with spiritual warfare, but it is. We are certain that although Apostle Peter did not state that he was concerned with spiritual warfare in the same manner Apostle Paul conveyed in Ephesians 6:14-20 but there can be no mistaking that this is the case. Consider the command, Resist him. This is a command to resist Satan or the devil that Apostle Peter described as prowling around like a lion looking for someone to devour in the preceding verse of 1 Peter 5. The description of Satan as prowling lion implies a spiritual warfare since he is constantly looking for opportunity to attack believers. This command Resist him is similar to the instruction of Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:14 Stand firm with respect to the spiritual warfare. Thus, there should be no doubt that although Apostle Peter did not speak of spiritual weapons as Apostle Paul that his instruction was concerned with the spiritual warfare. There is more that enables us to recognize that the Apostle Peter was concerned with spiritual warfare. It has to do with the introduction of suffering of believers in the clause because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. The sufferings that believers undergo, regardless of their nature, are part of the spiritual warfare. This being the case, the Apostle Peter indicates that all believers are involved in spiritual warfare. Unity in the body of Christ enables us to recognize that although we may not face the same kind of suffering as another believer that the believer who suffers is part of the body of Christ and in that way, we should share in their suffering in the spiritual warfare since the Scripture is clear that when a part of the body suffers all parts suffer, as stated in 1 Corinthians 12:26:
If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
Therefore, when a believer is involved in an intercessory prayer that should be a reminder of the unity of the body of Christ.
Second, inclusion of intercessory prayer in connection with the spiritual warfare reminds us that we need to support each other in the spiritual warfare. It is a misunderstanding of the nature of the church for a believer to think that he/she does not need other believers in the spiritual warfare although it is true that individually we carry out the battle but that does not mean that we do not need the support of each other. Let me illustrate, using military example since Apostle Paul had used military metaphors in describing the spiritual armor that we have considered. A soldier in battlefield needs other soldiers to help ward off the enemy by their firing of their weapons or by means of bombardment of the enemy position using fighter jets or artilleries. This means that when in a battlefield, a soldier needs other soldiers to help him defend his position or himself since no soldier single-handedly takes on an entire enemy force. Hence a soldier in the battlefield depends on others for encouragement to continue the battle as well as receiving firing support from them. This analogy does not quite fit the support that believers get from others who are in the spiritual warfare as they but it gives the picture that believers need each other in the spiritual warfare. To begin with, believers who recognize that they are supposed to be helpful to their fellow believers who are in the spiritual warfare would certainly ensure that they do not do anything that may be considered as aiding the enemy in the spiritual warfare.
How might a believer help the enemy in the spiritual warfare, you may ask? It is through doing anything that will cause a fellow believer to sin. The Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul makes this point in the instruction for believers not to put anything on the way of another believer that will lead to sin, as we read in Romans 14:13:
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.
The instruction of this passage implies that we should be thoughtful in our interactions with fellow believers that we do not do anything that will cause them to sin. For to do so is to aid the enemy in the spiritual warfare. We know that it is a horrible thing for a soldier to become a saboteur, that is, one who serves as an enemy’s agent to hinder the progress of war. This being the case, a believer should be careful not to aid the enemy in the spiritual warfare by doing those things that will cause a fellow believer to sin. Of course, such conduct is so serious that the Lord declared punishment to the one who does such a thing in Luke 17:1–2:
1Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. 2 It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.
That aside, the Holy Spirit wants believers to be supportive of each other in the spiritual warfare. This support is presented in different ways in the Scripture. Writing to the Romans, the apostle presented this support in terms of being devoted to one another, as we read in Romans 12:10:
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
The command Be devoted is from a Greek adjective (philostorgos) that means being very affectionate, devoted, loving dearly. This being the case, if you are affectionate towards someone or loving toward that person then you show that by your action that is helpful to the object of your devotion. The support we are to give one another in the spiritual warfare is described as carrying one another’s burden in Galatians 6:2:
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
There is no way you can carry another believer’s burden if you do not know what it is. But then, you cannot know of such a burden if you do not interact with a fellow believer. So, the support you may give requires interaction with fellow believers. Another way the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul brings to our attention the necessity of supporting each other in the spiritual warfare, is in form of encouragement we should offer to one another, as recorded in 1 Thessalonians 5:11:
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
We are to encourage and build each other up so that each one recognizes that he/she is not alone in the spiritual warfare. It is also because we need to continue to build each other up spiritually that the Holy Spirit through the human author of Hebrews instructs believers to spur on each other with respect to good works in Hebrews 10:24:
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
Anyway, the point we seek to stress is that intercessory prayer involved in spiritual warfare is a reminder that we are to be concerned with our fellow believers who are in the same warfare we are involved so that we can provide them the proper support the Holy Spirit expects from us with respect to other believers.
