Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.
— Ephesians 6:18

One of my favorite sections in museums is the one that displays armor used in the ancient world. I especially enjoy the section that displays the spears and lances that were used by the ancients. It is simply amazing to study the weaponry of the ancient soldier and discover how many different kinds of spears and lances were available to him. It becomes very evident that the spear and lance was one of the most important pieces of weaponry he possessed.

When Paul wrote his epistle to the Ephesians, he spoke extensively about the armor of God, urging believers to use their spiritual weaponry. However, as you study this full list of weaponry, it seems that the lance or spear, a key weapon, is missing. But although Paul didn’t explicitly mention the lance, he did tell believers to take up the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:11), implying a complete set of weaponry. We can therefore assume that Paul must have intended to include the lance or spear in this set of spiritual equipment.

The lance of our spiritual armor is found in Ephesians 6:18, where Paul says, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit….” I call this “the lance of prayer and supplication.” Let’s look more closely at this piece of weaponry so you can better understand why I say this.

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The lances used by the large and diverse Roman army varied greatly in size, shape, and length. These weapons were devised to be used to attack an enemy from a distance. They were thrown with great force and hurled tremendous distances to strike the enemy from afar. Because different lances were thrown at different distances, they came in all sizes and shapes. The particular lance chosen by a soldier depended on how it was to be used.

By revelation, Paul begins to compare these various lances to the various kinds of prayer God has made available to us. This is why he said, “Praying always, with all prayer and supplication….” You see, when a believer effectively uses prayer, it becomes a lance that can be thrust forth into the spirit realm against the malevolent works of the adversary. By forcibly hurling this divine instrument of prayer into the face of the enemy, a believer can exert great spiritual power, literally attacking the devil from a distance in order to stop major obstacles from developing up close in his personal life.

I want you to especially notice the phrase “with all prayer.” It is taken from the Greek phrase dia pases proseuches and would be better translated “with all kinds of prayer.”

Do you understand the various forms of prayer that are available for you to use as you pray and wage spiritual warfare? Don’t wrongly assume that all prayer is of the same kind. Just as Roman soldiers used all kinds of lances in battle, Paul lets you know that many forms of prayer are available for you to use in the fight of faith (see February 26). For instance, there is the prayer of faith, the prayer of agreement, the prayer of intercession, the prayer of supplication, the prayer of petition, the prayer of consecration, the prayer of thanksgiving, united prayer, and so forth.

Paul instructs us to use every form of prayer that has been made available to us as it is needed. No one kind of prayer is better than the others; each serves a different and necessary purpose in the life of faith.

Never forget that prayer is a vital piece of your spiritual weaponry. If you neglect this strategic piece of weaponry, you will find that the enemy keeps attacking you from up close. But as you learn to pray with authority, you will develop the ability to strike the enemy from a distance and therefore maintain a victorious position in your life.

God has placed the lance of prayer at your disposal so you can be assured of absolute and total victory. As you use this lance of prayer and supplication in all its various forms, you will continually reinforce Jesus Christ’s triumphant victory over Satan and gloriously demonstrate Satan’s miserable defeat in every area of your life!

My Prayer for Today

Lord, I thank You for entrusting me with all the weapons I need to keep the devil defeated in my life. Forgive me for not always taking advantage of the full weaponry You have provided. Prayer is powerful — yet I admit that I have neglected this piece of weaponry in my life. Forgive me for allowing myself to get too busy to make time for prayer. Instead of ignoring this vital piece of weaponry, I want to learn how to use every form of prayer that is available to me so I can stop the devil from making up-close attacks in my life. Thank You for this vital weapon of warfare. Please teach me to use it powerfully, forcefully, and effectively against the works of the devil.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I confess that prayer is a vital piece of my spiritual weaponry. Because I use this strategic piece of weaponry, I am able to stop the enemy from attacking me from up close. I pray with authority, and that authority gives me the ability to strike the enemy from a distance while maintaining a victorious position in my life. With the lance of prayer at my disposal, I can be sure of absolute and total victory. Although the devil tries to attack me, I overcome each of his attacks by striking him from a distance as I thrust the lance of prayer and supplication into the realm of the spirit. I commit myself to using the lance of prayer and supplication in all its various forms. As I do, I will continually reinforce Jesus Christ’s triumphant victory over Satan and gloriously demonstrate Satan’s miserable defeat in every area of my life!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. Can you think of a time when you felt alerted in your spirit that an attack was coming from the enemy, and you disabled that attack by using your God-given authority in prayer? What was that occasion? How did your aggressive praying stop that attack in your life?

2. Looking back on your life, what do you think would have happened if you hadn’t listened to the Spirit of God and hurled the lance of prayer and supplication into the spirit realm? If that attack against you had been successful, in what way would it have negatively affected your life? Have you taken the time to stop and thank God for alerting you to this potential spiritual attack?

3. Are you aware of the different kinds of prayer that are available for you to use? What are you doing to learn more about prayer and how to use prayer more effectively in your life?