Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
( Ephesians 6:18 ) KJV
Yesterday we considered Ephesians 6:13-17, in which the Bible describes us as being like well equipped soldiers ready to face the spiritual battles ahead. The passage goes on into the verse above. I have heard different people talk about this in different ways and I have always wondered:
Is all prayer a thing? As in, a noun?
I knew a brother in Christ many years ago who spoke of all prayer as if it was a thing that somehow stands alone from regular prayer. I’m not so sure. I tend to think that it means that we should be doing regular prayer all the time. The thing is, whether it is one or the other isn’t as important as the realization that the time we just spent thinking about it our mind was engaged in something of a positive spiritual nature which is along the lines of what Paul is telling us in this passage:
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (Philippians 4:8)
So we may not understand all of the Bible all of the time, but if we are thinking about it then our mind is being kept from being distracted by other worldly things. I have to admit that I have a problem with covetousness. I desire things that I don’t need, things that are only ever going to be problematic rather than problem solving. Jaguar cars are the thing that comes to mind. I want a Jaguar. There are times when the desire is so powerful that I have taken myself off to a dealership to go drive one, and gotten into the discussion of buying it. Buying and maintaining a car like that would squander the resources I have that I’m using to get this ministry started, and possibly saddle me with debt again when I just got out of it. And for what? An unreliable and inefficient car. If I could have diverted my mind into something of a more spiritual nature I wouldn’t have wasted my time.
What else do I find my mind spending excessive amounts of time on? I’d rather not say. You may find that your mind spends a good part of the day caught up in thoughts which are not particularly helpful, useful, clean, spiritual or godly. If we allow our minds to wander unfettered it will not be long before our bodies follow right after them and we end up making bad decisions. What are we to do about this? Follow the advice above.
Are you allocating time for daily Bible reading yet? That is where a healthy mind starts folks.
Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee. (1 Timothy 4:13-16)
Read the Bible and meditate on it. You may not understand it. Meditating on it is how the Holy Spirit is able to form and shape it in you mind so that it will make sense.
Matty (Headwind) 