Be that as it may, it is our assertion that intercessory prayer is another means of remaining spiritually vigilant or alert in the spiritual warfare. This is because of the verbal phrase always keep on praying for all the saints in the NIV of Ephesians 6:18. Literally, the Greek translates keeping alert with perseverance and petition for all the saints. It is the literal translation that helps to understand our assertion that intercessory prayer is another means of remaining spiritually vigilant or alert. For one thing, we indicated previously that the word “with” is to be understood in our passage as indicating the manner of being alert or spiritually vigilant that involves perseverance. However, the Greek preposition translated “with” may also be used as a marker of “means” which also makes sense in our literal translation.
The problem we need to deal is how to understand the word praying of the NIV that we stated is literally petition since we have a Greek word (deēsis) that focuses on petition, that is, prayer for specific benefits on behalf of others. The Greek syntax used in connection with the word we translated “petition” is in what is known as the dative case in the Greek, which is a grammatical case that marks typically the indirect object of a verb and objects of some prepositions. In its usage in our passage with respect to the word “petition” or “praying” of the NIV, there are two possible ways of understanding it. It could refer to the manner of being alert or spiritually vigilant. It could also refer to the means of being alert or spiritually vigilant. Which of these two interpretation did the apostle have in mind? It is the interpretation that considers “petition” as the means of being alert or spiritually vigilant that is intended in our passage. We say this because it is unlikely that the apostle meant to convey two manners of being spiritually vigilant especially since the word “petition” requires action instead of attitude. Instead, it is more likely that the apostle wanted to convey both the manner and means of being alert or spiritually vigilant since he had already addressed the manner of being alert in the use of the Greek word that we explained means “perseverance.” Furthermore, it is often difficult to differentiate manner and means. This notwithstanding, a dative that expresses manner usually involves a noun that is abstract, which certainly fits well with the word “perseverance” while a dative that expresses means is more often used with a concrete noun that involves an action which is true of “petition.” Hence, the apostle described to us both the manner of being alert in the spiritual warfare and the means of doing the same. The interpretation we have given is that intercessory prayer is a means of being spiritually vigilant in the spiritual warfare whereby a believer is not merely concerned about self but also of the other believers who are involved in the spiritual warfare. A soldier who looks out only for himself in a battlefield is not only selfish but could not have the help of others. In the same fashion, believers should be involved in supporting each other in the spiritual warfare. One of the ways to do this is to be involved in constant intercessory prayer for others.
How did we arrive at the concept of intercessory prayer you may ask since no such term is used in the passage of Ephesians 6:18 that we are considering? It is firstly through the Greek word (deēsis) used that we indicated focuses on petition, that is, prayer for specific benefits on behalf of others. Secondly, it is through the recipients of the petitions identified in the passage. Thus, it should be clear that what we have is intercessory prayer, that is, prayer offered on behalf of others. Of course, prayer is an essential element of the spiritual warfare which the apostle had already indicated believers should engage in the first sentence of Ephesians 6:18. That prayer in the first sentence of Ephesians 6:18 is primarily the one a believer directs to self in the process of spiritual warfare but in the second sentence and following, the apostle was concerned with prayers offered for other believers. Because of the recipients of prayers, the apostle described, we should recognize that there are two kinds of intercessory prayer that a believer should engage in the spiritual warfare. They are the petition for every believer and petition for those who are in teaching and preaching ministries. These two recipients of the believer’s prayer are identified in the passage before us.
