(14.) Soldier, Priest – Blessing Others with the Sword of the Spirit
(14.) Soldier, Priest – Blessing Others with the Sword of the Spirit.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For this struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor 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. Stand firm, then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. 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 6:10-20).
You’ve Already Won | The Worship Initiative (feat. Davy Flowers) – YouTube
There is little doubt that Paul intended for prayer to be understood as the other offensive weapon in the spiritual warfare he describes in Ephesians 6. When we openly acknowledge our allegiance to God, the unseen enemy is alerted to a new spiritual foe, another soldier to fight in the spiritual realm. And the devil’s radar must really light up when believers are blessing others in the Spirit with God’s Word.
Blessing Others. The Greek word for “bless” is “eulogia,” which means, among other things, to seek God’s favor for someone else. It means to speak a “good word” over others in seeking God’s best for them. Jesus often blessed others in the name of God in the gospels, and if we are to be a blessing to others and truly love them, we are to pray for God to bless others in Jesus’ name. We are to follow Jesus into his lifestyle of blessing.
Praying the Word. What better way to pray in the Spirit than to pray His inspired Word? And how can there possibly be a more effective and fruitful way of blessing others than with the inspired Scriptures? Praying the Scripture is praying into the mind of the Spirit, to pray into His thinking. To pray the Word is to pray in the spirit of the Spirit. To pray the Scripture is to pray according to His established will. Praying His Word puts our thoughts into better expression than our own words, though God wants those too. Unlike many of us, God loves to be quoted, because He fully knows His words bring life.
Praying with the Spirit. We wonder a lot, don’t we, about how best to pray for our loved ones, ourselves, our neighbors, the world? Praying God’s Word would seem to calm those fears, because His own words are obviously in line with His will. Praying these words of divine blessing that were inspired by God would seem to be received favorably by the Lord, wouldn’t they? We are inspired to pray these very words of Paul, because they are righteous and express perfectly what is on our hearts.
Pauline Blessings, Praying a Good Word Over Others:
1.”May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,
having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, so that you may know
the hope to which he has called you,
the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and
the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe,
according to the working of his great might
which he accomplished in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:17-20)
2. “May the God of all grace,
who has called you to share his eternal splendor through Christ,
after you have suffered a very little while,
restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
To him be the power forever and ever.” (1 Peter 5:10-11)
3. “May the Father, out of his glorious riches, strengthen you with power
through his Spirit in your inner being,
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;
that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
may have power, together with all the saints,
to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
and to know this love that surpasses knowledge –
that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
(Ephesians 3:16-19)
4. “May you be filled with the knowledge of his will
in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
to lead a life worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him,
bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.
May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might,
for all endurance and patience with joy,
giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share
in the inheritance of the saints in light.” (Colossians 1:9-12)
5. “Now to him who is able to keep you from falling,
and to make you stand without fault in the presence of his glory
with unspeakable joy, to the only God our Savior,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
be glory, majesty, power and authority,
before all time and now and forever.” (Jude:24-25)
6. “May you be resolute, encouraged in heart and bound together in love
until you have the full riches of complete understanding in order that you
may know the mystery of God, who is Christ, in whom are hidden all the
jewels and treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians2:2-3)
7. “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who
loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,
comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and
word.” (2 Thess. 2:16-17)
8. “May your love abound more and more in knowledge and depth of
insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best, and may be pure
and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness
that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.”
(Philippians 1:9-11)
9. “Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord
Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal
covenant, make you complete in everything good so that you may do his
will, working among us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus
Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever.” (Hebrews 13:20-21)
10. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in
him, so that you may overflow with hope through the power of the Holy
Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)
11. “May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your
hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus
Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, Son and
the Holy Spirit, be among you, and remain with you always. Amen.”
(Philippians 4:7, and Book of Common Prayer)
What better way to close this series than to be drenched in the truth that God is so good to us:
God, You’re So Good (Live) | The Worship Initiative feat. John Marc Kohl and Hannah Hardin – YouTube