NOTES for Eph 6:10-24

Instructing the Christians of Ephesus, the apostle Paul lists at the end of his letter the spiritual means given to us so that we may serve God and resist evil. He calls them the “whole armor of God,” and from this arose the very concept of spiritual weapons. Having listed everything that belongs to this armor, the apostle turns to the way it should be used; the concluding passage of the letter that we read today is devoted to this. First and foremost, it speaks of prayer. Prayer in all the diversity of its forms is precisely the field in which the apostle calls us to employ the “whole armor of God.” The apostle deliberately does not choose particular forms or kinds of prayer; he speaks of “all” prayer. From his point of view, the essential thing is that prayer be offered. The constancy of our spirit in this offering to God of ourselves, other people, and the whole world is the chief thing to which the apostle calls us. The second important point is the call to embrace the whole Church in our prayer, and especially its mission. The apostle’s concluding phrases open to us an extraordinary opportunity to participate in the ministry carried out by other people by praying for them and receiving them into our heart.