The first recipients of intercessory prayer with respect to the spiritual warfare are all believers in Christ regardless of where they are located. They are identified in the phrase for all the saints of Ephesians 6:18. Whenever we encounter the word “saints”, we need to comment about it because of the abuse of the word by the Roman Catholic groups who give the impression that the word “saint” refers to an elite Christian group that is associated with unique qualities and powers. This is further from the truth. You see, the word “saints” is translated from a Greek word (hagios) that as an adjective pertains to being dedicated or consecrated to the service of God and so means “holy, sacred, dedicated to God.” Thus, the apostle used the word to describe our sacred writing, that is from God, that is, the Scripture, in Romans 1:2:
the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures.
It is in the sense of sacred or pure that the word is used with respect to God’s temple, that is, the church in 1 Corinthians 3:17:
If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
The meaning “holy” is used by the apostle to describe the apostles and prophets in Ephesians 3:5:
which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.
It is in the sense of “holy” that the apostle used the word to describe the kind of calling that those who are saved received in 2 Timothy 1:9:
who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
The verbal phrase and called us to a holy life is more literally and called us with a holy calling. When the Greek word is used as a noun with a definite article in the plural, as it is used in our passage, it refers to believers or God’s people and so the Greek phrase that consists of our Greek word and definite article is often translated “saints.” The translators of the NIV used the phrase “God’s people” to translate the Greek phrase that is a combination of our Greek word and definite article in the instruction of Romans 12:13:
Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Of course, most of our English versions used the meaning “saints” in translating the Greek phrase that consists of our Greek word and definite article. Nonetheless, there is an observation we need to make about the use of the word “saints” in the NT. It is this: it is never used in the singular to describe any person. The implication is that it is not biblical to prefix the word “saint” to anyone. I mean that it is not biblical to say “saint Paul” since that is not a title that is unique to any believer. Second, the word “saints” is used to describe God’s people whether in the OT or NT. The use of the word to describe God’s people in the OT is seen in Psalm 16:3:
As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.
It is the word “saints” that is used to command God’s people to fear Him since that is beneficial, as stated in Psalm 34:9:
Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing.
There is no doubt that believers of the OT are described as “saints” since the believers that came out of their graves in the time of resurrection of Jesus Christ are described as “saints” in Matthew 27:52:
The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.
The phrase holy people of the NIV is literally saints as reflected in many of our English versions. Of course, believers in Christ are those described as saints in the NT. Take for example, believers in Jerusalem are described as “saints” whom Apostle Paul prior to his salvation persecuted, as we read in Acts 9:13:
“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem.
The point is that “saints” refers to believers in Christ. Therefore, a believer who remains spiritually alert or spiritually vigilant is one that is involved in intercessory prayer for all believers.
What should this intercessory prayer for other believers consist? Before we deal with this question, we should observe that the apostle although he wrote under inspiration, actually was the kind of teacher that practiced what he taught, so it is not surprising that he encouraged believers to imitate him in 1 Corinthians 4:16:
Therefore I urge you to imitate me.
The same concept of imitation is involved when he instructs the Corinthians to follow his example as he follows Christ in 1 Corinthians 11:1:
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
This aside, we claim that the apostle is the kind of teacher who practiced what he taught because he has conveyed severally that he practiced intercessory prayer. It is not only in this epistle to the Ephesians do we read of the apostle praying for other believers but we also encounter his assertion of intercessory prayer for the Philippians in Philippians 1:4:
In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy
Anyway, the point is that the apostle practiced what he taught regarding intercessory prayer, so we return to the question we are considering.
Again, we ask: What should this intercessory prayer for other believers consist? The apostle did not specify at this junction in his instruction regarding spiritual warfare but this does not mean that the Holy Spirit has not specified the contents of intercessory prayer of believers for other believers in the Scripture. The contents of intercessory prayer for believers are given to us through the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ and that of Apostle Paul with respect to prayer. Our Lord Jesus Christ in His pattern prayer indicated that an important aspect of the content of believer’s prayer is for spiritual welfare as that is implied in His declaration recorded in Matthew 6:13:
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
This verse concerns two petitions we should make towards our heavenly Father with respect to our spiritual welfare. We are to petition Him to keep us from the state in which temptation will overcome us or to keep us in a state where Satan will not be victorious over us. Furthermore, we should pray that we be preserved or protected from Satan. It does not mean that God would remove us from being touched by Satan as this would require our leaving this world but that despite everything Satan can do to us that God should preserve or protect us. In effect, God should not permit Satan to have his full way with us since the only thing that he wants is our destruction. These petitions our Lord taught that should be part of our prayer are concerned with spiritual warfare so that we should petition these things for other believers as well as for ourselves. But there are more to the contents of our intercessory prayer for other believers that the Holy Spirit gave through the Apostle Paul that are concerned with the spiritual warfare. In effect, although there are several contents of intercessory prayer, our concern is limited to those that are directly connected with the spiritual warfare considering the spiritual armor believers are to be equipped with to be successful in the spiritual warfare.
A first content of intercessory prayer for other believers with respect to the spiritual warfare is for their spiritual enlightenment. This should not surprise us since believers are to take on the sword of the Spirit, that is, the word of God. A weapon is of no use in the hand of a soldier if that soldier does not know how to operate it. By this same token, the word of God is of no value to the believer if that individual is not enlightened to understand what it means and so how to apply it. Therefore, it makes sense that we should pray for continuous spiritual enlightenment of believers so that they would come to a better understanding of God’s word and so to have conviction with respect to their salvation and all that is implied. This understanding will help to give assurance of ultimate victory over satanic forces. This petition for spiritual enlightenment is the content of Apostle Paul's prayer for the Ephesians recorded in Ephesians 1:17–18:
17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
It is not only for the Ephesians that the apostle prays this prayer but also for the Colossians, as we read in Colossians 1:9–10:
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
One of the problems in the Christian life is applying correctly in different situations the word of God we have been taught. Well, it is the possession of spiritual wisdom that enables us to make the right application of the word of God in different situations which is essential during the spiritual warfare. So, we should pray that the Lord should provide other believers the insight and wisdom needed to apply the word correctly. It is not enough to know and quote a passage of Scripture, it is important to know how it applies. Our Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated this point during His temptation because He applied the Scripture correctly and in one instance corrected Satan for misapplication of the word of God. Thus, it is essential in the spiritual warfare that a believer should have the proper understanding of the word of God and how it applies in each situation. Of course, a correct application of the word of God would lead to a better knowledge of our God. For as believers observe God honor His word that is correctly applied, they will develop more confidence in Him and so leads to a better relationship with Him, implying they will be more confident of victory over satanic forces.
A second content of intercessory prayer for other believers with respect to the spiritual warfare is for their lifestyle to conform to the word of God. A believer whose lifestyle conforms to the word of God is one that will be victorious in the spiritual warfare. Thus, the believer’s lifestyle is important in the spiritual warfare. Apostle Paul through whom the Holy Spirit instructs believers to be engaged in intercessory prayer for others in the context of spiritual warfare considered this content of prayer for believers in his personal prayer for other believers. He petitioned for lifestyle of believers both negatively and positively. The presentation of lifestyle both negatively and positively is found in the apostle’s prayer for the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 13:7:
Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. Not that people will see that we have stood the test but that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed.
Negatively, the apostle prayed that the Corinthians should avoid doing wrong. We can understand this negative petition with respect to the lifestyle of the Corinthians because the apostle had already indicated that some of them were not living in accordance with the truth, as he stated in 2 Corinthians 12:20–21:
20 For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. 21 I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged.
A person who does not live according to truth is one that has not withstood his/her ground in the spiritual warfare. Thus, when the apostle prayed for the Corinthians not to do anything wrong, his petition is tantamount to their being successful in the spiritual warfare. Satanic forces are interested in getting believer to do something wrong, so a prayer request for that not to happen is one that is concerned with believers holding their ground in the spiritual warfare. Positively, the apostle prayed that the Corinthians should do what is right in 2 Corinthians 13:7 but that you will do what is right. This is a positive way to petition for them to be successful in the spiritual warfare since anyone who does what is right cannot be victim in the spiritual warfare. This positive petition concerning lifestyle as important in the spiritual warfare is also conveyed in the apostle’s petition for the Thessalonians for God to make them live the type of life expected of those He called, as stated in 2 Thessalonians 1:11:
With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.
The Lord expects a new kind of conduct among believers as indicated by the command of the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:22:
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
Thus, the believer who is going to stand his/her ground during the spiritual warfare must live the kind of lifestyle God demands. Anyhow, a specific topic to be included in intercessory prayer that involves spiritual warfare is the believer’s lifestyle. In effect, you should pray that the Lord will enable other believers to live a life that is consistent with the word of God.
A third content of intercessory prayer for other believers with respect to the spiritual warfare is for spiritual strength and understanding of Christ’s love. This makes sense since spiritual warfare requires that believers have spiritual strength and assurance of God’s love as they are engaged in the spiritual warfare. Thus, you should pray that God would always strengthen your fellow believers spiritually and that they also would come to true experiencing of God’s love. This is the prayer of the Apostle Paul for the Ephesians, as recorded in Ephesians 3:16–19:
16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
In this passage, the apostle made several petitions that have to do with spiritual strength and love. His petition is tantamount to a request for the Lord to enable the Ephesians to continue to learn the word and apply it since that is the means of Christ controlling of believers, that is, Christ dwelling in believers’ heart. Therefore, you should pray that God should continue to enable your fellow believers to learn His word and apply them because if they did they will be under Christ’s control. On a personal basis, you should petition the same thing for yourself. Pray that God will continue to enable you to learn His word and to live in obedience to it. That is an important petition of the spiritual life. Another petition of the apostle in this passage in Ephesians is for the Lord to grant the Ephesians the ability to grasp to some greater measure the significance and extent of Christ’s love for them as far as it is possible to comprehend within this life. There is no doubt that both requests are important aspects of our prayers for our fellow Christians, especially as we note that in our days, Christians are becoming ineffective in impacting the world. This is in part because we lack the inner strength or power that God the Holy Spirit supplies. Without the power of the Holy Spirit no one can be effective as a Christian in this world. Therefore, we should be praying that God in His wisdom would find means to strengthen Christians. Part of this strengthening would include a true understanding of the love of God. Many Christians simply say that they know that God loves them but they truly do not experience God’s love in the sense that they are unable to recognize God demonstrating His love towards them. The truth is that when a believer understands the love of God for him, such understanding would catapult him to a different spiritual level. This would be also a level whereby that believer would experience the inner power that the Holy Spirit provides. Certainly, a believer who has inner strength will be able to stand his/her ground in the spiritual warfare. Furthermore, the believer who is assured of God’s love will have confidence in the spiritual warfare that God will never abandon him/her no matter how intense the battle.
A fourth content of intercessory prayer for other believers with respect to the spiritual warfare that relates to the third content is for believers to be able to exercise love towards each other. This should not surprise you because those who exercise love disarm the satanic forces who want believers to be involved in hatred so that they would be neutralized in the spiritual life. To ensure that believers are not neutralized due to lack of love for others, we should pray that Christians should demonstrate their love more and more to each other. This is quite lacking today among Christians. For one thing, Christians have become blinded by Satan to think that those who are their fellow Christians are only those who belong to their specific local church. No, everyone who has trusted Christ as his savior is a believer regardless of his local church affiliation. It is for this reason that we should continue to pray that believers everywhere would know how to demonstrate their love for each other through their actions. But this love should be much more evident within a local congregation. It is not surprising then that demonstration of love is the true meaning of Apostle Paul’s prayer request recorded in 1 Thessalonians 3:12:
May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.
Application of love enables believers to be victorious over satanic forces in the sense that it removes one of the tools that satanic forces use to attack believers, the tool of unforgiveness. Satanic forces want believers to be unforgiving to others but when believers exercise love then they will be forgiving to others in this way disarm satanic forces. Therefore, you should pray for God to grant believers the ability to love each other.
A fifth and final content of intercessory prayer for other believers with respect to the spiritual warfare that we consider is for them to be able to witness for Christ. This content of intercessory prayer for other believers involved in the spiritual warfare is important because witnessing for Christ is part of the application of the offensive weapon that believers use to carry the battle, so to say, to the enemy’s domain. Consequently, we should pray that believers should be able to share their faith with others as Apostle Paul prayed for Philemon in Philemon 6:
I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.
In any event, we have given some contents of the intercessory prayer for other believers concerning the spiritual warfare, but these are not the only ones. Situations other believers face in the spiritual warfare will lead to more issues for prayer. A believer who is spiritually vigilant will do so by being involved in intercessory prayer for other believers. So be spiritually alert by engaging in intercessory prayer for your fellow believers that you know and those that you do not even know all over the world.
12/16/16